This is a summary of a lengthy article in the New York Times Online, discussing why and how wealth and early child preparedness has affected, is effecting, schools and society.

Society … that’s you and me, by the way.       Click here to read the article.

• Children of the rich perform better than middle-class or poor children (all grades, test scores, extracurricular activities, leadership, graduation, higher education).
• While this has always been so, the test scores gap is 40% larger than in the 1970s.
• NAEP scores (National Assessment of Educational Progress) have been rising for all populations since the 1970s.
• The gap isn’t much affected either positively or negatively by K-12 school experiences.
• It boils down to this: Rich students are increasingly entering kindergarten much better prepared to succeed in school than middle-class students. This difference persists through to high school.
• The rich have more money and can (and do) focus more of it on early childhood education/experience.
• It would be supportive to somehow improve the quality of parenting and early child environments.
• Expand Nurse-Family Partnerships for single parents.
• Provide greater support for maternity leave and day care.

One commenter named Howard, summed it up nicely, ” … to use another metaphor, the odds are against the seeds that fall on stony ground, no matter how good their genetic makeup.”

Click here to read the article.