Poverty Cycle — Achieve Now

The Poverty Cycle in Philadelphia

A literacy crisis in Philadelphia

In 2019, 67.5% of School District of Philadelphia 3rd graders scored below proficiency on the literacy sections of Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) tests. Falling behind early produces unfortunate ripple effects; in 2019, the percentage of 9th graders who graduated in 4 years was 69.2%, 16.7 points below the national average. The statistics are most dire for students from low-income families, whose rates of achievement, graduation, and post-secondary completion are far lower than those of their more well-resourced peers.

Illiterate or marginally literate adults

These low literacy and retention rates have wide-ranging consequences. Philadelphia ranks 92nd out of the 100 largest U.S. cities in educational attainment. 17.4% of adult Philadelphians—an estimated 225,000—do not have a high school diploma, compared to 10.5 percent in Pennsylvania at large, and only 28% of Philadelphians 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or higher, ahead of only Cleveland and Detroit, and 6% behind the national average.

The literacy crisis in Philadelphia's public schools produces adults who struggle to read. Philadelphia ranks at the bottom among large American cities in reading proficiency; according to recent federal data, roughly 22 percent of Philadelphians aged 16 and older lack the most basic literacy skills. 52% of Philadelphia's adults are functionally illiterate, and 67% are low-literate, reading at a sixth- to eighth-grade level. Almost 40% of adult Philadelphians struggle to fill out a job application, to read doctors’ instructions on their medicines, and to help with their children’s homework.

Perpetuating the poverty cycle

The connection between low literacy and unemployment is strong. High school dropouts are three times more likely to be unemployed than college graduates. As of June 2020, the unemployment rate in Philadelphia County is 58% above the national average; in large parts of the city, participation in the labor force is less than 65%. It is estimated that by 2030, 600,000 Philadelphians—nearly 39% of the current total population—will not have the skills to secure the jobs available in an increasingly global economy.

According to a National Adult Literacy Survey, adults living at the lowest levels of literacy are, on average, almost ten times more likely to be living below the poverty line. 26% of Philadelphians—between 377,000 and 413,000 people—live below the federal poverty level, and 12.2% live in deep poverty, defined as income below half of the poverty line. This is the highest rate among the nation's 10 most populous cities. Most troubling is that thirty-eight percent of Philadelphia’s children live in poverty. As a recent report by the Public Citizens for Children and Youth notes, "Philadelphia has long had the unfortunate distinction of having the highest child poverty rate of any large city in the country."

Poverty has a negative compounding effect. A study by Public Citizens for Children and Youth finds that when the majority of a school’s student body is living in poverty, its challenges are felt exponentially. It has been determined that 50% is the tipping point; if half of the school is impoverished, then children will feel the amplified effect of group poverty. Given that 80% of Philadelphia schools have 100% low-income student bodies, the struggles of poverty are intensified in a significant majority of District schools.

The Poverty Cycle in Philadelphia

A literacy crisis in Philadelphia

Illiterate or marginally literate adults

Perpetuating the poverty cycle

Further Reading:

Give a Child a Brighter Future.

More Info

Follow