1 Evaluating the Relationships between Poverty and School Performance Evaluating the Relationships Between Poverty and School Performance

Thisstudy examined the relationships between poverty and a school’s

academic performance (both student achievement and growth).

Educators, advocates, and policymakers can use these data to shape how

people look at the performance of schools in their communities and to

inform education policy (e.g., the effect of evaluating schools based on

achievement vs. growth). The results suggest that the use of achievement

measures when evaluating school performance in federal education policy

and use of achievement by states biases the evaluation against schools

who serve vulnerable populations with potentially adverse impacts on

students most historically marginalized. Instead, schools and educators

serving students living in poverty, experiencing trauma, and facing the

greatest educational and economic barriers need to be recognized and

supported when doing good work rather than doubly punished. This study

also argues that a more accurate picture of what schools are contributing

academically is needed for all communities.

To conduct this study, student achievement and growth were examined

in about 1,500 schools randomly selected from the user base of the

MAP® Growth™ assessment from NWEA®. MAP Growth is a computer

adaptive interim assessment used by more than 9,500 schools, districts,

and education agencies around the world. The analyses investigated the

relationships between student achievement and growth and school-level

poverty variables like free and reduced-priced lunch (FRL) status. The

results are then presented in ways educators can readily duplicate for

their own setting. 

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