Lead exposure and educational proficiency: moderate lead exposure and educational proficiency on end-of-grade examinations.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate and quantify the impact of moderate lead exposure on students' ability to score at the "proficient" level on end-of-grade standardized tests.


METHODS
We compared the scores of 3757 fourth grade students from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on the Wisconsin Knowledge and Concepts Exam (WKCE). The sample consisted of children with a blood lead test before age 3 years that was either unquantifiable at the time of testing (<5 μg/dL) or in the range of moderate exposure (10-19 μg/dL).


RESULTS
After controlling for gender, poverty, English language learner status, race/ethnicity, school disciplinary actions, and attendance percentage, results showed a significant negative effect of moderate lead exposure on academic achievement for all 5 subtests of the WKCE. Test score deficits owing to lead exposure were equal to 22% of the interval between student categorization at the "proficient" or "basic" levels in Reading, and 42% of the interval in Mathematics.


CONCLUSIONS
Children exposed to amounts of lead before age 3 years that are insufficient to trigger intervention under current policies in many states are nonetheless at a considerable educational disadvantage compared with their unexposed peers 7 to 8 years later. Exposed students are at greater risk of scoring below the proficient level, an outcome with serious negative consequences for both the student and the school.
Department of Population Health Sciences, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706, USA. amato@wisc.edu
Michael S
MS
Amato
Colleen F
CF
Moore
Sheryl
S
Magzamen
Pamela
P
Imm
Jeffrey A
JA
Havlena
Henry A
HA
Anderson
Marty S
MS
Kanarek
D000124:Achievement; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004521:Educational Measurement / Q000379:methods*; D004522:Educational Status; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007854:Lead / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D012574:Schools; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014922:Wisconsin
D007854:Lead