Double Jeopardy - The Annie E. Casey Foundation

Double Jeopardy

How Third Grade Reading Skills and Poverty Influence High School Graduation

Posted January 1, 2012
By the Annie E. Casey Foundation
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Summary

Graduation rates are dramatically impacted by:

  1. Reading level at the end of third grade
  2. Having lived in a high-poverty neighborhood
  3. Experiencing family poverty

Policy and program strategies must be enacted in three arenas: schools, families and legislation on the federal, state and local levels.

Findings & Stats

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Children Not Graduating from High School by Age 19

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a: Third-Grade Reading Test Scores, All Children

b: Children Not Graduating High School by Third-Grade Reading Test Scores, All Children

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Children Not Graduating from High School by Age 19, by Poverty Experience and Reading Proficiency

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Children Not Reading Proficiently by Neighborhood Type

Statements & Quotations

Key Takeaway

There are several risk factors that lead to the likelihood of not graduating from high school

35% of children who were poor, lived in neighborhoods of concentrated poverty and not reading proficiently failed to graduate high shcool on time.

There is a clear correlation between reading proficiency and poverty when it comes to high school graduation rates.