It’s well-established that low-income students are much less likely than their more affluent counterparts to receive a challenging, fulfilling education. When one group of students is at a disadvantage from the beginning, they don’t perform as well on the standardized tests required to graduate from high school and they are more likely to have behavioral problems leading to punishment in school. But could those factors actually push low-income students toward prison?<\/p>\n
A new report from the civil rights group Advancement Project concludes that high-stakes standardized tests and zero-tolerance policies in public schools have created a direct school-to-prison pipeline for many low-income students and students of color. These disadvantaged students are being forced out of their schools, whether by overly harsh punishments for their infractions or by being held back because they failed a standardized test. And when school is no longer an option, many of those disenfranchised teenagers turn to crime. High school dropouts are eight times more likely to be incarcerated than their peers who graduate.<\/p>\n