Breaking the Poverty Cycle

image from flicker

In the late 1990's Susan Mayer (then an associate professor at the Irving B. Harris Graduate School) did a study which examined the impact of increasing parental income and its impact on ending the cycle of generational poverty.

Here are the Posits.

• Higher parental income was predicted to significantly raise student performance scores on standardized reading and mathematics tests.
• Higher parental income was predicted to dramatically affect the the "stay in school" rate of the children.
• Higher parental income was predicted to drastically reduce the amount of time male off spring spent unemployed after education.
• Higher parental income was predicted to all but eliminate the incidence of daughters growing up to be unwed mothers.

Here are the actual results.

• Little or no impact was made on student test performance.
• Only 1/5th of a year was added to "stay in school" time.
• No impact was measurable on the amount of idle time spent by adult male offspring.
• The rate of out of wedlock motherhood was cut only 8 to 20 percent.

What is the one element that has been shown to break the poverty cycle on a consistent basis?

Earlier and more rigorous education.

What is the longest running, most documented educational program known to impact the poverty cycle?

Head start.

Elemental Value Added Truth: Wealth is becoming the exclusive domain of the highly educated.