Education can break the intergenerational cycle of disadvantage but, like socioeconomic status, education is also persistent across generations (Fletcher & Han, 2019; Hertz et al., 2007). This persistence can erode the power of education to fuel the mobility prospects of members of some groups relative to others. To describe variation in the mobility-enhancing potential of education, we examine racial/ethnic patterns in intergenerational education mobility – both upward and downward mobility. Preliminary results suggest persistence in educational attainment across generations may be lower for Hispanic, Asian, and American Indian/Alaska Native (AIAN) demographic groups relative to non-Hispanic White Americans. While Asian Americans appear to have greater upward mobility relative to non-Hispanic Whites, non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic, and AIAN Americans have greater downward mobility. Females across all races/ethnicities tend to experience greater educational mobility relative to their male counterparts.

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