title: Single-parent households and children's educational achievement: A state-level analysis.
abstract: Although many studies have examined associations between family structure and children's educational achievement at the individual level, few studies have considered how the increase in single-parent households may have affected children's educational achievement at the population level. We examined changes in the percentage of children living with single parents between 1990 and 2011 and state mathematics and reading scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress. Regression models with state and year fixed effects revealed that changes in the percentage of children living with single parents were not associated with test scores. Increases in maternal education, however, were associated with improvements in children's test scores during this period. These results do not support the notion that increases in single parenthood have had serious consequences for U.S. children's school achievement.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, Pennsylvania State University, 211 Oswald Tower, University Park, PA 16802, United States. Electronic address: pxa6@psu.edu.
authors.forename: Paul R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Amato
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, Pennsylvania State University, 211 Oswald Tower, University Park, PA 16802, United States.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Patterson
authors.affiliation: Department of Sociology, Pennsylvania State University, 211 Oswald Tower, University Park, PA 16802, United States.
authors.forename: Brett
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Beattie
mesh_terms: D000124:Achievement; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D003710:Demography; D004521:Educational Measurement; D004522:Educational Status; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008433:Mathematics; D009035:Mothers; D016487:Parenting; D011932:Reading; D015406:Single Parent; D013334:Students; D014481:United States
keywords: Children’s educational achievement; Fixed effects models; National Assessment of Educational Progress; Single-parent households