Educational Research and Reviews Vol. 6 (7), pp. 522-527, July 2011 Available online at http://www.academicjournals.org/ERR ISSN 1990-3839 © 2011 Academic Journals

Review

The effects of poverty on academic achievement
Misty Lacour1 and Laura D. Tissington2*
2

Southern Arkansas University, Magnolia, Arkansas, USA. th University of West Florida, 1732 N. 13 Avenue Pensacola, Florida 32503, USA.
Accepted 12 May, 2011

Poverty, which forms a specific culture and way of life, is a growing issue in the United States. The number of Americans living in poverty is continually increasing. Poverty indicates the extent to which an individual does without resources. Resources can include financial, emotional, mental, spiritual, and physical resources as well as support systems, relationships, role models, and knowledge of hidden rules. Poverty directly affects academic achievement due to the lack of resources available for student success. Low achievement is closely correlated with lack of resources, and numerous studies have documented the correlation between low socioeconomic status and low achievement. Several strategies exist to assist teachers in closing the poverty achievement gap for students. Key words: Poverty, family income, achievement gap, academic gap. INTRODUCTION In the United States (US), the gaps in achievement among poor and advantaged students are substantial (Rowan et al., 2004). Through multiple studies, The U.S. Department of Education (2001: 8) has indicated results that “clearly demonstrated that student and school poverty adversely affected student achievement”. The U.S. Department of Education (2001) found the following key findings regarding the effects of poverty on student achievement in a study conducted on third through fifth The grade students from 71 high-poverty schools: students scored below norms in all years and grades tested;