Problems of Children of Single Parents

The gaps in life, health, and school experiences of minority and low-earnings children just will not disappear.

Although we have focused increasingly more attention on coping with the apparently intractable gaps in achievement between black and Hispanic students and white students from single parent families within the last quarter century, we have made little progress in conclusion the gaps. All subgroups of scholars have, generally, enhanced as measured through the National Assessment of Educational Progress. But differences associated with race/ ethnicity and socioeconomic status remain.

Even though the gaps may appear intractable, they aren't inevitable when we still enlarge both our knowledge of why they exist and just what it will require to solve them. A report in the ETS Policy Information Center entitled Parsing the Achievement Gap[ 1] clarified two questions: What life and school conditions are correlated with cognitive development and school achievement? and, Do gaps during these conditions among racial/ethnic and earnings groups mirror the gaps we have seen in achievement?

We up-to-date this effort in '09 inside a report entitled Parsing the Achievement Gap II.The report recognized 16 such gaps and examined the trends during these gaps because the previous report. The 16 factors are clustered in three groups: school factors, factors associated with the house and college connection, and factors which are present both before and beyond school. These 4 elements can start from birth.

Continue reading: Problems of Children of Single Parents--Part 2