Other key findings include:

• While the gap is narrowing, Hispanic students are still less likely than Asians, whites, or blacks to attend four-year colleges or go to school full time.
• According to the survey, Latinos were more likely than white students to say that a college degree is essential to get ahead in life.
• In 2000, 28 percent of Latinos had neither finished high school nor were attending school. That percentage dropped to 14 percent in 2012. During the same time period, the dropout rate fell from 13 percent to 7 percent among blacks, and from 7 percent to 5 percent among whites.

To turn this into a story:

• Use this report as a source for a story on the effects of poverty and race on education. Use the tutorials found on the Covering Poverty Blog, especially Covering Poverty and Race and Covering Poverty and Education, for tips on how to measure this.
• Use Covering Poverty’s “tip sheets” such as 5 things to Know About Poverty and Race, found on the Covering Poverty Blog.
• Use the Covering Poverty Blog’s Resources page for links to helpful websites for journalists covering poverty.
• Use this report as a source for a story on how Latino students are outperforming other groups. Interview high school students, counselors and college admissions officers to determine if the new data comports with what they are observing.

Other reporting and commentary from across the web:

• The New York Times: Money Cuts Both Ways in Education
• The Guardian: Food Poverty: The American Way
• The Washington Post: Poverty and student achievement: Are we comparing the wrong groups?

Other key findings include:

• According to a dozen large national studies conducted between 1960 and 2010, the rich-poor gap in test scores grew by 40 percent in the past 30 years.
• The average rich-poor SAT score gap in the 1980’s was 90 points; today, that gap is 125 points. This is almost twice as large as the 70-point test score gap between white and black children.
• 15 percent of high-income students from the high school class of 2004 enrolled in a highly selective college or university, while fewer than 5 percent of middle-income and 2 percent of low-income students did.

To turn this into a story:

• Research ways in which high-income families in your area are stimulating the cognitive development of their young children, then contrast your findings to options available for poorer children in your area.
• Use this report as a source for a story on average test scores in your area. Use the National Assessment of Economic Progress for accurate information.
• Use the Covering Poverty Blog’s tutorial, Covering Poverty and Education.
• Cite facts from the Covering Poverty Blog’s Tip Sheets, especially 6 Things to Know About Poverty and Education.

Other reporting and commentary from across the web:

• The Reporter: Federal Education Dollars Slashed
• Business Week: Why Ending Extreme Poverty Isn’t Good Enough
• The New York Times: NewSchools Fund Attracts More Capitol
• The Washington Post: Cousera to Offer New Set of Online Course Options Targeting Teaching Education

Other key findings include:

• In fiscal year 2011, on average, SNAP provided $134 per person to 44.7 million individuals in 21.1 million households each month.
• Nearly 55 percent of SNAP participants are children or elderly. About 41 percent live in households with earnings.
• SNAP benefits, provided monthly via an electronic debit card, are available to most households with gross income less than 130 percent of the Federal poverty guidelines.
• SNAP participation closely follows the pattern of poverty in America. As the number of persons in poverty rises, SNAP participation grows. As poverty falls, so does reliance on SNAP. With the severe economic downturn, food insecurity rose to record high levels in 2008 and remained essentially unchanged in 2009 and 2010.

To turn this into a story:

• Take the Food Stamp Challenge and write a story detailing what day to day life on a SNAP budget is like. Include your shopping list, menus and nutritional breakdown in your report. Use the Recipe Finder Database  found on the SNAP website to find nutritional meals submitted by nutrition and health professionals.
• Refer to the Covering Poverty tutorials, Covering Poverty and Health and Covering Poverty and Financial Services for more tips on how to use this report in a story.
• Use resources found on the Covering Poverty blog, including 8 Things to Know about Poverty and Access to Financial Services.

Other reporting and commentary from across the web:

• The New York Times: City Report Shows More Were Near Poverty in 2011
• The Washington Post: GED High School Equivalency Test to Get Major Overhaul, Become More Difficult
• Citizensvoice.com: Study Examines Nonprofits’ Expenses
• The Tampa Tribune: New Nonprofit Aid Rules Coming

According to the NCCP, there are a range of factors associated with children’s experiences of economic insecurity, including race/ethnicity and parent’s education and employment. White children comprise the largest group of all low-income children, while black, American Indian, and Hispanic children have the highest proportion of children living in low-income families.

Other key findings include:

• Of the more than 73 million children under the age of 18 in the United States, 45 percent (32.4 million) live in low-income families, and one in every five (22 percent) live in poor families.
• Children are over twice as likely as adults 65 years and older to live in poor families.
• 86 percent of children with parents who have less than a high school degree live in low-income families. This number decreases to 31 percent for children with at least one parent who has some college or more education.

To turn this into a story:

• Use this report as a source for a story on the children living in low-income families in your area. Use the Basic Needs Budget Calculator to calculate how much a family needs to make ends meet in your city, state or county.
• Refer to the Covering Poverty tutorial, Covering Poverty and Families for more tips on how to use this report in a story.
• Use resources found on the Covering Poverty blog, including 5 Things to Know about Poverty and Children.

Other reporting and commentary from across the web:

• Houmatoday.com: La. Ranks Poorly for Child Poverty Rates
  
• The Seattle Times: 5 Things about Education and the Wash. High Court
  
• Huffington Post: The  One Chart You Need to Understand America’s Mind-Blowing Income Gap

Other key findings include:

• In 2011 one-third of nonprofits surveyed provided a median bonus of over $50,000 to their executives.
• More than 20 nonprofit organizations paid top executives more than $1 million a year in 2010 and 2011.
• The tax exempt, partially government funded Boys & Girls Clubs of America president earns $1.8 million a year for her work with the nonprofit organization.

To turn this into a story:

• Use this report as a source for a story on top nonprofit executive salaries in your area.
• Use resources like GuideStar, which can be found on the Covering Poverty Essential Resources page, to compare the salaries of top nonprofit executives in your area, the amount of government aid the nonprofit receives and the amount of aid the nonprofit provides. 
• Refer to the Covering Poverty tutorial on Covering Poverty and Nonprofits for more tips on how to use this report in a story.

Other reporting and commentary from across the web:

• CNN: World Bank president: We can end extreme poverty by 2030
• TribLocal: Bilingual teaching in Spanish, Polish and Hindi coming to Arlington Heights Schools
• People’s Daily Online: Poverty not just about income: UN Official
• Huffington Post: The Education Brain Drain New Jersey Can’t Afford

Other key findings include:

• On average, nonprofits employ more workers than either the transportation or construction industry.
• The nonprofit sector accounts for an average of 4.5 percent of the GDP in the countries that published reports.
• Contrary to popular belief, the majority of nonprofit revenue is not from philanthropy. Instead, 43 percent of nonprofit revenue comes from fees for their services, 32 percent from government sources and 23 percent from philanthropic giving.
• In the eight countries in which historical data is available, the growth rate of the nonprofit sector contribution to GDP exceeded the growth rate of GDP.

To turn this into a story:

• Use this report as a source for a story on local nonprofits and their affect on the economy in your area.
• Compare the United States’ national report to your local area. Write a story on your findings.

Other reporting and commentary from across the web:

• The Atlantic: Why the Rich Don’t Give to Charity
• New York Times: Curious Grade for Teachers: Nearly All Pass
• The Southern: Region’s Child Poverty Rates Alarming

Among this year’s national trends, the report finds that child poverty rates have not improved since 2000, teen birth rates are more than twice as high in the least healthy counties than in the healthiest counties, and more than one in five children in the United States lives in poverty. The study also reported that counties in which people don’t live as long and don’t feel as well have the highest rates of smoking, teen births, and physical inactivity. These same counties also have the most preventable hospital stays.

Other key findings include:

• Colorado had the lowest occurrence of obesity, with 20.7 percent of the population estimated to be obese.
• Mississippi was ranked as the most sedentary state, with 36 percent of their population over age 18 reporting no additional physical activity or exercise (such as running, calisthenics, golfing, gardening or walking) other than their regular job in the last 30 days.
• Utah had the lowest percentage of those over age 18 report smoking on a regular basis (11.8 percent), while Kentucky had the highest percentage of regular smokers (29 percent).

To turn this into a story:

• Write a story detailing your local county’s rankings compared to the state and national averages. Turn on the “areas to explore” feature to highlight potential challenges your community may want to examine more closely.
• Use the “measures” tab to write a story highlighting a particular topic in your county. Information available includes the percentage of children eligible for free lunch, the HIV prevalence rate, average health care costs, and demographic information. For a greater statewide perspective, compare the state averages to your county.
• Interview providers and public health specialists on how they expect the Affordable Care Act to influence health outcomes in your county and state.

Other reporting and commentary from across the web:

• WND: Poverty Hits the Suburbs
• San Francisco Chronicle: Mississippi Democrats Call for Better Education Funding
• London Free Press: U.S. Income Gap is Permanent

While many low-income students do not consider a selective college, those who choose to attend are often very successful. Of those high-achieving, low-income students who chose to attend a selective school, 89 percent have graduated or were on pace to do so compared with 50 percent of those who chose to attend a nonselective school. Additionally, many of the most selective schools offer enough financial aid to close or eliminate the cost gap between a community college and a top school for low-income students.

Other key findings include:

• 34 percent of high-achieving high school seniors in the bottom fourth of income distribution attended one of the nation’s 248 most selective colleges, compared to 78 percent of top students in the highest income quartile.
• While top low-income students from the largest metropolitan areas in the country often apply to selective colleges, those from smaller cities and rural areas usually do not.
• According to the study, among top low-income students, 6 percent were black, 8 percent Latino, 15 percent Asian-American and 69 percent white.

To turn this into a story:

• Use this report as a source for a story on the amount of financial aid available to low-income students for both community colleges and top state schools in your region. Compare the final cost of a four-year degree.
• Interview students at a local community college in your region to determine whether cost was a deciding factor for attending their school.
• Interview guidance counselors at high schools in your area. Write an article highlighting their advice for low-income students who want to attend a top school.
• Interview guidance counselers and high-achieving low-income students as to whether they agree or disagree with the New York Times’ conclusions.

Other reporting and commentary from across the web:

• The Atlantic: The Worst Victims of the Education Sequester: Special-Needs Students and Poor Kids
• The Guardian: World poverty is shrinking rapidly, new index reveals
  
• Huffington Post: Education for Every Child: A Post-2015 Priority

The achievement comes during the first year of Texas’ transition from the TAKS to the STAAR exam, a change that no longer gives students the option to test in Spanish.  Additionally, the STAAR exam imposes a time limit and must be completed the same day. The school district credits their achievement on the high level of preparation for the test that began in 2010, with students at each grade level tested weekly, benchmark exams every six weeks, and exposure to testing situations before the state administered the actual exam.

Other key findings include:

• Valley View beat the regional average on all but one exam and surpassed the state average on 10 exams for grades three though eight.
• 86 percent of fifth graders passed the STAAR reading exam, compared to the state average of 77 percent.

To turn this into a story:

• Interview teachers and administrators in your school district about how they are preparing students for state testing.
• Use this story as a source for a report on how the link between poverty and low-education levels is being reversed.
• Compare the state achievement test pass rate for schools in your district and the average income of the families at each school. Write a story comparing the state testing averages to the averages in your district and how average household income is potentially correlated.

Other reporting and commentary from across the web:

• New York Times: In the South and West, a Tax on Being Poor
• Business Insider: Silicon Valley Poverty is Getting Much Worse Amidst Insane New Tech Wealth Boom
• Harvard Business Review: How Nonprofits Prove Their Worth