Without question, the urban districts have a long way to go to catch up with their affluent suburban counterparts.

But this time it is the minority parents who are angry at what they perceive as the broken promise of a new school, while their more affluent and politically savvy counterparts in Riverdale got exactly what they wanted.

Underfunded libraries also tend to be in worse physical condition and less user-friendly than their affluent counterparts.

Dr. Messick wrote 20 books and 175 scholarly articles, many arguing that testing should never be used to discriminate against children from disadvantaged backgrounds, who tend to score below more affluent counterparts on standardized tests.

In the extreme, compensation for such children will be less than one-fifth of that which their most affluent counterparts will be entitled to.

The No Child Left Behind Act broke new ground when it required the states to educate impoverished children up to the same standards as their affluent counterparts, in exchange for federal aid.

Low-income students still lag far behind their affluent counterparts.

As education secretary, Rod Paige argued valiantly for the premise behind that law: poor minority children deserve the same skilled teachers and high-quality schools as their affluent counterparts.

At issue is whether the state should make up the spending difference between urban school districts, which are limited in the amounts they can raise through property taxes, and their more affluent suburban counterparts.

They have also given cover to politicians who believe that the achievement gap can never be closed and that minority children can never reach the levels attained by their white, affluent counterparts.