Gates Foundation Ignores Poverty's Hold on Student Performance

Education Week, June 19, 2018

To the Editor:

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation wants to "diagnose the root cause of poor performance" by investing $68 million to expand education grantmaking abroad ("The Gates Foundation's Education Plans Go International," Curriculum Matters blog, June 3, 2018). But we already know what causes poor performance. Study after study over many decades has concluded that poverty is the culprit.

Until our country's government and citizens take steps to substantially reduce and eventually eliminate poverty by ensuring every person has full employment at a living wage, we can do a lot to protect students from the negative impact of poverty. Many low-income children suffer from food deprivation, lack of medical care, and lack of access to books&—all of which affect their school performance. We can invest more in food programs, medical care and school nurses, and libraries and librarians.

The Gates Foundation seems to have no interest in doing this. Instead, the foundation seems to be concerned about better data analysis and improving teaching and classroom practice. The best teaching in the world will have no effect if students are hungry, ill, or have nothing to read.

Stephen Krashen 

Professor Emeritus of Education 

University of Southern California 

Los Angeles, Calif.