Satisfaction with Higher Education Stands to Improve

In a recent article that appeared in the New York Times, “Rich and Poor Further Apart in Education,”(February 10, 2012, pp. A1), a number of studies reported that the gap in achievement across the rich and poor is widening in the U.S.  In particular, these studies show that the academic achievement is no longer a function of race or ethnicity, but rather a function of income.  

The American Dream Composite Index (ADCI) survey results from the most recent survey confirm the findings discussed in the New York Times article. The ADCI collects data from a sample of 1,000 individuals on several dimensions including two related to Education.  Specifically, the ADCI measures the satisfaction with respect to ‘Educational Quality’ and ‘Access to Education’ among the individuals surveyed on a scale of 0-100 with 100 being complete satisfaction.   People with an income of more than 100K report their satisfaction with Access to Education at 81.36 compared to 61.93 individuals with an income of less than 100K. These numbers do not change if race or ethnicity is accounted for.  

However, the satisfaction with respect to Education Quality are much lower – people with income of greater than 100K report their satisfaction with Education Quality a 50.22 compared to 52.55 for individuals with an income of less than 100K.  The level of satisfaction with respect to Education Quality remains very low across various demographic groups classified by race and ethnicity.  It is interesting to note that while income level determines the level of access to education, the overall satisfaction with the quality of education irrespective of whether one is rich or poor is of concern for the U.S.