Bright children from low-income homes lose cognitive edge in early secondary school

An analysis of Millennium Cohort Study data from the UK found that the cognitive skills of bright 5-year-olds from poor families keep pace with those of their wealthier peers until the end of primary school. After the transition to secondary school, however, high-achieving children from low-income families tend to experience a particularly sharp decline in attitudes toward school, behavior, mental health, and academic achievement. This decline occurs between the ages of 11 and 14. The paper was published in Research in Social Stratification and Mobility.

Socioeconomic status is a combined measure of a person’s or family’s economic and social position, typically based on income, education, and occupation. While it is not a single characteristic, it is consistently linked to many important life outcomes.

Socioeconomic status is strongly associated with children’s academic achievement and cognitive development. Children from higher socioeconomic backgrounds typically have access to more educational resources, enriching experiences, and stable home environments that support learning. These advantages contribute to stronger early language development, memory, and executive functioning skills. Conversely, lower socioeconomic status is often linked to increased exposure to stress, less access to quality education, and fewer learning opportunities.

These disparities can lead to gaps in cognitive skills even before children enter school. Over time, such differences often widen, resulting in persistent achievement gaps in reading, math, and problem-solving. Socioeconomic status influences not only academic outcomes but also school engagement, motivation, and expectations.

Study authors John Jerrim and Maria Palma Carvajal set out to track the outcomes of high-achieving disadvantaged children starting at age 5, before they began formal schooling. They aimed to compare their achievements and cognitive skills with those of wealthier peers through to age 16. They also examined whether these bright 5-year-olds from low-income backgrounds became more disinterested or unmotivated at school than their wealthier peers, and compared their behavior, mental health, and experiences with bullying.

Free daily newsletter

The authors analyzed data from the Millennium Cohort Study, a nationally representative longitudinal survey that follows 18,818 children born in the UK between 2000 and 2002. Of these individuals, 10,757 remained in the study at age 17. At age 5, the children completed a set of five cognitive tests. The top 25% of performers on these tests were classified as high-achievers and included in the analyses for this study.

From this high-achieving group, the authors examined data for 1,392 children from high-income backgrounds and 389 children from low-income backgrounds. They conducted a number of statistical adjustments to ensure that comparisons reflected differences in cognitive abilities rather than other factors stemming from socioeconomic differences.

The results showed that cognitive skills among high-achieving children from low-income families remained on par with those of high-income peers through the end of primary school. However, during the transition to secondary school—between ages 11 and 14—these disadvantaged high-achievers experienced a particularly sharp decline in attitudes toward school, behavior, mental health, and academic performance compared to their wealthier peers.

“The failure to fully capitalize on the early potential of this group [bright children from poor families] is likely to be a key reason why the UK is failing to become a more socially fluid society,” the study authors concluded.

The study sheds light on the importance of the socioeconomic environment children live in for their development. However, it should be noted that the findings are specific for the U.K. culture and society. Findings in other cultures and societies might differ.

The paper, “What happens to bright 5-year-olds from poor backgrounds? Longitudinal evidence from the Millennium Cohort Study,” was authored by John Jerrim and Maria Palma Carvajal.