Policy, legislation, and initiatives

Foundational research

The Long Reach of Early Childhood Poverty

Duncan, G, Magnuson, K, Boyce, T, & LaShonkoffst, J. (2010). The Long reach of early childhood poverty: pathways and impacts. Center on the Developing Child.

In this research brief, the authors review the evidence linking early childhood poverty to long-lasting negative outcomes and discusses strategies to mitigate the effects of poverty-induced stress on vulnerable families with young children. Emerging research in neuroscience and developmental psychology suggests that poverty early in a child's life may be particularly harmful because the astonishingly rapid development of young children's brains leaves them sensitive (and vulnerable) to environmental conditions.

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Double Jeopardy: How Third-Grade Reading Skills and Poverty Influence High School Graduation

Hernandez, Donald J. 2011. Double Jeopardy: How Third-Grade Reading Skills and Poverty Influence High School Graduation. The Annie E. Casey Foundation: New York, NY.

This report finds that students who don’t read proficiently by third grade are four times more likely to leave without a diploma than proficient readers. The report is a longitudinal study of nearly 4,000 students and their parents. It is notable in breaking down for the first time the likelihood of graduation by different reading skill levels and poverty experiences.

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Family and Neighborhood Sources of Socioeconomic Inequality in Children's Achievement

Sastry, Narayan, and A.R. Pebley. 2010. "Family and Neighborhood Sources of Socioeconomic Inequality in Children's Achievement." Demography, 47(3): 777-800.

Researchers examined family and neighborhood sources of socioeconomic inequality in children's reading and mathematics achievement using data from the 2000-2001 Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey. The researchers found no inequality in children's achievement by family income when other variables in the model were held constant. Mother's reading scores and average neighborhood levels of income accounted for the largest proportion of inequality in children's achievement. Neighborhood economic status appears to be strongly associated with children's skills acquisition.

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