ABSTRACT
Using a poverty line of about $22,000 for a family of four, the Census Bureau counted more than 15 million U.S. children living in poor families in 2009. Poor children begin school well behind their more affluent age mates and, if anything, lose ground during the school years. On average, poor kindergarten children have lower levels of reading and math skills and are rated by their teachers as less well behaved than their more affluent peers (see Figure 49.1). Children from poor families also go on to complete less schooling, work less, and earn less than others. Rates of Kindergarten Proficiencies for Poor, Near Poor, and Middle-Class Children https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780429494642/ebceba7a-2c6f-4dc4-a4f5-cfff62cba269/content/fig49_1.tif"/> Source: Authors’ calculations from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey–Kindergarten CohortKindergarten Cohort
