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The number of educational opportunities that children accrue at home, in early education and care, at school, in afterschool programs, and in their communities as they grow up are strongly linked to their educational attainment and earnings in early adulthood, according to new research. The results indicate that the large opportunity gaps between low- and high-income households from birth through the end of high school largely explain differences in educational and income achievement between students from different backgrounds.

These findings come from a 26-year longitudinal study published in the Educational Researcher journal. The research was conducted by Eric Dearing (Boston College), Andres S. Bustamante (University of California–Irvine), Henrik D. Zachrisson (University of Oslo), and Deborah Lowe Vandell (University of California–Irvine).

Their study is the first to directly document opportunities and opportunity gaps as they accrue across early childhood, middle childhood, and adolescence in multiple key areas of child development.

Using a 12-point index of opportunities, the authors found that about two thirds of children from low-income households experience no more than one opportunity between birth and high school. Most high-income youth experience six or more opportunities.

The strength of the relationship between opportunities and early adult outcomes was strongest for low-income children. Moving from zero to four opportunities increased the odds of low-income children graduating from a four-year college from about 10% to 50% and increased annual salaries by about $10,000 per year.

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