The role of parenting in the intergenerational transmission of poverty

in the United States. There are large income-related gaps in all three cognitive measures (literacy, mathematics, and language test score); those in the higher income quintiles have higher scores compared to those in lower income quintiles. Although not as pronounced, gaps in behavioral dimensions of school readiness are also present, with incidence of conduct problems and hyperactivity decreasing as income rises. These gaps appear early, well before the start of formal schooling. They also persist through children’s schooling years, and grow over time.