Poverty trumps education gains, By Jane Roberts, July 1, 2010, Memphis Commercial Appeal: “Tennessee has made the most gains of any state in high school graduation rates, jumping 13 percentage points between 2002 and 2007. The state also is making measurable gains against other key education benchmarks. State ACT scores have increased from 19.9 in 1999 to 20.6 in 2009. Standards for school principals make the state a regional leader, and new high school graduates in Tennessee are enrolling in college at a higher rate than their U.S. peers. But the increasing number of children growing up in poverty threatens improvements, according to a Challenge to Lead report released Wednesday by the Southern Regional Education Board. In 2009, 55 percent of Tennessee youngsters came from homes where family incomes made them eligible for free school lunches (up to $40,793 for a family of four), a 14 percent increase in 10 years…”
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty