Socioeconomic Factors

Children in Poverty in our Communities.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau Poverty statistics, the United States has one of the highest child poverty rates among developed countries. In fact, before the pandemic hit (in 2019) more than 10.46 million U.S. children (under the age of 18) were living in poverty which represents 14.4 percent of kids in this country (Semega, Kollar, Shrider, & Creame, 2020). Increasing child poverty is worrying for schools because poverty at home is the strongest statistical predictor of how well a child will perform at school.

Connection Between Poverty and Learning

Research demonstrates that socioeconomic status is a strong predictor of students’ academic progress and success. Academic gaps resulting from this issue begin in the initial years and continue to increase in later years. Lack of resources plays a major role in deficiencies as kids are not well prepared when they enter kindergarten. There is a clear gap and problem in both reading and math skills when compared to students who come from more affluent families. The students who come from higher socio-economic backgrounds tend to show better results when exposed to the same reading and math curriculum (Garcia & Weiss, 2017). The data clearly shows that students who belong to higher socio-economic status perform well in reading and math. Further, students who come from families/backgrounds in the middle of the socioeconomic status distribution, are at advantage in these skills when compared to students in the lowest group. In addition to this, children who do not have resources also lag in non-cognitive skills (Garcia & Weiss, 2017). These skills include but are not limited to the ability to think critically and creatively, problem solving, persistence, and control over oneself. These skills are extremely important, as it is important for all-around development of students. Such skills are linked to better outcomes at the college level and success once students enter their respective professional fields (Garcia & Weiss, 2017; García 2015; García and Weiss 2016; Levin 2012a, 2012b).