Looking for a clearer picture of how poor, middle-class and wealthy students perform in U.S. schools, the Obama administration wants to redefine how it calculates children's socioeconomic status.
In a new white paper, just released, the U.S. Department of Education proposes classifying students by more than just their parents' income or education levels. It explains the federal government should be able to tie test scores to a host of indicators, including: whether parents own or rent their home, how many times a family has moved in the past year and whether anyone in their household gets medical assistance.
The plan, drafted by the National Center on Education Statistics (NCES), also wants to use U.S. Census data on neighborhoods, looking at home size, backyards, rates of single parenthood and unemployment — in search of a fuller picture of kids' lives.
The change in student classification, at least for now, would affect only how results are reported on a key series of national skills tests known as the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). But it could have a big impact on education debates, potentially increasing the number of students designated as "low income" and