Living & Learning in Poverty

Title: Education and Poverty: Confronting the Evidence
Author(s): Ladd, Helen F.
Date: 11/4/2011
Paper Number: SAN11-01
Topic: Education, Poverty, No Child Left Behind, SES
Citation: Journal of Policy Analysis and Management (forthcoming in 2012)

Burdening Children in Need With a Flawed Policy - NYTimes.com

2011-11-06T05:38:00.000-08:00

Burdening Children in Need With a Flawed Policy - NYTimes.com

There Are Far More Americans Living in Poverty Now - National - The Atlantic Wire

2011-11-03T05:17:00.000-07:00

There Are Far More Americans Living in Poverty Now - National - The Atlantic Wire

Global Gender Gap | World Economic Forum-Global Gender Gap

2011-11-03T04:21:00.000-07:00

Global Gender Gap | World Economic Forum-Global Gender Gap

Thinking Big on Poverty | The Nation

2011-10-31T12:29:00.000-07:00

Thinking Big on Poverty | The Nation

Bottom of the Heap - NYTimes.com

2011-10-31T05:42:00.000-07:00

Bottom of the Heap - NYTimes.com

Le Guin’s “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”: Allegory of Privilege

2011-10-30T18:19:00.000-07:00

Le Guin’s “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas”: Allegory of Privilege

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… - The Best Resources About Wealth & Income Inequality — Help Me Create A Simple Lesson Plan Using Them

2011-10-30T17:30:00.000-07:00

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… - The Best Resources About Wealth & Income Inequality — Help Me Create A Simple Lesson Plan Using Them

Incomes matter more than test scores for college completion | State of Working America

2011-10-30T16:53:00.000-07:00

Incomes matter more than test scores for college completion | State of Working America

PISA Test Results Through the Lens of Poverty

2011-10-30T05:09:00.000-07:00

PISA Test Results Through the Lens of Poverty

Our Lives exhibition: British children living in poverty - in pictures | Society | guardian.co.uk

2011-10-28T05:56:00.000-07:00

Our Lives exhibition: British children living in poverty - in pictures | Society | guardian.co.uk

Study Refutes Congressman Paul Ryan's Claims About Upward Mobility | Center for Media and Democracy

2011-10-27T11:37:00.000-07:00

Study Refutes Congressman Paul Ryan's Claims About Upward Mobility | Center for Media and Democracy

190. The Social Cost of Open Enrollment as a School Choice Policy. 2010

2011-10-27T05:56:00.000-07:00

NCSPE: Research Publications

190. The Social Cost of Open Enrollment as a School Choice Policy. 2010.
Author: Cory Koedel, Julian R. Betts, Lorien A. Rice, & Andrew C. Zau

We evaluate the integrating and segregating effects of school choice in a large, urban school district. Our findings suggest that open enrollment, a school-choice program without explicit integrative objectives which does not provide busing, segregates students along three socioeconomic dimensions – race/ethnicity, student achievement and parental-education status. Using information on expenditures to promote integration at the district, we back out estimates of the social cost of open enrollment realized in terms of student segregation. Our estimates vary widely depending on several assumptions, but a social-cost estimate of roughly 10 million dollars per year is on the high end of our range of estimates for this single district. Although this number represents a sizeable portion of the district’s integrative-busing budget, it is a small fraction of the district’s total budget (≈1.4 billion dollars). Further, we note that this cost may be offset by benefits not related to integration.
Click here to view publication as a PDF

Income for Top One Percent 'Grew by 275 Percent' in the Past 28 Years | AlterNet

2011-10-27T05:02:00.000-07:00

Income for Top One Percent 'Grew by 275 Percent' in the Past 28 Years | AlterNet

Income Inequality Reaches Gilded Age Levels, Congressional Report Finds

2011-10-27T04:43:00.000-07:00

Income Inequality Reaches Gilded Age Levels, Congressional Report Finds

Five Facts You Need to Know about Poverty in America - Tim King - God's Politics Blog

2011-10-27T04:07:00.000-07:00

Five Facts You Need to Know about Poverty in America - Tim King - God's Politics Blog

New Statesman - Poverty, not lack of morals, was to blame for the riots

2011-10-27T03:56:00.001-07:00

New Statesman - Poverty, not lack of morals, was to blame for the riots

How the 1 percent rules | SocialistWorker.org

2011-10-27T03:56:00.000-07:00

How the 1 percent rules | SocialistWorker.org

School Choice For The ‘Feral Underclass’ -- In These Times

2011-10-26T10:07:00.000-07:00

School Choice For The ‘Feral Underclass’ -- In These Times

Miseducation and the New Slavery | Ceasefire Magazine

2011-10-26T10:05:00.000-07:00

Miseducation and the New Slavery | Ceasefire Magazine

Poverty Eliminated!

2011-10-26T09:23:00.000-07:00

Poverty Eliminated!

cartoon102611.jpg (JPEG Image, 900x837 pixels)

What Do You Mean When You Say Urban

2011-10-25T08:27:00.000-07:00

What Do You Mean When You Say Urban

Stan Karp's Speech at NWTSJ, October 2011

2011-10-25T08:23:00.000-07:00

Stan Karp's Speech at NWTSJ, October 2011

Education Week Teacher Professional Development Sourcebook: Keeping Special Ed in Proportion

2011-10-25T05:49:00.000-07:00

Education Week Teacher Professional Development Sourcebook: Keeping Special Ed in Proportion

Daily Kos: Testing Support for TFA and KIPP: Whose Children Matter?

2011-10-23T13:17:00.000-07:00

Daily Kos: Testing Support for TFA and KIPP: Whose Children Matter?

Study finds education gap for illegal Mexican migrants' children - latimes.com

2011-10-23T05:36:00.000-07:00

Study finds education gap for illegal Mexican migrants' children - latimes.com

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… - The Best Resources About Wealth & Income Inequality — Help Me Create A Simple Lesson Plan Using Them

2011-10-22T04:47:00.000-07:00

Larry Ferlazzo’s Websites of the Day… - The Best Resources About Wealth & Income Inequality — Help Me Create A Simple Lesson Plan Using Them

BBC News - Rising energy bills causing fuel poverty deaths

2011-10-20T06:53:00.000-07:00

BBC News - Rising energy bills causing fuel poverty deaths

Paul Gorski to speak at Furman University on poverty (UPDATE)

2011-10-20T04:21:00.000-07:00

A Cultural Life Program on poverty will be sponsored by the Furman University chapter of the NAACP this coming WEDNESDAY October 26 in Patrick Lecture Hall/Plyler 126 at 7 pm.

Gorski is one of the first scholars to challenge the workshops and ideology of Ruby Payne. His work confronts assumptions about the culture of poverty and deficit perspectives related to poverty and people living in poverty.

See information about him and some of his work at these links:

http://paulgorski.efoliomn.com/

http://paulgorski.efoliomn.com/Publications

http://rubypayneiswrong.blogspot.com/p/scholarship-debunking-payne.html

Daily Kos: "Click, Clack, Moo": Why the 1% Always Wins

2011-10-18T06:48:00.000-07:00

Daily Kos: "Click, Clack, Moo": Why the 1% Always Wins

Capitalism and Poverty | Truthout

2011-10-13T03:39:00.000-07:00

Capitalism and Poverty | Truthout

A big question for the Big Society | Joseph Rowntree Foundation

2011-10-12T06:24:00.000-07:00

A big question for the Big Society | Joseph Rowntree Foundation

NCLB bill: The problem with ‘continuous improvement’ - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

2011-10-12T05:48:00.000-07:00

NCLB bill: The problem with ‘continuous improvement’ - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post

Child poverty is accelerating – don't buy the Tory line | Tom Clark | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

2011-10-11T05:22:00.000-07:00

Child poverty is accelerating – don't buy the Tory line | Tom Clark | Comment is free | guardian.co.uk

Discipline Policies, Successful Schools, and Racial Justice | National Education Policy Center

2011-10-06T04:08:00.000-07:00

Discipline Policies, Successful Schools, and Racial Justice | National Education Policy Center

The influence of parents, places and poverty on educational attitudes and aspirations | Joseph Rowntree Foundation

2011-10-05T06:10:00.000-07:00

The influence of parents, places and poverty on educational attitudes and aspirations | Joseph Rowntree Foundation

Five Facts You Should Know About the Wealthiest One Percent of Americans | Truthout

2011-10-04T04:30:00.000-07:00

Five Facts You Should Know About the Wealthiest One Percent of Americans | Truthout

Income Gap Is Widening, Data Shows - New York Times

2011-10-03T13:47:00.000-07:00

Income Gap Is Widening, Data Shows - New York Times

Poverty-stricken families join a lengthening queue for food handouts | Society | The Observer

2011-10-01T18:29:00.000-07:00

Poverty-stricken families join a lengthening queue for food handouts | Society | The Observer

The Moral Question | Truthout

2011-09-30T07:54:00.000-07:00

The Moral Question | Truthout

How Baseball Explains Modern Racism | Truthout

2011-09-30T07:53:00.000-07:00

How Baseball Explains Modern Racism | Truthout

The Toll of the Great Recession - Pew Hispanic Center

2011-09-29T07:59:00.000-07:00

The Toll of the Great Recession - Pew Hispanic Center

English universities still failing poor students, says government watchdog | Education | The Guardian

2011-09-29T06:34:00.000-07:00

English universities still failing poor students, says government watchdog | Education | The Guardian

Teachers Paid Less in Higher-Minority Schools - Teacher Beat - Education Week

2011-09-28T09:56:00.000-07:00

Teachers Paid Less in Higher-Minority Schools - Teacher Beat - Education Week

IDEAL: Initiative on Diversity, Equity and Learning | National Education Policy Center

2011-09-28T08:49:00.000-07:00

IDEAL: Initiative on Diversity, Equity and Learning | National Education Policy Center

Separate is Not Equal or Successful | National Education Policy Center

2011-09-28T08:48:00.000-07:00

Separate is Not Equal or Successful | National Education Policy Center

Unequal Wealth | Truthout

2011-09-27T11:42:00.000-07:00

Unequal Wealth | Truthout

Poverty News | Truthout

2011-09-26T14:33:00.000-07:00

Poverty News | Truthout

Does income inequality cause health and social problems? | Joseph Rowntree Foundation

2011-09-26T06:07:00.000-07:00

Does income inequality cause health and social problems? | Joseph Rowntree Foundation

Ravitch on "Texas Miracle" Scam

2011-09-25T06:14:00.000-07:00

Diane Ravitch: 20 years later, debunking the ‘Texas Miracle’

The current national school reform was born in Texas, probably hatched in Dallas. During the presidential campaign of 2000, the nation learned about “the Texas miracle.” The achievement gap would close, we were told, by testing and accountability. Test every student every year, and post the results. Public exposure would encourage successful schools and humiliate the low performers into improving. Throw merit pay into the mix to push even bigger gains.

About the same time, the research department at the [ http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Dallas_Independent_School_District ]Dallas Independent School District discovered that children who had three great teachers in a row would see dramatic test-score gains. This is now the battle cry of the national school reform movement, which says schools will get better if we test more, award merit pay for higher scores and fire teachers whose students don’t get higher scores.

Dallas knew this 20 years ago. How come it still struggles with a daunting achievement gap and low (but rising) graduation rates? We now know there was no “Texas miracle,” and yet No Child Left Behind is still the law of the land. Across the nation, schools are being closed and educators fired because they couldn’t meet the law’s utopian goals. Neither Dallas nor any other school district has figured out how to deliver on that claim about “three great teachers in a row.” It turns out to be a wishful slogan, not a policy proposal. And merit pay, wherever it has been tried, has failed.

If Dallas wants to see success for its children, it must improve both schools and social conditions.

Every child needs a great education, one that includes the arts, history, civics, foreign languages and other studies. DISD should hire teachers who are well-educated and who understand how to address the needs of children who are learning English and children with disabilities. Once hired, they should have the community’s respect and support, as well as opportunities to improve their teaching.

Dallas has superb cultural resources. They should be utilized to encourage students, teachers and principals to love learning. No cultural institution in the nation [ http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Equals_%28musician%29 ]equals the Dallas Institute of Culture and the Humanities. It literally changes teachers’ and principals’ lives by immersing them in the joys of great literature. The [ http://topics.dallasnews.com/topic/Dallas_Symphony_Orchestra ]Dallas Symphony Orchestra has an exemplary program for young musicians called Young Strings. More programs like these will support genuine learning, not just rote preparation for the next state tests.

But that is not enough. Poverty matters. Eighty-five percent of DISD students live in poverty. City leaders should ensure that these students and their families have access to nutrition and medical care. Healthy children are better prepared to learn than children who suffer from preventable illnesses. Every pregnant woman should receive good prenatal care; those who don’t are apt to have low-birth-weight babies, who are at risk of learning disabilities.

The achievement gap begins long before children enter school. Schools and community groups must collaborate to provide excellent early-childhood education for every child, not just daycare. When children regularly engage in healthy play and interact with educated adults, their vocabulary and their social skills increase. Parent education is important, too, so that parents learn how they can provide positive support for their child’s development.

None of this is cost-free. But none of it is beyond the reach of Dallas, which is rich with ideas, rich with entrepreneurs and rich with philanthropists.

As Dallas seeks a new superintendent, I have this advice: Find an experienced educator, someone who was a master teacher and then a highly successful principal. Don’t recruit a corporate leader who knows nothing about teaching and learning. Find a man or woman who knows how children learn, who knows how to encourage teachers and principals, who knows how to reach out to all parts of the community and bring them together to support Dallas’ children. Above all, look for someone who has a compelling vision of what a great education is and the energy to make it happen for all the children.

Diane Ravitch is the author of The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education. Her website is www.dianeravitch.com.