Culture, Poverty, and Education: What's Happening in Today's Schools?

Most changes in education—including the rise of standardized testing, holding teachers accountable for their students’ academic performance, and rewriting math and reading standards—don’t address poverty. Understanding the relationship between poverty, class, and education for decades has been framed through studies on the behavior and culture of poor students and their families. Educators are caught up in the history of classism and are often guilty of buying into the mindset—including the...