April 18, 2015
A new study finds that the the economic status of students is linked the way their brain is structured.
Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology headed the study that found connections which may help make more sense of the "achievement gap." The study took 23 students from lower income families and 35 students from higher income families, all between the ages of 12 and 13.
It found that the higher income students had thicker brain cortex in sections associated with visual perception and retaining knowledge. While the reasons for the differences in the brains of these students wasn't determined, the study's authors noted that previous research has shown that lower income students tend to experience high levels of stress early in their lives.
These differences in the brain aren't necessarily permanent, but they are a call to do something about the gap, according to the researchers. MIT professor John Gabrieli said the study backed up previous research on the subject.
“Just as you would expect, there’s a real cost to not living in a supportive environment. We can see it not only in test scores, in educational attainment, but within the brains of these children. To me, it’s a call to action. You want to boost the opportunities for those for whom it doesn’t come easily in their environment.”
The achievement gap between low income students and high income students has proved a prominent issue not only in the United States but also throughout the world.
