Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

The Impact of Poverty on Education

  • By Deb Moore
  • 05/01/11
The talk is all about the need for a good education. Not just a high school education, but also an education beyond high school. The first baby boomers turn 65 this year (2011), meaning we will lose about 46M skilled workers as these boomers retire through the next 20 years. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, by 2020 there will be a 22 percent increase in the number of jobs that require education beyond high school. These are two very good reasons for students to pursue an education and for states to provide adequate funding. The unfortunate news is that in too many cases, the number of students who graduate with at least a high school diploma is declining.

Did you know that one in six public school students attends a high-poverty school — defined as a school where 76 to 100 percent of the student enrollment is eligible for free or reduced-price meals? Did you know that students who attend high-poverty schools perform persistently lower in math and reading achievement and are less likely to attend four-year colleges when compared to their peers in low-poverty schools? Only about 68 percent of 12th-graders in high-poverty schools graduated with a diploma. Even more disheartening is the fact that since 1999-2000, the average percentage of seniors in high-poverty schools who graduated with a diploma has declined by 18 percentage points, from 86 to 68 percent.

It is easy to complain about a lack of funding for schools or a lack of quality in our education system. It is much harder to do anything about the problem. There is no question that having a good education has a profound and positive impact on the individual student, the community, the labor market, the economy, and the country. Not having an adequate education increases unemployment rates and decreases earning potential, meaning a larger percentage of our population falls into the high-poverty category — a category in which the drop-out rate is increasing. It is like being caught on a hamster wheel. Too much blame is being put on a “poor public education system” when so many of the problems are socioeconomic in nature. To “fix” education is going to take a lot more than just funding for schools.

Featured

  • Harvard Announces Replacement Facility for Native American Program

    Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., recently announced that construction will begin this spring on a new home for its Native American Program, according to university news. The 6,500-square-foot, all-electric building will stand three stories and serve as the central hub for the Harvard University Native American Program (HUNAP).

  • University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Launches New Emergency Communications System

    The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) recently deployed a new emergency notification and incident management system for its campus, according to a news release. The university partnered with 911Cellular to launch Safe@UTC, a smartphone app allowing university officials to communicate and respond during emergency situations.

  • Stanford Completes Construction on Graduate School of Education Facility

    Stanford University in Stanford, Calif., recently announced the end of construction on a new home for its Graduate School of Education, according to a news release. The university partnered with McCarthy Building Companies on the 160,000-square-foot project, which involved two major renovations and one new construction effort.

  • University of Arizona Approves New Residence Hall

    The Arizona Board of Regents recently approved plans for a new residence hall at the University of Arizona in Tucson, Ariz., according to a news release. The new facility is scheduled to open in fall 2028 and have the capacity for more than 1,200 students, enforcing a new university expectation that all first-year students live on campus.