Academic Achievement: Family Wealth is NOT the Key!

As a new school year begins, parents wonder how they can get their children to excel - or at least do pretty well - academically.

A front-page article in the Christian Science Monitor noted the link between home values and MCAS scores for various school districts.  The writer’s conclusion: wealthier districts have more high-achieving students. While technically correct, this connection has the potential to be grossly misconstrued.

In any poorer area -which tend to be either urban or rural -  you will find a segment of well-behaved, outstanding learners.  And in any wealthy suburb, you’ll find young people who  are disruptive and underachieving.  So we know for a fact that there is much more going on than simply the social class factor.

Instead of segmenting by wealth and comparing standardized test scores,  why not look at the SAME school district and take a more detailed look at  factors linked with academic success?

Examine a group of students, all from the same economic status, all attending the same school, and you’ll invariably find substantial variations in their academic performances.  There are many, many factors that affect performance.  As a lifelong educator who has researched this issue, let me point out a few main ones. 

First, a set of factors simply called ‘Homelife’ :

- Dedicated, loving parents with high expectations

- The children feel good about themselves; exhibit high (or at least moderate)Self-Esteem

- Adequate Sleep

- Adequate Nutrition

Next, a group of factors we’ll refer to as ‘Actual Classroom Behavior/ Attitudes’

- Attendance:  disruptive, underachieving kids tend to miss school quite often, and leave early with weak excuses.
- Stay Focussed : Top students pay attention to the teacher and stay focused on the material being presented.
- Be Reliable:  completing all homework assignments and projects lead to higher scores.
- Overall Respect: Those who respect the role of educators, administrators, and school employees are much more likely to excel.

Now let’s switch to a District vs. District comparison.   There are quite a few myths out there, and under close scrutiny, none of them hold water.

1)  “High Performing Districts (HPD’s) pay higher teacher salaries to attract the best talent.”

This is patently false.  Many urban areas pay more than their suburban counterparts,  in an attempt to attract the most effective educators.

2) “ HPD’s  have better facilities with newer equipment”.

I’ve seen NO evidence whatsoever to support this.  Quite a few urban districts boast wonderful brand-new buildings with all kinds of high-tech equipments.

3)  “HPD’s spend more per pupil, so they have more teachers with fewer kids in the classroom”. 

In actuality, many suburban districts - with residents who have much higher annual incomes - spend  significantly LESS per pupil  than many  urban districts.  Their class sizes are often larger, with fewer special programs and services!

To conclude,  the Christian Science Monitor article just hit the tip of the iceberg.  If wealthier school districts DO outperform their less-wealthy counterparts,  it is NOT due to the myths that we just exposed.  The bottom line is that family wealth / social status accounts for only a small portion of the variance in academic achievement.  The vast majority of the difference is due to an array of factors such as dedicated, involved parents with high expectations...no matter what income level.

Mike Waters De Luz

Mike Waters De Luz is an Economics Instructor at Bristol Community College.  He is a member of the Wampanoag Indian nation, and has performed as a traditional dancer around the U.S., Canada and Japan. 

He has lived in many different cities, including Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, but now resides in New Bedford.

Mike's personal web page is located at:
http://home.comcast.net/~mdeluz/ta.html

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