Poor children get off to a bad start before they're born. Their mothers are likely to get prenatal care late, if at all, which can impair later intellectual functioning. They are more than three times as likely as nonpoor children to have stunted growth. They are about twice as likely to have physical and mental disabilities, and are seven times more likely to be abused or neglected. And they are more than three times more likely to die.
Poverty stifles school performance.
The researchers first categorized the kids in terms of the dominant letter grade on their report cards, then looked to see how the various categories fared on standardized tests of reading and math. On such tests, average is the 50th percentile. A's'' scored at the 81st percentile in reading and 87th percentile in math. Nothing new These research findings just put numbers on descriptions of poverty- ridden schools that have been around for a long time. At that time, people hoped that Head Start and Title I would cure the problem.