Links to information and sources for the reasons for the unequal education and wealth disparity in America

http://www.urban.org/sites/def...
https://www.scientificamerican...
http://www.economist.com/news/...
http://takingnote.blogs.nytime...
https://www.washingtonpost.com...
https://www.washingtonpost.com...

Many Americans believe that the key to success is largely due to talent, intelligence, and effort. However, studies have shown, that this is not quite the case. 

60% of people believe that anybody could make it up the ladder if they work hard enough. However, America has been ranked the most unequal of all western nations, in the category of wealth distribution. America has considerably less social mobility than Canada and Europe. America is a land of opportunity, just for some more than others. We live in a capitalist economy, which means that the exchange of wealth, can be made by an individual itself. The con with that economic system is that the wealthy have a majority of the power. Unless there is an initiative started by an individual, to start a program to help the poor climb higher in the socioeconomic ladder, there is no way for the poor to have the same opportunities that the rich would have.

 Washington Post studies have shown that rich parents can afford to spend more time and money on their kids. Even worse, the gap has only grown. Economists Greg Duncan and Richard Murnane calculated that that between 1972 and 2006, high-income parents increase spending on "enrichment activities", to 151% inflation, as suppose to 57% for lower income parents. 

Rich kids, who can go work for a family business, just drop out of high school and continue the business. Or, they just inherit the family estate, since they don't need a high school diploma to get ahead. Kids from more affluent backgrounds are likely to get better connections with legacy college admissions to internships. 

However, those in the lower middle class, cannot drop out of high school with hope to get lifted out of poverty. With the goal of getting into college, they also put themselves in a lot of debt. Even then, when it comes to African Americans getting degrees, they most likely live in impoverished neighborhoods, that prevent them from getting opportunities. 

Low-income students scored between 16000 to 12000 on the SAT and were half as likely to finish college as suppose to rich kids in the top 25%. 

Recent analyses of data prepared for school finance cases in Alabama, New York, New Jersey, and Lousiana, have found that schools that served students of color, had significantly fewer resources than schools serving white students. This includes from qualified teachers to curriculum offerings.

In predominantly minority schools, fewer teachers were qualified in terms of levels of education, certification, and training in fields they teach. 

The National Commission of Teaching in America found that new teachers that are hired without certification standards, most likely work in low income and high minority schools. The most highly educated teachers are hired largely in wealthier schools. 

Research has shown that the most expert teachers teach the most demanding courses to the most advantaged students. The lower track students were assigned to less able teachers, receiving lower quality teaching, and less demanding material. 

What happens when you have equal opportunity? A study by Elenor Armour-Thomas had teachers that were highly qualified, serving large numbers of minority students and low-income students. They found that those students performed as well as students that went to more advantaged schools. 

What needs to be done, is to have programs of enrichment, support, and opportunity, available equally to all students of race, regardless of income.

What can be done? Here is a list of a bunch of programs, that provide great opportunities for youth that come from disadvantaged backgrounds, but who have great potential. 

Great Programs for Disadvantaged Students: 
http://www.childrensdefense.or...
http://ceet.upenn.edu/training...