What's Behind Being Behind?
In a recent study, Heather Rouse and John Fantuzzo examined the impact of five particular risk factors (poverty, child maltreatment, homelessness, low maternal education, and biological birth risks) on the educational outcomes of second-graders in the Philadelphia public school system.
To carry out their research, they used the KIDS data system, which, by integrating individual-level data across municipal agencies, enables researchers to trace children’s entire histories of involvement with public service in the city.
Their multivariate examination revealed the presence of very high levels of each targeted risk — with poverty and birth risks most prevalent — and also analyzed the differing impacts of the type and amount of risks on both academic and behavioral outcomes.
The findings show that, first, all five risk factors have a significant impact on academic outcomes (i.e., reading and math proficiency and second-grade retention).
Second, the type of risk matters. For example, child maltreatment showed the highest level of risk across the greatest number of outcomes, and homelessness was one of the strongest indicators for high absenteeism, school suspensions, and teacher-rated low social skills. In addition, although the literature points to the negative impact of poverty, this study found that certain co-existing risks (maltreatment and maternal education) are a better predictor of academic outcomes than poverty per se.
Third, the amount of risk matters. Whatever the type, each additional risk experienced in early childhood increased the likelihood of poor academic and behavioral outcomes — most distinctly in the area of reading proficiency.
For Rouse and Fantuzzo, their findings carry significant policy implications. Put simply, what happens outside the classroom has a powerful impact on educational outcomes.
"These findings underscore the injustice of holding public educators solely responsible for the educational well being of our most vulnerable children…," they write. "Educating children who are behind calls for the coordination of multiple service systems to meet these challenges."
"Multiple Risks and Educational Well Being: A Population-based Investigation of Threats to Early School Success" appears in Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 24.