Louisiana Public School System

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Recommended: Review of related literature about the effects of poverty to educational outcomes for children

The state of the Louisiana public school system is among the worst in the union. Among the 50 states Louisiana consistently ranks in the bottom in public education. The National Center for Education Statistics ranked Louisiana as the 49th state in the country for public education (Todd). Louisiana also ranks 48 out of 50 in science education, and 47 out of 50 in mathematics in the country according to the American Institute of Physics (Todd). In addition, to low outcomes in these measures Louisiana has a high school graduation rate of 67 percent in 2010(Todd). This considerable proportion of students failing to graduate high school has a negative impact on economic growth, when one considers that lower educational attainment is correlated with, lower earnings and unemployment (United States. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). With these low levels education attainment and economic opportunity, poverty rises and income falls. This is shown by the fact that Louisiana poverty rate is 18.4 percent, which is 4.1 percentage points higher than the national average (Louisiana Quick Facts from the US Census Bureau). Furthermore, the per capita income in Louisiana is over 4,000 dollars below the national average (The US Census Bureau). All these statistics show how Louisiana is a state that is suffering from a public education system that fails to prepare its children to enter the work force and become productive citizens.
In “Trauma and Performance: Lessons from Latin America”, Diana Taylor tells her readership how trauma is not just affecting the individual, but also affects entire communities (1675). In the case of Louisiana, the trauma of poverty has affected every facet of life from health to wealth and with over 26 percent of children...

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...reau. US Census Bureau, 27 June 2013. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.
Ravitch, Diane. "Vouchers." Edspeak : a glossary of education terms, phrases, buzzwords, and jargon. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 01 Jan 2007. 225-226.
Strauss, Valerie. "Vouchers and the Future of Public Education." Web log post. Washington Post. The Washington Post, 05 June 2012. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.
Taylor, Diana. "Trauma and Performance: Lessons from Latin America." Modern Language Association of America (2006): 1674-677. Print.
"The Case Against Vouchers." Nea.org. National Education Association, 2013. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.
Tillotson ,Mary . N.p.. Web. 8 Nov 2013. .
Todd, Jay. "Examining Top Reasons Why Louisiana's Education System Is failing."Examiner.com. Louisiana Examiner, 08 Aug. 2012. Web. 18 Nov. 2013.

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