Economic Status

A student’s family economic status determines the amount and availability of resources and opportunities that the young person will have access to in order to accomplish his/her goals. The lowest achieving students from high income backgrounds have as much chance of going to college, and otherwise being successful, as the highest achieving students from low-income backgrounds (Gladieux, 2004). Consider the following: 

• In 1993, over 80% of mothers receiving public assistance had no post-secondary education (Ghere et al., 1999)

• Only 60% of students from families earning less than $33,000 attend (not necessarily graduate) college by the age of 24, as compared to 90% of students from families earning more than $80,000 (Gladieux, 2004).

• A student from a family in the top income quartile is 5 times more likely to earn a bachelor’s degree by the age of 24 than a student from a family in the bottom income quartile (Mortenson, 2001).

• Students from low-income backgrounds are more likely to (Ghere et al., 1999):
  • have lower test scores
  • have less access to higher education
  • live in a single guardian household
  • have discipline issues in school
  • drop out of school

LearningWorks strives to reach out to students who are often denied opportunities and resources based on their family’s economic status: 

• 36% of our students live in single parent homes
• 17% of our families receive some sort of public assistance
• 39% of our families live at or below the national poverty line
• 62% of our families have an income of $40,000 or less per year*

*Does not account for number of family members