Cost of poverty

7th December 2001, 12:00am
ARGENTINA: A nationwide snapshot of 285,000 students in their final year of secondary school confirms that poverty depresses educational attainment. The evaluation showed that the performance of half the pupils was seriously affected by conditions associated with poverty, including having parents andor a sibling who did not finish school, sharing a bedroom with two or more people, and having fewer than 10 books in the home. Other findings linked higher pupil attainment with better school resources and infrastructure, and directly with the amount of time that the headteacher devoted to pedagogical tasks as opposed to administration.