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 "What was already discovered is there is an achievement gap between
poor children and middle-class children," the study's senior author
Seth Pollak told Reuters Health. "Even when they move to better
neighborhoods, children growing up in poor families tend to do less
well in school than their less poor counterparts."
What's more, researchers have found in recent years that poverty is
linked to worse brain development, said Pollak.
"This study closes the loop and adds the missing piece," he said.
Pollak, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and colleagues
report in JAMA Pediatrics that about 20 percent of the gap in test
scores between poor children and middle-class children may be a
result of poor brain development in the upper-front and side regions
of the brain known as the frontal and temporal lobes, respectively.
The researchers examined brain images and standardized test scores
from 389 children and young adults, ages four to 22, participating
in a study by the U.S. National Institutes of Health between 2001
and 2007.
Children with other risk factors for poor brain development were
excluded from the analysis, including those with low birth weights
and attention problems.
The study is therefore comparing the healthiest children in the U.S.
who - for the most part - differ only in terms of family income,
Pollak said.
"Still, there is a brain difference and an achievement difference
between these (poor) children and middle-class children," he said.
"Accounting for 20 or 25 percent of something complex like how well
kids are doing in achievement tests is huge," Pollak said, adding
their estimate may be conservative.
Dr. Joan Luby, who wrote an editorial published with study, said the
new research adds to what was already known, particularly to “the
idea of how critical certain ingredients are to growing healthy
children."
For example, she said, children need nurturing and other critical
elements from their primary caregivers, but society doesn't seem to
emphasize the importance of those contributions.
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"It’s not enough to bring a child into the world, feed them and make
sure they don’t get injured," said Luby, director of the Early
Emotional Development Program at the Washington University School of
Medicine in St. Louis.
"People will often ask me, 'What should teachers be doing?' Or,
'What should schools be doing?" Pollak said. "What this says to me
is, what should we be doing about environments?"
For example, he said children from poor families may not be prepared
when they get to school, because they are hungry or tired.
"You can imagine, no matter what the teacher does, these little
people are not showing up ready to learn," Pollak said.
Luby told Reuters Health that with scientists having collected the
data on the problem, it’s now up to the policymakers to make the
changes.
A number of interventions have been tested and carried out, she
said, including programs that connect new parents with nurses who
provide guidance and support.
"It’s really focusing on the primary caregiver on the first five
years of the child’s life," Luby said.
Pollak said the interventions are low-hanging fruit, because "you
just need the support and funding for it."
SOURCE: http://bit.ly/1GwlJkI and http://bit.ly/1GwlMwR JAMA
Pediatrics, online
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