Poverty does matter. It is a societal imperative to fully fund equity of access for all children.

"This paper arises out of frustration with the results of school reforms carried out over the past few decades. These efforts have failed. They need to be abandoned. In their place must come recognition that income inequality causes many social problems, including problems associated with education....

"But poverty has relationships with other characteristics of families, and among them is a higher rate for impoverished youth to experience abuse, domestic violence, and family strife during their childhood (Berliner, 2009). Girls who experience such events in childhood are much more likely to become pregnant as teenagers, and that risk increases with the number of adverse childhood experiences she has. This kind of family dysfunction in childhood has enduring and unfavorable health consequences for women during the adolescent years, childbearing years, and beyond...."

http://communityvoicesforpubliceducation.wordpress.com/2012/11/04/poverty-does-matter-it-is-a-societal-imperative-to-fully-fund-equity-of-access-for-all-children/