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Poverty and K–12 schooling

Four panelists spoke on the topic of poverty and K–12 schooling. George Farkas gave an overview of K–12 interventions and their effect on achievement gaps, finding the most promise in the “no excuses” school model and in one-to-one tutoring during the school day. Rucker Johnson looked at the interactive effects of Head Start and K–12 spending, arguing that for children from low-income families, additional Head Start spending has a much greater effect on outcomes such as high school graduation when K–12 spending is high, compared to when it is low. Chloe Gibbs discussed the effects of full-day compared to half-day kindergarten, and finds that the longer day does have a large, positive effect on literacy skills. Finally, Jennifer Jennings described a study examining high school choice for eighth graders in New York City, concluding that a policy ostensibly intended to inform students and ensure that they choose the school that is the best fit for them actually acts as a barrier to students from disadvantaged families. This set of articles summarizes their presentations.

Categories

Early Childhood Care & Education, Education & Training, Inequality & Mobility, Intergenerational Poverty, K-12 Education

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