Low Income Student Achievement Essay

Imagine the demographics of the average urban classroom. Perhaps you picture a bell curve; a relatively small number of low and high-income students, with the majority being represented as middle class. This, however, is not the case in Chicago Public Schools, where I teach. In 2013, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) reported that over eighty-five percent of enrolled students were low-income, reporting a yearly income of $30,630 or less (Bogira, 2013).

Traditionally, low-income students struggle in school. For example, compare the achievement of Lincoln Elementary, where eighty-five percent of students’ families exceed the income limit for free lunch, with Brenneman Elementary, not fifteen minutes from Lincoln, where ninety-six percent of family incomes fall below federal free lunch guidelines. According to the Illinois State Board of Education’s 2015 School Report Cards, seventy-five percent of Lincoln students met or exceeded state standards while only thirty-six percent of Brenneman’s students did so (Illinois Report Card, 2015). These schools are just a fifteen minute drive from one another, yet they have completely different socioeconomic statuses and more importantly, academic achievement levels.

While there are many factors that influence low-income students’ achievement, in this paper I will argue

Stanford University researcher Susana Claro explains that, “Mindset is an important part of how socioeconomic disparities get replicated from generation to generation. Structural barriers get in the way of people being able to succeed, and they reinforce mindsets that tell [students] they can't succeed." She goes on to argue that teacher interventions that help shape and develop student attitudes toward a growth mindset can have positive effects on students’ academic achievement (Blad,