Does College Block Poor Kids From Better Life?

To get a goo job get a good education. Such slogans are drilled into our heads. But a New York Times story warns of:

"the growing role that education plays in preserving class divisions. Poor students have long trailed affluent peers in school performance, but from grade-school tests to college completion, the gaps are growing. With school success and earning prospects ever more entwined, the consequences carry far: education, a force meant to erode class barriers, appears to be fortifying them.

“Everyone wants to think of education as an equalizer — the place where upward mobility gets started,” said Greg J. Duncan, an economist at the University of California, Irvine. “But on virtually every measure we have, the gaps between high- and low-income kids are widening. It’s very disheartening.”

Many reasons are advanced for the growing gap in success. Poor kids more often come from divided homes, and have less family support. Then there's expensess. "Even after accounting for financial aid, the costs of attending a public university have risen 60 percent in the past two decades," the Times reports.

“It’s becoming increasingly unlikely that a low-income student, no matter how intrinsically bright, moves up the socioeconomic ladder,” said Sean Reardon, a sociologist at Stanford. “What we’re talking about is a threat to the American dream.”

Have you seen this in your schools or families or friendship circles? Or is the Times story wrong. Is something else at play?