Education professionals and policy makers have been working to "close the achievement gap" for some time. Differences in school performance for children from diverse and different family backgrounds have been at the core of past and present social, political, and education reform initiatives and practices. Previous research suggests that…

Estimates effects of neighbor and family characteristics on likelihood students will complete their schooling using national-level data from Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Data indicate racial composition of a neighborhood affects black but not white children. Family-level characteristics such as maternal education and family income were…