The author's main idea in paragraph 8 is best summarized by option a: Poverty is a cause of lower educational outcomes because it causes children to be absent from or drop out of school. This option encapsulates the primary focus of the paragraph, which discusses how various aspects of poverty, including absenteeism and related issues, negatively impact children's education and academic performance.
Read paragraph 8 from the passage. What is the author's main idea in this excerpt?
8. In addition to the general funding issue for schools in poorer neighborhoods, poverty is also connected to education in a different way: children who are living in poverty are less likely to do well in school. Increased absenteeism is one way that poverty affects academic performance. Children from low-income families are more than four times likely to be absent from school than their peers (Chang 13). Inadequate healthcare, which can lead to both work and school absenteeism, is one issue poor families face. They may find it difficult to afford medical care at the beginning of an illness. For example, a child with a cold that goes untreated can get a sinus infection, which if also goes untreated can result in an overnight stay in the emergency room. In this case, the child suffers for much longer and misses more school because of a lack of adequate healthcare. Additionally, poor children tend to have a variety of family-related issues that cause them to miss school. They often have to work to earn money for their families or take care of loved ones. Transportation problems, such as a lack of a reliable car or not having enough money for the bus, make just getting to school a problem. Many of these children also have to overcome unstable housing situations and food insecurity. Understandably, compared to a lack of adequate housing or food, education is not as high a priority. Each day that a child misses school, whatever the reason, is one less day of learning and one more day they fall behind their peers in academic performance. Those in poverty are also more likely than other children to drop out of school altogether. In fact, students from low-income families are five times more likely to drop out of school than those from families with higher incomes (Chapman 6). Unfortunately, young people who leave school without a high school diploma will find it difficult to find jobs as adults, perpetuating the cycle of poverty.
a-Poverty is a cause of lower educational outcomes because it causes children to be absent from or drop out of school.
b-Family-related issues are some of the most difficult problems to solve regarding poverty.
c-Food insecurity occurs when a household cannot afford enough food for family members to lead active, healthy lives.
d-Being sick more often is one unfortunate cause and effect of child poverty.
1 answer