With one more element - how the kids are taught to read. A little-known fact is revealed by the reading research studies. The "whole language" method shows a pronounced bias against black children - for some obscure reason, they have greater difficulty learning to read by this method than do white children. On the contrary, the research on phonetic reading programs shows no difference between the races.
Nothing could be crueler than putting black children into reading programs where they are doomed to fail. Don't underestimate the destructive power of not learning to read. It starts the entire syndrome of black problems: loss of self-esteem, drop-outs, drug use, unemployment, out-of-wedlock children, gang murders, prison, and the total disintegration of the inner city.
OK, as a non-educator, what is the difference between the two methods, and what would I have learned in first grade in the early 80s?