The belief that with hard work and determination, all children have the opportunity to succeed in life is a cherished part of the American Dream. Yet, increased inequality in America has made that dream more difficult for many to obtain. In Too Many Children Left Behind, an international team of social scientists assesses how social mobility varies in the United States compared with Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Bruce Bradbury, Miles Corak, Jane Waldfogel, and Elizabeth Washbrook show that the academic achievement gap between disadvantaged American children and their more advantaged peers is far greater than in other wealthy countries, with serious consequences for their future life outcomes. With education the key to expanding opportunities for those born into low socioeconomic status families, Too Many Children Left Behindhelps us better understand educational disparities and how to reduce them.

Jane Waldfogel is Compton Foundation Centennial Professor, Columbia University School of Social Work and Visiting Professor at CASE, LSE. She is co-author of Too Many Children Left Behind.

Lee Elliott Major (@Lem_SuttonTrust) is Chief Executive of the Sutton Trust which aims to improve social mobility through education. He leads its development work and oversaw the trust’s research work from 2006-2012.

John Hills is Professor of Social Policy and Director of the Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion (CASE) and Co-Director of the International Inequalities Institute at LSE.

The Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion (CASE) at LSE (@CASE_LSE) focuses on the exploration of different dimensions of social disadvantage, particularly from longitudinal and neighbourhood perspectives, and examination of the impact of public policy.

The new International Inequalities Institute at LSE (@LSEInequalities) brings together experts from many LSE departments and centres to provide co-ordination and strategic leadership for critical and cutting edge research and inter-disciplinary analysis of inequalities.

Suggested hashtag for this event for Twitter users: #LSEchildren

Slides

A copy of Professor Jane Waldfogel's powerpoint presentation is available to download. Download Too Many Children Left Behind: the US achievement gap in comparative perspective (pdf).

Podcast

A podcast of this event is available to download from Too Many Children Left Behind: the US achievement gap in comparative perspective

Podcasts and videos of many LSE events can be found at the LSE Public Lectures and Events: podcasts and videos channel.