ABSTRACT
Family economic status strongly predicts school outcomes. Income and other measures of family economic status influence the amount of schooling children obtain,1 with youth living in poverty for at least one year 6 percent less likely than those not raised in poverty to graduate from high school.2 Moreover, family economic status predicts scores on standardized tests very early.3 Children from advantaged homes have verbal and math skills in first grade already at a higher level than children from disadvantaged homes.4 Longitudinal data are thin, but family background probably matters more for young children’s test scores than it does for older children’s.5
