To see how the circumstances of childhood shape the lives of young adults, Karl Alexander and his colleagues followed a sample of nearly 800 children from the start of first grade at Baltimore public schools into their late 20s. Their findings, documented in a new book, The Long Shadow, illustrate just how family background can impede a young person’s ability to get ahead. Students who fought through a set of socioeconomic disadvantages were rarely able to advance in life by performing well in school.
http://chronicle.com/article/How-the-Long-Shadow-of/148329/
The Chronicle of Higher Education