Family income + Culture more influential than ethnicity?

I was reading an article in the Washington Post about the 'achievement gap' and the testing ability and differences of those from affluent families and those from low-income families. The question is...

"Is family income + culture more influential than ethnicity in determining achievement + success of young people?"

I'd be inclined to say that the following are things that supersede ethnicity and effect educational successes or downfalls:

family influence
culture
education or information ABOUT education and of course...
$$$$

Education in my opinion is a human right. All people should have the EQUAL opportunity to receive an education. Although every country throughout the world has educational institutions in place not all provide an education that is sufficient for people to escape the cycle of poverty that has penetrated so many communities for so many years. There needs to be a universal "basic" for education. Although that 'basic' may look slightly different depending on the history, culture, and needs of the students, there should be some universal code of education for all.

Money can't buy you love but it can buy you an education. It can buy you prestige, and it can buy you a future of wealth or poverty. When money can buy you a wonderful education, and not everyone has access to the same level of education how do we make young people feel that we are all created "equal"? I think it is extremely difficult to make young people and for that matter, adults believe that, when it's clear that some are treated with more regard than others.

Culture + Family

There are families that are not the most financially sound units that understand how the system works, and quite frankly, how it works against them. Some of those who understand and value the importance of an education have managed to educate themselves on ways to work the system that has worked them over. These cases however are few and far in between in any case, there is the rare case.

The reality looks more like -- people that are not well-educated or have not been taught the value of an education...(at least not until it's too late) do not have the tools to know where to go and what to do to get their children out of schools that are ill-prepared to give their children the tools they will need to climb out of the poverty sinkhole. It's a reoccurring nightmare throughout our world. How do we eradicate this problem and lessen the achievement gap? We invest in education in all communities, we funnel our "aid" into education and not war, and we don't reward rich people's children for simply being rich and punish poor people's children because of something they are not responsible for.


I cannot speak for all countries, or even all regions of the U.S. but I feel that CLASS and of course $$ are the most defining factors in this country. Class defines you almost as much as your ethnicity does. Although there is no getting around the pigment of your skin, your accented speech, or the kink or curl of your hair, you have the ability to buy your way out from under those things...to some degree. If you can pay for your children to attend private schools, or live in neighborhoods where there are good public schools you already have a leg up on those who do not. If you as a parent are educated, you understand the value of education and push your children to be at least as successful as you are.

There are so many pieces to the puzzle. No matter what we're being told, more children are being "left behind" than not.