The impact of neighborhood disadvantage on the black-white achievement gap

Contextual analysis of the achievement gap has gained much momentum within the last few decades. This study furthers the discourse by examining the applicability of 2 sociological contextual development approaches on achievement. We analyzed 79 neighborhoods organized by the level of crime and poverty from both a social disorganization and social mobilization perspective. We found that the social mobilization perspective was more consistent with the experiences of Black students, whereas social disorganization theory better explained White achievement outcomes. The findings also suggest that White students in disadvantaged neighborhoods might be a grossly overlooked at-risk group. (Contains 4 tables, 1 figure and 5 footnotes.)