parent's economic shadow: family structure versus family resources as influences on early school achievement

This article re-examines how family structure influences the standardized test scores of first- and second-grade children with respect to the relative influence of family resources. Using archival data drawn from a racially diverse sample of Baltimore youngsters and a seasonal analysis to separate effects of economic standing from family structure, we found that, over winter periods, neither having two parents in the home nor family resources affected growth in standardized achievement. In summers, however, when school was closed, differences in families' economic status were an important source of variance in achievement, but family type was not. The overall advantage in test scores for children from two parent families seen here is thus mainly a consequence of their greater family resources.