Bright students from high-income families are more likely to succeed in school than their equally gifted low-income peers who often backslide as they progress through school, a new report concludes.
It argues that a lack of state policies supporting students who have the academic potential but lack financial means is contributing to this “excellence gap.”
The study, led by researchers Jonathan Plucker of the University of Connecticut and Jennifer Giancola of the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, which commissioned the work, found a “state policy vacuum,” with no state receiving an A for its efforts to support this population. (The foundation supports news coverage of high-achieving, low-income students in Education Week.)
The researchers based their findings on a review of state policies; states’ use of interventions aimed at helping low-income students excel, such as requiring identification and services for advanced learners; and low-income students’ scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress in math and reading.
