High Poverty Among Young Makes Schools' Job Harder

Changing Face

Fewer children living in poverty means more students ready to learn.

The good news is that the child-poverty rate in the United States has declined steadily since 1993, when it reached a 10-year high of nearly 23 percent. Other indicators of childhood well-being also have improved. A federal study released earlier this year reported that child mortality, teenage pregnancy, and juvenile violence were at their lowest rates in 20 years. Even so, nearly 19 percent of U.S. children—about...