Peers who shun academic achievement are common in poor, inner city and rural schools where students of color feel systematically excluded from white, middle class society. Racism is still a significant factor in educational mobility for students of color. Although most Americans no longer concede that they believe black and Hispanic students are innately intellectually inferior, they do attribute these students' school problems largely to their own lack of desire to do better, rather than to structural factors that might impede their advancement. Thus, most middle- class voters are reluctant to vote for policies that would ameliorate vestiges of racism. Racism also works to undermine the self-confidence of students of color and can cause them to doubt their abilities and thus remove themselves from academic competition with mainstream students.
Poor children tend to go to poor schools that are attended largely by other poor children.
These schools, largely in the overcrowded urban centers, have been shown to enjoy fewer resources and less qualified teachers, and have more disciplinary problems and higher turnover of both students and staff. They also offer less rigorous coursework and generally have lower aspirations for their students. Students who attend these schools are more likely to finish school unprepared for postsecondary study than are students from suburban schools, and they are less likely to be competitive for admission to selective colleges because their test scores reflect less rigorous preparation. Segregation of black and Latino students. Black and Latino students are increasingly likely to be educated in segregated schools that provide fewer opportunities for inter-racial contact and the development of personal and social networks that can increase cultural capital and promote social mobility.