Research keeps on reinforcing the importance of family structure, so why aren’t we using the metric?
Wisconsin collects enormous amounts of education data. We measure test scores, graduation rates, absenteeism, discipline, race, disability and family income. Yet one important factor remains largely missing from the state’s education dashboards: family structure.
That omission matters because Wisconsin has one of the most serious educational disparities in America. On the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), Wisconsin had the nation’s largest Black-white achievement gap in fourth-grade reading, a 45-point difference. We have spent years debating why this gap persists. Race, poverty, school resources, teacher quality and curriculum have all received attention. But another variable deserves consideration: the circumstances in which children spend thousands of hours outside the classroom.
A new report from the American Enterprise Institute, “Family Structure, a Key Factor Hidden in Plain Sight: The Case for Federal Reporting in Education,” argues that family structure should be routinely reported alongside other educational indicators. Researchers note that NAEP has collected information about family structure for years, yet that information is not routinely incorporated into achievement results.
The findings are significant. Using data from the National Survey of Children’s Health, researchers found that 74 percent of children ages 6 to 17 living in traditional married-parent families received mostly A’s and B’s, compared to 60 percent of children from non-traditional or unmarried-parent families. Even after accounting for race, income, parental education, sex and age, children from non-traditional households were 13 percent less likely to receive good grades. They also were more likely to see schools contact their families about behavioral or learning problems.
A second study, “Good Fathers, Flourishing Kids: The Importance of Fatherhood in Virginia,” found similarly large differences associated with father presence. Among children living in intact families, more than 85 percent of both Black and white children received mostly A’s and B’s. Among children in father-absent families, fewer than two-thirds of both groups received good grades.
This does not mean family structure determines a child’s destiny. It does not mean single parents love their children less or are less committed. Nor does it eliminate the importance of race, poverty or school quality. It means family structure is another measurable condition associated with children’s educational experiences — and one we should stop ignoring. This, is where Wisconsin should begin thinking about what I call “the Time Gap.”
Every child receives the same 24 hours each day, but those hours are not experienced equally. Between birth and adulthood, children accumulate roughly 157,000 hours. Some are filled with reading, conversation, mentoring, structured activities and productive challenges. Others provide fewer opportunities for development. The Time Gap is not simply about how much time children have. It is about the developmental value of that time. Small differences repeated over thousands of hours can become differences in knowledge, habits, skills and preparation for adulthood.
This may be a missing link in Wisconsin’s stubborn racial achievement gap. If Black children are disproportionately likely to grow up in single-parent or father-absent households, and family structure is associated with differences in adult time, supervision, economic resources and developmental opportunities, then some portion of what we describe as a racial achievement gap may also reflect a time gap.
That possibility deserves investigation — not because it provides a convenient explanation for Wisconsin’s racial disparities, but because it may reveal an area where policy can make a difference. A school can provide an excellent six-hour instructional day, but it cannot control the other 18 hours, weekends, summers or years before kindergarten. If those hours differ in developmental value, the consequences eventually will show up in the classroom.
Wisconsin should measure family structure alongside academic and behavioral outcomes — not to judge families, but to identify where children may need additional support. Imagine a state dashboard identifying ZIP codes and neighborhoods with high concentrations of single-parent households, chronic absenteeism, low literacy and limited access to enrichment. That information would not label families. It would help communities direct tutoring, mentoring, after-school programs, summer learning, reading initiatives and other resources toward children who may be missing developmental opportunities.
The goal would not be to replace parents. It would be to focus developmental capacity around children who have fewer resources of time and support available to them. Wisconsin cannot give children more than 157,000 hours between birth and adulthood. But it can help ensure that more of those hours are filled with experiences that build knowledge, skills and relationships. If Wisconsin is serious about closing the nation’s largest Black-white achievement gap — and ultimately the broader skills gap — it needs to look beyond what happens inside the schoolhouse.
Data does not assign blame. It clarifies reality. Wisconsin cannot close a gap it refuses to measure.
Goldy Brown III is a native of Beloit and a professor of education at Whitworth University in Spokane, Wash. He has 25 years of experience in education, including five years as an award-winning principal in Beloit. Brown is also a member of the Conservative Education Reform Network, affiliated with the American Enterprise Institute.
Viewpoints reflect the opinion of the author and not necessarily the position of the Badger Institute.
