| The shortened name of a study published by the United States government in the mid-1960's called Equality of Educational Opportunity. It was the first social science study commisioned by Congress (as part of the Civil Rights Act) and is sort of a landmark in research because it was intended to directly affect government policy. The results of this study were a very important factor in the decision to desegregate public schools.
The idea behind it was a new one at the time. Coleman researched not only the resources available in segregated schools but the test scores to assess. While his findings showed that performance had a lot more to do with family background than per pupil expenditure, he also found a relationship between the backgrounds of other students at the same schools and their success. Although this may sound ridiculous now, it paved the way for busing and shattered the idea that simply pumping more money into materials for schools didn't directly relate to improved education. This pissed off LBJ because his whole "Great Society" platform was founded on the idea that social deficits could be remedied by funding.
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