<P> Mobility is most often quantitatively measured in terms of change in economic mobility such as changes in income or wealth . Occupation is another measure used in researching mobility, which usually involves both quantitative and qualitative analysis of data, but other studies may concentrate on social class . Mobility may be intragenerational, within the same generation, or intergenerational, between one or more generations . Intragenerational mobility is less frequent, representing "rags to riches" cases in terms of upward mobility . Intergenerational upward mobility is more common, where children or grandchildren are in economic circumstances better than those of their parents or grandparents . In the US, this type of mobility is described as one of the fundamental features of the "American Dream" even though there is less such mobility than almost all other OECD countries . </P> <P> Social mobility is highly dependent on the overall structure of social statuses and occupations in a given society . The extent of differing social positions and the manner in which they fit together or overlap provides the overall social structure of such positions . Add to this the differing dimensions of status, such as Max Weber's delineation of economic stature, prestige, and power and we see the potential for complexity in a given social stratification system . Such dimensions within a given society can be seen as independent variables that can explain differences in social mobility at different times and places in different stratification systems . In addition, the same variables that contribute as intervening variables to the valuation of income or wealth and that also affect social status, social class, and social inequality do affect social mobility . These include sex or gender, race or ethnicity, and age . </P> <P> Education provides one of the most promising chances of upward social mobility into a better social class and attaining a higher social status, regardless of current social standing in the overall structure of society . However, the stratification of social classes and high wealth inequality directly affects the educational opportunities people are able to obtain and succeed in, and the chance for one's upward social mobility . In other words, social class and a family's socioeconomic status directly affect a child's chances for obtaining a quality education and succeeding in life . By age five, there are significant developmental differences between low, middle, and upper class children's cognitive and noncognitive skills . </P> <P> Among older children, evidence suggests that the gap between high - and low - income primary - and secondary - school students has increased by almost 40 percent over the past thirty years . These differences persist and widen into young adulthood and beyond . Just as the gap in K--12 test scores between high - and low - income students is growing, the difference in college graduation rates between the rich and the poor is also growing . Although the college graduation rate among the poorest households increased by about 4 percentage points between those born in the early 1960s and those born in the early 1980s, over this same period, the graduation rate increased by almost 20 percentage points for the wealthiest households . </P>

Social mobility is the movement of an individual within social class