Weitkamp 1

Abby Weitkamp

Jason King

AP Seminar

14 October 2016

Opportunities versus Socioeconomic Status

Opportunity is a situation or condition favorable for attainment of a goal.

(Opportunity). A persons opportunities often depend upon their socioeconomic status.

Socioeconomic status is the level of influence a persons education, environment, and family

background has on her life. Socioeconomic status is classified as low, middle, or high (Brogan).

Generally, a person will not move up a class if they have a low socioeconomic status or down a

class if they have a high socioeconomic status (DeParle). However, the middle socioeconomic

status is fluid because people move in and out (DeParle). Students with high socioeconomic

status are usually have an unfair advantage over low socioeconomic status students. This

advantage is evident in schools today and the socioeconomic status of students can affect their

opportunities in school substantially. Looking at success through low socioeconomic status

brings about the question: Is the socioeconomic status of schools and students causative or

correlative of students taking advantage of opportunities?

Family background refers to the origin and details about the education and income of

parents. A parents education can alter how she values the education of her child. Highly

educated parents are more likely than lesser educated parents to enhance their childs

development (Egalite). A more educated parent is more likely to be involved in her childs

education. Parents with a higher income are more likely to place their child in a better school that
 Weitkamp 2

is in a better community (Egalite). Parents with a lower income must work more to generate a

decent income and have less time to spend with their children as a result. This lack of parental

involvement can also lead to a lack of extracurriculars that are vital to a childs development

(Egalite). Also, the higher the income, the higher the college attendance (Griswold). Parental

education and income depend upon each other. Lesser educations make it difficult to get a high

paying job and lower incomes may have the inability to pay for a higher education. However,

family background is not the only factor of socioeconomic status and can relate to race in terms

of where you live.

Race is a prominent factor in determining the socioeconomic status of an individual.

Communities are often segregated by race and therefore by socioeconomic status because many

minorities have a low socioeconomic status (American). This segregation may be exacerbated by

discrimination which causes more disparities between races. An example of a disparity would be

giving schools in African American communities fewer resources than Caucasian American

communities receive. Another example is not allowing other races to move up a socioeconomic

status (American). Overall, race can also influence the socioeconomic factor environment.

The environments of students differ greatly across the realm of education. The

environment of a person can refer to their community, school, or home environment. Community

environments may consist of drugs and alcohol which can cause issues in student achievement.

Some examples of these issues may be memory failure, brain developmental problems, or

delayed puberty. Schools in low socioeconomic status communities are at a disadvantage

because they do not have the money to buy critical resources that high socioeconomic status

schools have access to. This lack of funding in schools leads to underpaid and undertrained
 Weitkamp 3

teachers and staff in schools that have a low socioeconomic status (Brogan). The home of a low

socioeconomic status student can lack basic life necessities such as electricity, gas, or water. It

can also contain domestic violence or abuse which can lead to mentally scarring effects on

students. These effects can have a negative impact on student achievement (Brogan). The home

environment of a student with a low socioeconomic status is often not supportive which can lead

to a lack of motivation among students (Brogan). This shows that motivation is also an important

aspect of student success.

Motivation offsets socioeconomic status in relation to student success. Motivation is

defined as the state or condition of having a strong reason to act or accomplish something.

(Motivation). A students motivation is the most important factor of success. If the student has

no drive to be successful in school, no success will result. Motivation can be affected by the cost

of education, and feelings of inadequacy (Brogan; Hart). The cost of a higher education today is

extensive, and many people in the United States struggle to find the funds to be able to attend. In

2015, the average cost of tuition and fees for an in-state student for a four-year degree at a public

university was $39,508 (Patton). This does not include other items a student must pay for such as

books or housing (Patton). Many low socioeconomic status students believe this price for a

higher education is not feasible and do not attempt high achievement because of it. Feelings of

inadequacy is also a major factor because of the effects on the mental health of a student. These

feelings can lead to a lack of effort in students. The cost of a higher education as well as feelings

of inadequacy can cause many high school drop-outs (Hart). In both cases, the motivation to

succeed in school diminishes.

Motivation directly correlates with persistence. Persistence in this topic, refers to the

continuous work of students. This continuous work must be driven by the motivation to achieve

a goal. The idea that hard work and grit lead to success used to be common but is not anymore

because of all the other factors in success. Grit is the desire to achieve a goal and those who

believe they have grit are more likely to overcome obstacles and problems in order to achieve a

goal (Huang). Overall, grit combined with persistence has a major positive influence on success,

especially in students, and should be implemented into every students life to help them have a

better chance of achieving their goals, thus raising the socioeconomic status.

In conclusion, socioeconomic status is not causative of students taking advantage of

opportunities in schools. There are many factors involved in determining the socioeconomic

status of a person and all of these factors have their own effects. And while socioeconomic status

plays a major role in student success, it is also offset by motivation, persistence, and grit. The

success of a student can have lasting effects on her day-to-day life.

Works Cited

American Psychological Association. "Ethnic and Race Minorities & Socioeconomic Status."

American Psychological Association American Psychological Association. Web. 25 Sept.

2016. <http://www.apa.org/pi/ses/resources/publications/minorities.aspx>.

Brogan, Ray. "Socioeconomic Status." Education.com. N.p., 23 Dec. 2009. Web. 22 Sept. 2016.

<http://www.education.com/reference/article/socioeconomic-status/>.

DeParle, Jason. "Harder for Americans to Rise From Lower Rungs." The New York Times 4 Jan.

2012: Web. 23 Sept. 2016. < https://goo.gl/DjOLyS>.

Egalite, Anna J. How Family Background Influences Student Achievement - Education Next.

RSS, Education Next, 6 Oct. 2016,

http://educationnext.org/how-family-background-influences-student-achievement/.

Griswold, Alison. Here's The Startling Degree To Which Your Parents Determine Your

Success. Business Insider, Business Insider, Inc, 24 Jan. 2014,

http://www.businessinsider.com/parents-determine-child-success-income-inequality-2014

-1.

Hart, Lucy. "The Effect of Socioeconomic Status on Student Achievement." Our Everyday Life.

StudioD, n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2016. <goo.gl/9iIx5q>.

Huang, Haigen. "Can Students Themselves Narrow The Socioeconomic-Status-Based

Achievement Gap Through Their Own Persistence And Learning Time?." Education

Policy Analysis Archives 23.108 (2015): ERIC. Web. 20 Sept. 2016.

<http://epaa.asu.edu/ojs/article/view/1977>.
 Weitkamp 6

Motivation. Dictionary.com, http://www.dictionary.com/browse/motivation?s=t. Accessed 6

Oct. 2016

"Opportunity." Dictionary.com, www.dictionary.com/browse/opportunity?s=t. Accessed 4 Oct.

2016.

Patton, Mike. The Cost of College: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow. Forbes, Forbes

Magazine, 19 Nov. 2015, goo.gl/wzabTY.