While many students will excel despite their environments, the hard truth is that a low-income school will face lower test scores and a higher dropout rate. Low-income schools struggle to keep up with the educational needs of students in overcrowded environments and teachers often pay for school supplies out of their own pockets. In addition, low-income schools are often found in economically depressed areas where students will have distractions like violence and poverty which take their attention away from school.
Students that attend a low-income school are less likely to continue their studies at a two or four-year university. Due to economic difficulties and a lack of extracurricular activities or advanced coursework for gifted students, certain kids that would have likely focused on higher education if they had attended a better school may end up joining the workforce instead. While many universities have outreach programs and grants for students from low-income areas, kids at low-income schools are still at a significant disadvantage.
While the teachers at a low-income school will each approach the situation differently, most low-income schools provide a lower quality of education than their high-income counterparts. Without resources to purchase the most recent textbooks, invest in new technologies for students and take students on trips to museums and other off-campus destinations, teachers are forced to make do with what they have. This means students are less prepared for college and the workforce than their peers.
Due to the environments that surround most low-income schools, students often have emotional problems and issues with attendance. Some parents in these areas may be less likely to encourage their children to go to school, while economically depressed areas usually face higher rates of crime and delinquency. Low-income schools often must focus on increasing funds for administrative purposes like monitoring attendance or counseling students, which then leads to lower available funds for teachers.