According to Annette Lareau and Calarco, the social class of parents has the power to shape the life chances of their children, even though Americans tend to oppose this idea (2012: 61). A study conducted by economist Tom Hertz found that forty-two percent of low-income American families remained in the same income class two generations later (Hayes 2012: 61). Economists Daniel Aaronson and Bhashkar Mazumder also found that class mobility has sharply declined since 1980 and can be partially explained by education (Hayes 2012: 61). This paper is a mapping of the educational trajectory of a first-generation college student from a working-class background. The focus will be on how the level of meritocratic achievement, tracking placement, and
