The Cost of Students Going "Back-to-School"

A recent Pew Research Center report in FacTank, analyst, Drew DeSilver, wrote the article, "Economic impact of back-to-school a matter of debate" which examined the effect of the end of summer purchases by families to prepare children and college students to return to class in fall.

The article cites research done by the National Retail Federation. The second biggest spending season of the year is “back-to-school.” The total back-to-school spending this summer will be $72.5 billion with $26.7 billion spent by families with school-aged children, an average of $634.78 per family. The amount spent on back-to-school by families with college students will be $45.8 billion or an average of $836.84 per family. The total spending for the same season in 2012 was $83.8 billion, $11.3 billion more than this year's estimates. 

Read more:
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/
http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2013/08/14/economic-impact-of-back-to-school-shopping-a-matter-of-debate/
http://www.pewresearch.org/author/ddesilver/
http://www.nrf.com/modules.php?name=News&op=viewlive&sp_id=1626
http://www.nrf.com/modules.php?name=Pages&sp_id=1&pmenu_id=1 

4th Graders Read for Fun Much More Than 8th Graders

According to the U.S. Department of Education, almost half (46%) of American 4^thgraders read for fun almost every day, and nearly three quarters read at least one to two times a week. Just 15 percent read never, or hardly ever.  8th graders on the other hand, read markedly less. Almost one in three (29%) report never or hardly ever reading, and just 21 percent read for fun almost every day. Female 8^thgraders read far more than male 8^th graders, with nearly a quarter reading every day compared to 40 percent of males. 4^th grade girls are also more likely to read frequently than boys.