Sun, Feb 24, 2008 (2:07 a.m.)

A new study says the growing divide between Americans who attain a college education and those who don’t suggests that fewer children from families with low or middle incomes will be able to significantly improve their economic standing in life.

The report, “Getting Ahead or Losing Ground: Mobility in America,” is the first in a series of studies on the economic mobility of Americans sponsored by the Pew Charitable Trusts, a nonprofit public policy research group.

The findings released Wednesday show Hispanic and black Americans are less likely to earn college degrees than Asians or whites, and, as a result, Hispanics and blacks are less likely to land in the ranks of the middle class.

Overall, it also showed that only 11 percent of children from American families with the lowest incomes have earned college degrees, while 53 percent of children in families with the highest incomes have earned degrees.

But with a college education, a child from a family whose income is in the nation’s lowest 20 percent has almost a 20 percent chance of ending up among the nation’s highest earners and has a 62 percent chance of ending up in the middle class, the report says.

A better income can be the means to secure a stable home and health insurance for one’s family and to earn money for retirement. People who have such economic stability typically rely less on public assistance as adults and add to the tax base that supports programs designed to help improve opportunities for people who are struggling. It is, therefore, in the nation’s best interest to have more college graduates than fewer.

In the coming months, researchers will explore the reasons and possible solutions for this widening education gap.

It is obvious we need to ensure that the nation’s children receive a quality education, which includes a real opportunity to attend college. This means adequately funding our public schools and finding ways to make college more affordable. It also requires parents to realize just how important a solid education is and to take an active role in their children’s learning.