Changes in public welfare and immigration have challenged U.S. social policy since the mid-1990s. Despite falling welfare roles after reform in 1996, children living in extreme poverty (less than half the poverty line) increased 400,000 between 2000 and 2001 (Fremstad, 2003). Numbers of Black children in extreme poverty in 2001 reached an all-time high (CDF, 2003). In 1999 the poverty rate was also almost 50% higher for foreign-born individuals, approximately a third of whom came from Asia and at least forty percent from Mexico, Central and South America (Danziger & Gottschalk, 2005). When more children begin school with the disadvantages of extreme poverty and/or recent immigration, school systems must try to help them into the economic and cultural mainstream. This paper presents findings from a longitudinal study of school success by children who entered Kindergarten in 1999. Analysis by TANF-status and race/ethnicity show marked differences in patterns of school success that have implications for social services and social policy. This paper presents secondary analysis of longitudinal data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten (ECLS-K), conducted by the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The ECLS-K is a multi-site study of a national sample of children who began kindergarten during 1998/9. Data were collected in the springs of 1999, 2000, and 2002 from parents' interviews, teachers' questionnaires, and cognitive assessments of children. The sample of 17,362 children was 56.5% non-Hispanic White, 14.2% Black, 17.4% Hispanic, 6.3% Asian, and 4.3% other. The ECLS-K study assessed performance in reading, math, and general knowledge toward the end of the pupils' kindergarten, first-grade, and third-grade years. In kindergarten, children of all ethnic groups on TANF lagged behind non-TANF children in each of the three areas assessed (reading: F(4,14666)=110.31, p<.001; math: F(4,14666)=171.69, p<.001; general: F(4,14666)=132.15, p<.001). The gaps lessened but persisted in later years. Kindergarteners on TANF also showed wide differences by race/ethnicity in all three areas. By third grade, Latino and Asian children on TANF essentially had closed the gap with White and Black TANF peers in math and, to a lesser extent, in reading, while a gap in general knowledge remained. Similar gap-closing in reading and general knowledge occurred among non-TANF children, but only Asian non-TANF children showed dramatic improvement in math between kindergarten and third grade. The findings suggest that, although many children from non-English-speaking backgrounds are well-positioned to catch up with peers during the first three years of school, TANF status remains a good predictor of overall achievement by the third grade. The paper suggests policy responses involving funding of early childhood education, parent involvement in primary education, and school-based social services.

References

Children's Defense Fund. (2003). Analysis: Number of black children in extreme poverty hits record high. Retrieved 4/22/05 from www.childrensdefense.org. Danziger, S. & Gottschalk, P. (2005). Diverging fortunes: Trends in poverty and inequality. Russell Sage Foundation. Retrieved 4/28/05 from http://www.prb.org/Template.cfm?Section=PRB&template=/Content/ContentGroups/04_. Fremstad, S. (2003). Falling TANF caseloads amidst rising poverty should be a cause of concern. Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Retrieved 4/22/05 from http://www.cbpp.org/9-4-03tanf.htm.