The McKinsey Social Service Office has released a report which highlights the academic acheivement gaps present in the US.  Below is the summary of the article from their site.  You can download the report here.

"McKinsey's report, The Economic Impact of the Achievement Gap in America's Schools, examines the dimensions and economic impact of the education achievement gap. While much controversy exists on the causes of the gap and on what the nation should do to address it, the full range of the achievement gap's character and consequences has been poorly understood.

This report examines the dimensions of four distinct gaps in education: (1) between the United States and other nations, (2) between black and Latino students and white students, (3) between students of different income levels, and (4) between similar students schooled in different systems or regions.

The report finds that the underutilization of human potential as reflected in the achievement gap is extremely costly. Existing gaps impose the economic equivalent of a permanent national recession—one substantially larger than the deep recession the country is currently experiencing. For individuals, avoidable shortfalls in academic achievement impose heavy and often tragic consequences via lower earnings, poor health, and higher rates of incarceration.

Gaps in academic achievement cost the US economy trillions of dollars a year. These gaps take various forms: for example, between children in the United States and their counterparts in other countries, among students of various racial and ethnic backgrounds, and among students of different income levels. Yet there is reason to believe these gaps can be closed.

This research brief summarizes key findings in McKinsey’s recently published report The Economic Impact of the Achievement Gap in America’s Schools."