Inequality Seminar: Are Schools Equalizers or Stratifiers? Comparing Calendar and School Year Gains in Indiana

The Inequality Seminar is a seminar and speaker series that provides a forum on campus for faculty and graduate students who are interested in inequality broadly defined.  It is an opportunity for faculty and graduate students to present their research and to hear about other inequality-related work from researchers on and off-campus.

How do schools contribute to achievement inequalities between groups? Some research suggests that schools exacerbate existing inequalities and serve as "stratifiers," while other studies suggest that schools can be "equalizers" and make inequality between groups smaller than it would otherwise be. Unfortunately, prior research in this area has many limitations and leaves many questions unanswered. In this study, Carbonaro analyze data from Indiana, and compare learning rates during the school year (fall to spring) and the calendar year (fall to fall, and spring to spring). These comparisons allowed a better estimate of how school and non-school environments contribute to achievement inequality. 

Bill Carbonaro is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Notre Dame.  Professor Carbonaro's research focuses on two main areas: (1) how unequal learning opportunities both within and between schools affect student outcomes, and (2) how education and cognitive skills are linked with economic rewards in the labor market. 

The Inequality Seminar meets Thursdays from 12:00-1:30 p.m., in W113 Seashore Hall.  The schedule of talks can be found here.

If you have any questions about the Inequality Seminar, please contact Sarah Bruch at sarah-bruch@uiowa.edu.