The Consequences of Insufficient Household Income

K–12 EDUCATION
The only cost for education included in the Household Survival Budget is that for child care, which is
essential in order for parents to work. Public K–12 education is one of the key ways students from ALICE
families can improve their circumstances. Yet the quality of public schools varies widely, and private school
tuition is out of reach for many low-wage workers.
One area of particular concern for ALICE households is the achievement gap for many students in K–12
public schools. On average, four groups of students – economically disadvantaged students; Black, Hispanic,
and Native American students (who are disproportionately lower-income); students with limited English
proficiency; and students with disabilities – perform lower on test scores throughout K–12 and have high
school graduation rates below the national average (Stetser & Stillwell, 2014).
Schools’ performance results are strongly correlated to household income. The more students in poverty who
are enrolled in a particular school, the lower that school’s average performance scores. In 2007, students
who were eligible for free lunches were two years of learning behind their classmates who were from more
financially secure families. Among children entering kindergarten, children from families earning below the
FPL scored the lowest on reading and math tests, while children with family income above 200 percent of the
FPL were the highest scorers (McKinsey & Company, 2009).
Strategy 7: Move to a Better Performing School or District
Past policy choices and an array of systemic forces – including housing discrimination – have segregated
many children in under-resourced neighborhoods with low-quality schools. Although neighborhoods and
schools are modestly more integrated by race than they were decades ago, significant racial segregation
persists. In most states, there is wide variation in school performance across school districts. Parents in
search of better performing schools can change schools, if school choice is available, or move to a different
neighborhood (National Center for Education Statistics, 2014; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD), 2016).
Consequences
Long commute: Very few students in higher-income neighborhoods attend open enrollment
schools or charter schools outside their neighborhood school zones, but that percentage tends to
increase for students living in disadvantaged areas. For example, in Chicago in 2009, more than 20
percent of public school students attended open enrollment schools and another 7 percent chose
charter schools. These low-income students face the longest commutes to school, which adds time
and expense and limits opportunities for school activities and studying – challenges that similarly
achieving students in higher-income neighborhoods do not have to face (U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development, 2016; Burdick-Will, 2015; Denice & Gross, 2016).
More expensive housing: Most higher-performing schools are located in neighborhoods with
more expensive housing. In the top 100 largest metropolitan areas, housing costs almost $11,000
more per year near high-scoring public schools than near lower-scoring ones. Housing vouchers
have the potential to enable moves to areas of opportunity, but they have not worked in practice
because many landlords will not accept them. Most families with housing vouchers live near a school
that has 74 percent low-income students and ranks at the 26 th percentile by state test scores (U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), 2016).
32 UNITED WAY ALICE REPORT – THE CONSEQUENCES OF INSUFFICIENT HOUSEHOLD INCOME