"Today, many dreams are hampered by an achievement gap between minorities and non-minorities and children of poverty and children of privilege." As Secretary of Education Roderick Paige noted in his remarks at the education fair hosted by Partners in Hispanic Education in 2003, equity in education has yet to be realized. In predicting levels of student achievement, family incomes continue to be reliable indicators. Students who live in poverty are not only more likely to underachieve than their peers from middle- and high-income households, they are also at risk of not completing school. During the last twenty-five years, the drop out rate for economically disadvantaged students has declined, but it still remains substantially higher than for students from wealthier backgrounds. Students who are living in poverty are also more likely to be retained, suspended, and expelled from school (Wood, 2003).
