As in any other playoff, candidate rhetoric let loose during the U.S. presidential race can be tough. We’ve held a front row seat to the 2012 showdown for over a year, with tensions still rising as the general election looms nearer. Some of the barbs launched along the campaign trail have been laughable: Newt Gingrich’s television ad incriminating Mitt Romney for his ability to speak French comes to mind. Others are not. The dialogue surrounding U.S. poverty and inequality, two issues that are hotter than ever during a deep recession that the nation has shown incapable of simply shaking off [...]
Education
A generation hobbled by soaring college costs
Sharp increases in college prices have left many recent graduates with unprecedented financial burdens. About two-thirds of bachelor’s degree recipients borrow money to attend college; the average student debt in 2011 was $23,300. Many young people must work multiple jobs to pay for college, and many will live under the shadow of student loans... »
Do charter schools succeed by leaving poor behind?
A Florida state government report that claims charter schools “outpace” their public school counterparts has been criticized by a University of Central Florida finance professor, who notes that the proportion of poor children in charter schools is 45 percent, as compared with 55 percent in public schools. Once poverty is factored in, says Smith,... »
Texas faces challenges from shifting student demographics
In many Texas cities, non-Hispanic white children are the minority in public schools, while Hispanic students constitute an ever-increasing majority. A socioeconomic shift has occurred along with the ethnic one, since many Hispanic students are low-income. Texas must learn to invest in its changing student population to maintain high standards of living and education... »
Narrative Sensemaking and Time Lapse: Interviews with Low-Income Women about Sex Education
Secondary-school students in the United States score notoriously low on tests of their reproductive and sexual knowledge despite attempts by educators and legislators to provide them with informative sex-education courses. This study uses narrative theory to explore how low-income women perceived their formal sex-education experiences and how they connected those experiences to their sexual-health... »
Alabama’s national ranking for child poverty worsens
Poverty throughout the South has been trending upward, and the problem is especially acute in Alabama. As of 2010 Alabama had the country’s fourth-highest childhood poverty rate, a decline from 8th highest five years before. This downward slide is especially troubling given Alabama’s weak education system, since poor children generally start school less prepared... »
Low-income students more likely to be placed in special ed
A new report finds that Massachusetts’ poorer students are nearly twice as likely as other students to be placed in special education programs. The reason for this disparity remains unclear: Students may be put into special ed because of disabilities, to manage disciplinary problems, or because they fell behind academically. However, evidence indicates that many... »
Housing costs are key to school disparity
Large differences in housing costs among Fresno, Calif., neighborhoods prevent poor students from attending top-performing schools, a new Brookings Institution report finds. The report explores the relationship between housing costs, zoning laws, and school performance. Economic segregation limits poor families’ access to the best education: High-performing schools are frequently in richer neighborhoods where housing costs more.... »
Head Start threatened by budget cuts
The Head Start preschool program is being threatened by budget cuts that could reduce the quality of its services. Designed to support children from the neediest families before they enter kindergarten, Head Start is one of the non-mandated programs that most effectively closes the achievement gap between low-income students and their better-off peers. But severe... »
Alabama: Worst state for the poor?
Alabama is the harshest state when it comes to taxing the poor, finds a study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Alabama has the highest tax of any state for families living at the federal poverty line, and is one of only four that tax one-parent families of three that earn less... »
Diminishing returns: Education’s limited payoff
For many, the promised payoffs from higher education are smothered under piles of student debt. A college diploma is more important than ever, yet it no longer guarantees a job and its price tag has risen steeply. Tuition and fees have tripled, and student loan-debt is the highest in U.S. history. Coming generations will... »