(Reuters) - A murder in the neighborhood can significantly knock down a child's score on an IQ test, even if the child did not directly witness the killing or know the victim, U.S. researchers reported on Monday.
The findings have implications both for crime control efforts and for the heavy reliance on standardized tests, said New York University sociology professor Patrick Sharkey, who conducted the study.
They can also explain about half the achievement gap between blacks and whites on such tests, he reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. [emphasis mine]
"It means being more aware of the potential for violence to have a reach that extends beyond just those victimized and those who witness a violent event, to reach across a community and affect all children in a community," Sharkey said in a telephone interview.
Sharkey compared data on crimes broken down to within a few blocks in a neighborhood with school test scores.
