Such outcomes might lead one to conclude that the achievement gap cannot in fact be closed by education—and that the reasons lie beyond the schoolhouse door. Yet measuring continues unabated. That is perhaps because, as Banfield noted, the idea that some problems are insoluble is morally unacceptable to a substantial portion of educated Americans.27 When it comes to gaps in school achievement, it seems that in the absence of discernable progress in results, the resources devoted to ongoing measurement becomes itself a sign of moral earnestness.
