The Education Exchange: The Ever-Stubborn, Often-Widening Achievement Gap

Trends worsen in traditional public and Catholic, remain static in charter, and get better in DOD schools

Photo of Patrick WolfPatrick J. Wolf, a Distinguished Professor of Education Policy at the University of Arkansas, joins Paul E. Peterson to discuss Wolf’s paper, “The Nation’s Achievement Inequality Report Card: An Assessment of Interquartile Test Score Gaps and Equality Trends in Traditional Public, Charter, Catholic, and Department of Defense Schools,” which was presented at “School Choice: Impacts on Participants, Non-Participants, Educators, and Entrepreneurs,” a conference hosted by the Harvard Kennedy School’s Program on Education Policy and Governance on May 7 and 8, 2026.

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