Effects of Poverty on Mathematics and Reading Achievement of Young Adolescents

The mother/child data set of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth was used to test a mediation model of the effects of poverty on the mathematics and reading achievement of 1,324 young adolescents 12 through 14 years of age. A revised model provided a better fit than the hypothesized model and generally was supported by cross-validation on a split-half sample. Poverty was related to lower mathematics and reading achievement indirectly through its associations with less cognitively stimulating and emotionally supportive home environments, which in turn were related to adolescents’school behavior problems. Poverty was related also to lower mathematics and reading achievement indirectly through a direct link with school behavior problems. Poverty was related to lower reading, but not mathematics, achievement through its association with less stimulating cognitive home environments. The model was estimated separately for female, male, Black, Hispanic, and White young adolescents; group differences are discussed.