Teach First classroom, UK

Background often determines a child’s educational and life prospects.

• In Chile, 95% of children in the highest income quintile complete secondary school, while only 30% of children in the lowest income quintile complete the same level of education.
  
• In Germany, 54% of 20-24 year-old ethnic minorities do not have the qualifications they need to obtain a skilled job.
  
• In Australia, students in the lowest income quartile are 2.5 years behind the average in science, reading and math.
  
• In Lebanon, students in state schools are 29% less likely to attend high school than their private school peers.
  
• In the United States, half of low-income children do not graduate from high school, and those who do perform on average at an eighth grade level.
  

Educational need is largely a function of several factors that persist in countries all over the world. Forces such as poverty, discrimination, limited social mobility and historical political structures create severe challenges for some groups of students, and at times, entire societies. Compounding this, many school systems lack the capacity to help students facing these severe challenges attain a quality education and or even, in some cases, access education at all. Additionally, prevailing beliefs and assumptions have not historically led to the necessary policies and investments to address these issues.

The social enterprises that comprise Teach For All are working to address the educational needs facing children growing up today, while building larger movements to promote the fundamental, systemic changes necessary to ensure educational opportunity over the long term.