IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/feb/artefa/00825.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Five Facts About the First-Generation Excellence Gap

Author

Listed:
  • Uditi Karna
  • John List
  • Andrew Simon
  • Haruka Uchida

Abstract

Parents are crucial to children's educational success, but the role of parental education in fostering academic excellence remains underexplored. Using longitudinal administrative data covering all North Carolina public school students, we document five facts about first generation excellence gaps. We find large excellence gaps emerge by 3rd grade across all demographics and persist through high school. Yet, socioeconomic status and school quality explain only one-third of the gaps. The overarching facts reveal that excellence gaps reflect deeper challenges rooted in parental human capital that manifest early and compound over time, rather than merely consequences of socioeconomic disadvantage or school quality differences.

Suggested Citation

  • Uditi Karna & John List & Andrew Simon & Haruka Uchida, 2025. "Five Facts About the First-Generation Excellence Gap," Artefactual Field Experiments 00825, The Field Experiments Website.
    • Handle: RePEc:feb:artefa:00825
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://s3.amazonaws.com/fieldexperiments-papers2/papers/00825.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Helena Holmlund & Mikael Lindahl & Erik Plug, 2011. "The Causal Effect of Parents' Schooling on Children's Schooling: A Comparison of Estimation Methods," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 49(3), pages 615-651, September.
    2. Jesse Rothstein, 2010. "Teacher Quality in Educational Production: Tracking, Decay, and Student Achievement," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 125(1), pages 175-214.
    3. John A. List & Julie Pernaudet & Dana L. Suskind, 2021. "Shifting parental beliefs about child development to foster parental investments and improve school readiness outcomes," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 12(1), pages 1-10, December.
    4. Hanushek, Eric A. & Peterson, Paul E. & Talpey, Laura M. & Woessmann, Ludger, 2019. "The Unwavering SES Achievement Gap: Trends in U.S. Student Performance," Working Paper Series rwp19-012, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    5. Flavio Cunha & James J. Heckman & Susanne M. Schennach, 2010. "Estimating the Technology of Cognitive and Noncognitive Skill Formation," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 78(3), pages 883-931, May.
    6. James Heckman & Flavio Cunha, 2007. "The Technology of Skill Formation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 97(2), pages 31-47, May.
    7. Matthias Doepke & Giuseppe Sorrenti & Fabrizio Zilibotti, 2019. "The Economics of Parenting," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 11(1), pages 55-84, August.
    8. Raj Chetty & John N. Friedman & Jonah E. Rockoff, 2014. "Measuring the Impacts of Teachers II: Teacher Value-Added and Student Outcomes in Adulthood," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(9), pages 2633-2679, September.
    9. Uditi Karna & Min Sok Lee & John A. List & Andrew Simon & Haruka Uchida, 2025. "Measuring racial educational disparities over time amongst top achievers," Nature, Nature, vol. 639(8056), pages 976-984, March.
    10. Evan K. Rose & Jonathan T. Schellenberg & Yotam Shem-Tov, 2022. "The Effects of Teacher Quality on Adult Criminal Justice Contact," NBER Working Papers 30274, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    11. Barbara Biasi & Chao Fu & John Stromme, 2021. "Equilibrium in the Market for Public School Teachers: District Wage Strategies and Teacher Comparative Advantage," NBER Working Papers 28530, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Patrick Kline & Evan K Rose & Christopher R Walters, 2022. "Systemic Discrimination Among Large U.S. Employers [“Teachers and Student Achievement in the Chicago Public High Schools,”]," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, Oxford University Press, vol. 137(4), pages 1963-2036.
    13. C. Kirabo Jackson & Jonah E. Rockoff & Douglas O. Staiger, 2014. "Teacher Effects and Teacher-Related Policies," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 6(1), pages 801-825, August.
    14. Philippe Aghion & Ufuk Akcigit & Ari Hyytinen & Otto Toivanen, 2023. "2022 Klein Lecture Parental Education And Invention: The Finnish Enigma," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 64(2), pages 453-490, May.
    15. Bryan S. Graham & Geert Ridder & Petra Thiemann & Gema Zamarro, 2023. "Teacher-to-Classroom Assignment and Student Achievement," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 41(4), pages 1328-1340, October.
    16. Rothstein, Jesse, 2017. "Measuring the Impacts of Teachers: Comment," Department of Economics, Working Paper Series qt0bt6r8br, Department of Economics, Institute for Business and Economic Research, UC Berkeley.
    17. Gary S. Becker & Scott Duke Kominers & Kevin M. Murphy & Jörg L. Spenkuch, 2018. "A Theory of Intergenerational Mobility," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 126(S1), pages 7-25.
    18. Flavio Cunha & James J. Heckman, 2008. "Formulating, Identifying and Estimating the Technology of Cognitive and Noncognitive Skill Formation," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 43(4).
    19. C. Kirabo Jackson, 2018. "What Do Test Scores Miss? The Importance of Teacher Effects on Non–Test Score Outcomes," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 126(5), pages 2072-2107.
    20. Charles T. Clotfelter & Helen F. Ladd & Jacob L. Vigdor, 2006. "Teacher-Student Matching and the Assessment of Teacher Effectiveness," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 41(4).
    21. Anna Stansbury & Robert Schultz, 2023. "The Economics Profession's Socioeconomic Diversity Problem," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 37(4), pages 207-230, Fall.
    22. Martins, Lurdes & Veiga, Paula, 2010. "Do inequalities in parents' education play an important role in PISA students' mathematics achievement test score disparities?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 29(6), pages 1016-1033, December.
    23. Esteban M. Aucejo & Jacob French & Paola Ugalde Araya & Basit Zafar, 2025. "Understanding Gaps in College Outcomes by First-Generation Status," NBER Working Papers 34129, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    24. Esteban Aucejo & Patrick Coate & Jane Cooley Fruehwirth & Sean Kelly & Zachary Mozenter, 2022. "Teacher Effectiveness and Classroom Composition: Understanding Match Effects in the Classroom," The Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 132(648), pages 3047-3064.
    25. Petra E. Todd & Kenneth I. Wolpin, 2003. "On The Specification and Estimation of The Production Function for Cognitive Achievement," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 113(485), pages 3-33, February.
    26. Jesse Rothstein, 2017. "Measuring the Impacts of Teachers: Comment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(6), pages 1656-1684, June.
    27. Condie, Scott & Lefgren, Lars & Sims, David, 2014. "Teacher heterogeneity, value-added and education policy," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 76-92.
    28. Nathan Petek & Nolan G. Pope, 2023. "The Multidimensional Impact of Teachers on Students," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 131(4), pages 1057-1107.
    29. Aghion, Philippe & Akcigit, Ufuk & Hyytinen, Ari & Toivanen, Otto, 2023. "Parental Education and Invention: The Finnish Enigma," CEPR Discussion Papers 17905, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    30. Ariel Kalil & Rebecca Ryan & Michael Corey, 2012. "Diverging Destinies: Maternal Education and the Developmental Gradient in Time With Children," Demography, Springer;Population Association of America (PAA), vol. 49(4), pages 1361-1383, November.
    31. Petter Lundborg & Anton Nilsson & Dan-Olof Rooth, 2014. "Parental Education and Offspring Outcomes: Evidence from the Swedish Compulsory School Reform," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 6(1), pages 253-278, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Delgado, William, 2025. "Disparate teacher effects, comparative advantage, and match quality," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    2. Xu, Hui & Zhang, Zheyuan & Zhao, Zhong, 2023. "Parental socioeconomic status and children’s cognitive ability in China," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    3. Lavy, Victor & Megalokonomou, Rigissa, 2024. "Alternative Measures of Teachers' Value Added and Impact on Short and Long-Term Outcomes: Evidence from Random Assignment," IZA Discussion Papers 17121, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. M. Caridad Araujo & Pedro Carneiro & Yyannú Cruz-Aguayo & Norbert Schady, 2016. "Teacher Quality and Learning Outcomes in Kindergarten," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 131(3), pages 1415-1453.
    5. Figlio, D. & Karbownik, K. & Salvanes, K.G., 2016. "Education Research and Administrative Data," Handbook of the Economics of Education,, Elsevier.
    6. Hinrichs, Peter, 2021. "What kind of teachers are schools looking for? Evidence from a randomized field experiment," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 186(C), pages 395-411.
    7. Emmanuel Ngoy & Carla Sá & Paula Veiga, 2024. "Exploring socioeconomic-related inequality in children’s cognitive achievement in Peru," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 22(3), pages 809-832, September.
    8. Thijssen, Maximiliaan W.P. & Rege, Mari & Solheim, Oddny J., 2022. "Teacher relationship skills and student learning," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    9. Goel, Deepti & Barooah, Bidisha, 2018. "Drivers of Student Performance: Evidence from Higher Secondary Public Schools in Delhi," GLO Discussion Paper Series 231, Global Labor Organization (GLO).
    10. Busso, Matias & Montaño, Sebastián & Muñoz-Morales, Juan & Pope, Nolan G., 2024. "The unintended consequences of merit-based teacher selection: Evidence from a large-scale reform in Colombia," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 239(C).
    11. Emilia Del Bono & Marco Francesconi & Yvonne Kelly & Amanda Sacker, 2016. "Early Maternal Time Investment and Early Child Outcomes," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 126(596), pages 96-135, October.
    12. Koedel, Cory & Mihaly, Kata & Rockoff, Jonah E., 2015. "Value-added modeling: A review," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 180-195.
    13. Jo Blanden & Matthias Doepke & Jan Stuhler, 2022. "Education inequality," CEP Discussion Papers dp1849, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    14. Akgündüz, Yusuf Emre & Akyol, Pelin & Aydemir, Abdurrahman B. & Demirci, Murat & Kirdar, Murat Güray, 2023. "Maternal Education and Early Child Development: The Roles of Parental Support for Learning, Learning Materials, and Father Characteristics," IZA Discussion Papers 16328, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    15. Nguyen, Nhu & Ost, Ben & Qureshi, Javaeria A., 2025. "OK Boomer: Generational differences in teacher quality," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 243(C).
    16. Jiaming Soh & Kegon T. K. Tan, 2020. "The Nurture Effects of Multidimensional Parental Skills on College Attainment," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 14(1), pages 1-42.
    17. Eric Parsons & Cory Koedel & Li Tan, 2019. "Accounting for Student Disadvantage in Value-Added Models," Journal of Educational and Behavioral Statistics, , vol. 44(2), pages 144-179, April.
    18. David Blazar, 2018. "Validating Teacher Effects on Students’ Attitudes and Behaviors: Evidence from Random Assignment of Teachers to Students," Education Finance and Policy, MIT Press, vol. 13(3), pages 281-309, Summer.
    19. Lisa Grazzini, 2016. "The Importance of the Quality of Education: Some Determinants and its Effects on Earning Returns and Economic Growth," ECONOMIA PUBBLICA, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 2016(2), pages 43-82.
    20. Daniel Gladwell & Gurleen Popli & Aki Tsuchiya, 2022. "Predictors of becoming not in education, employment or training: A dynamic comparison of the direct and indirect determinants," Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A, Royal Statistical Society, vol. 185(S2), pages 485-514, December.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • I21 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Analysis of Education
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • I30 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General
    • J08 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - General - - - Labor Economics Policies

    NEP fields

    This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports:

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:feb:artefa:00825. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Franco Daniel Albino (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.fieldexperiments.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.