Study Confirms Widening Enrollment Gap

(from Bloomberg) Confirming what many independent schools are experiencing first-hand, a major study from the National Bureau of Economic Research finds that fewer students from median-income families are enrolling at independent schools. The trend is most apparent in urban areas, where the gap between students from high- and median-income families was 19 points in 2013, up from 5 points in 1968. Along with the closing of many Catholic schools, the decline in middle-class enrollment reflects "the combination of rising income inequality and rising tuitions," said study co-author Sean Reardon of Stanford University.