ED-WATCH: WV STUDENTS LACKING KNOWLEDGE TO SUCCEED

(01/05/2007)
By Dianne Weaver

WVs poverty is a significant factor in educational outcomes for children in the Mountain State, according to a new study released this week.

While the state's educators has been lauded as a national leader in educational policy, the state is falling short on outcomes, according to Editorial Projects in Education.

The national study says children's chances of success in WV are low because of poverty and other factors that affect them from cradle to career.

The study ranks West Virginia first for educational policy but 43rd for a child's chances of success.

The study looked at a wide array of things that affect a child, from math test scores to how steady their parents' are employed.

The study says 48% of WVs children are from families with incomes at least 200 percent of the federal poverty level, compared to the national average of 59%.

Only 17.9% of the state's eighth-graders have proficient math scores according to the study. The national average is 28%.