Freakonomics on Education

In his book Freakonimics, Steven Levitt explodes many myths supported by “conventional wisdom”. Of great interest to educators is his analysis of the data in the U.S. Department of Education’s Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS). According to the ECLS data, eight factors show a strong correlation (either negative or positive) with test scores, while eight other factors don’t seem to matter. See if some of these go against what you currently believe:

1. Matters: The child has highly educated parents.
Doesn’t: The child’s family is intact.

2. Matters: The child’s parents have high socioeconomic status.
Doesn’t: The child’s parents recently moved into a better neighborhood.

3. Matters: The child’s mother was thirty years old or older at the
time of the birth of her first child.
Doesn’t: The child’s mother didn’t work between birth and
Kindergarten.

4. Matters: The child had low birthweight.
Doesn’t: The child attended Head Start.

5. Matters: The child’s parents speak English in the home.
Doesn’t: The child’s parents regularly take him to museums.

6. Matters: The child is adopted.
Doesn’t: The child is regularly spanked.

7. Matters: The child’s parents are involved in the PTA.
Doesn’t: The child frequently watches television.

8. Matters: The child has many books in his home.
Doesn’t: The child’s parents read to him nearly every day.