Did you know?

• Middle-class children have over twice the vocabulary by age three of children from lower-income families.
• Seven in ten children enrolled in the Saint Paul Public Schools are from low-income families.
• In third grade, only about half (52 percent) of these low-income children are proficient in reading compared to 85 percent of their higher-income classmates.
• Evidence shows that participation in high-quality preschool programs can help children from low-income families start school on a more even par with their higher income classmates.
• Low-income children in the early grades learn more in school if they have well-qualified teachers who have high expectations for their performance, smaller class sizes, and individual tutoring available as needed.
• The Rand Corporation estimates that every school dropout will cost the public $300,000 in remediation, corrections, and public assistance.

Wilder Research Reports

A selection of Wilder's most recent relevant work on school success.

Research on other topics.

Related Links

Review of school performance in Minnesota, Star Tribune

Closing the Achievement Gap, Educational Testing Service

Complementary Learning, Harvard Family Research Project's concept to address the achievement gap

Minnesota Student Survey 1992-2004 trends

Post-Secondary Student Data Fast Facts, Minnesota Office of Higher Education

School Readiness: Closing Racial and Ethnic Gaps, The Future of Children, Spring 2005

Success in Sight: What Works in Schools

What Works to Improve Student Achievement, National Middle School Association

Frequently Asked Questions about Community Schools, Coalition for Community Schools

The State of Students of Color 2006, Minnesota Minority Education Partnership

Ready 4 K

Admission Possible

List of school reform models