Academic achievement and poverty: Closing the achievement gap between rich and poor high school students

This study examines the relationship between family socioeconomic status and academic achievement. The research focuses on the 11th. grade population in four (4) high schools within the Jefferson County Public School District. The data was collected from students’ personal files. The primary intent of the project was to determine whether there was a significant difference in the grade point average between students receiving and students not receiving free school lunches. Data from African American and White students are compared by sex and socioeconomic status. The T-Tests with 2 tail probability were used to test for significant differences of achievements between different groups by poverty level, race, and gender. The following conclusions were made based on the findings in this study. (1) There is an academic achievement gap between children from low-income homes and their more advantaged peers. There appears to be a strong relationship between poverty and academic achievements. (2) Black children in the Jefferson County Public School system are more likely than white children to live in low-income homes. (3) The proportion of students on free school lunches among white students (20.8 percent) is much lower than the proportion of free lunches among black students (48.5 percent). (4) Poverty had more deleterious effects on boys’ academic achievement than on girls’ academic achievement. Overall, girls outperformed boys. Recommendations for eliminating or minimizing the negative effects of poverty on students’ academic achievements are also presented.