According to Summers, a child born in the poorest 10 percent of society has only a one-third chance of rising above the bottom 20 percent.
“The American dream has become more remote,” he said.
Summers emphasized the achievement gap between children from rich and poor families, as well as the disparity in access to a college education among children from advantaged and disadvantaged economic backgrounds.
Saying that “need-blind admissions is not enough,” Summers noted the College’s new financial aid program, by which parents who earn less than $40,000 will no longer be asked to contribute to the cost of their child’s Harvard education.
Summers called on Harvard’s “social scientists” to increase equal access to education in the U.S. public school system.
“The battle for America’s future will be won or lost in American public schools,” he said.
—Staff writer Tina Wang can be reached at tinawang@fas.harvard.edu.