Number of poor students at public schools rises

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The percentage of public schools with more than three-quarters of its students meeting eligibility for free or reduced-price lunch — a key indicator of poverty — has increased in the last decade, and children at these schools are less likely to attend college or be taught by teachers with advanced degrees.

The findings come from a special report on high poverty schools included in the 2010 Condition of Education study, which reports on a broad range of academic indicators across grades K-12 and higher education.

The U.S. Department of Education report released Thursday found that the percent of high poverty schools rose from 12% to 17% between the 1999-2000 and 2007-2008 school years, even before the current recession was fully felt.

By comparison, the overall poverty rate for children increased from 17% to 18%, leading researchers to believe that that a higher percentage of poor kids were signing up for the meal program. In all, there were 16,122 schools considered high poverty. Students at these schools face a number of disadvantages:

-- A smaller percentage of teachers at high poverty elementary and secondary schools have earned at least a master’s degree and a regular professional certification than those in low poverty schools.

-- They are less likely to graduate from high school; on average, 68% of 12th-grade students in high poverty schools graduated with a diploma in 2007-2008, compared with 91% at low poverty schools. The numbers have actually gotten worse for students at high poverty schools, dropping from 86% to 68% since 1999-2000.

-- After graduating from a high poverty school, 28% enrolled in a four-year institution, compared with 52% of graduates from low poverty schools. And while college enrollment has increased by 8% since 1999-2000 for graduates from higher income schools, the numbers have remained stable for those in poor schools.

“It’s a persistent challenge,” said Val Plisko, associate commissioner for early childhood, international and crosscutting studies at the National Center for Education Statistics, which produced the report.

Students at high poverty schools are more likely to be minorities. Latinos students, for example, made up 46% of students at high poverty elementary schools and 11% of students at low poverty schools in the 2007-2008 school year. White students, by comparison, made up 14% of students at high poverty elementary schools, and 75% at low poverty elementary schools.

-- Associated Press