Children’s blood lead and standardized test performance response as indicators of neurotoxicity in metropolitan New Orleans elementary schools S. Zahran a , H.W. Mielke b,c, *, S. Weiler d , K.J. Berry a , C. Gonzales e a Department of Sociology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1784, USA b Center for Bioenvironmental Research, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA c Department of Chemistry, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118, USA d Department of Economics, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1771, USA e Department of Chemistry, Xavier University of Louisiana, New Orleans, LA 70125, USA 1. Introduction The topic of this paper is Pb neurotoxicity and its impact on learning achievement in pre-Katrina New Orleans public schools. A critical question concerns how neurotoxicity relates to the learning performance of children within actual schools (May, 2000). Because Pb is metabolized like calcium and stored in the bones, deciduous teeth contain a record of early exposure. Pioneering research by Needleman et al. (1979) involved measuring the amount of Pb accumulated in deciduous teeth and matching the results with assessments by teachers of children’s learning behaviors in the classroom, and the topic has evolved rapidly (Needleman, 2004). Recent studies describe the neurotoxic association between lead exposure of children, usually measured as blood lead (BPb), and learning deficits, generally expressed as intelligence quotient (IQ). IQ is a score derived from several different standardized tests that attempt to measure intelligence. By matching BPb with IQ, researchers have observed a steeper slope in decline of IQ at BPb less than 10 mg/dL compared with the lower slope of decline over the entire range of exposures (Canfield et al., 2003; Jusko et al., 2008; Rothenberg and Rothenberg, 2005). Behavioral disorders are also an important variable in the classroom and neurotoxic effects of Pb exposure in early childhood have been directly associated with disruptive behavior (Needleman et al., 1996, 2002; Wright et al., 2008). Research has further elaborated the role of Pb in school performance. In Ohio, risk of learning failure was identified as being strongly associated with urban youth living in inner cities where high Pb environments and high BPb levels are typical (Boyd et al., 1999). However, among educators it is more typical to find a lack of awareness regarding the neurotoxic affect of early Pb exposure on the learning achievement of children within school districts (Martin, 2008). Central to this study is an important feature about the pre- and post-Katrina public schools of New Orleans. The Louisiana Educational Assessment Program (LEAP) of high-stakes tests (measuring the mastery of state content standards) was first NeuroToxicology xxx (2009) xxx–xxx ARTICLE INFO Article history: Received 16 January 2009 Accepted 24 July 2009 Available online xxx Keywords: Fluoridated water High stakes testing Racial demography School achievement test scores Soil lead Student–teacher ratio ABSTRACT This study analyzes pre-Katrina variation in aggregate student performance and children’s blood lead (BPb) in 117 elementary school districts in metropolitan New Orleans. Fourth grade student achievement on Louisiana Educational Assessment Program (LEAP) tests were analyzed as a function of BPb for children 1–6 years old within school districts, controlling for student–teacher ratios, percent of students eligible for a free or discounted lunch, and school racial demography. Measures of performance across subject areas (English Language Arts, Science, Mathematics, and Social Studies) include school Achievement Test Scores (ATS) and indices of agreement and variation in student achievement. ATS are measured on a 5-point scale, corresponding to achievement categories of advanced = 5 to unsatisfactory = 1. Regression results show that median BPb (mg/dL) and percent of children with BPb  10 mg/dL are significantly associated with reductions in test scores across all subjects and depress variation in student performance across achievement categories. These data suggest that assisting children with improved school performance requires alleviation of pre-school Pb exposure and its associated neurotoxic damage. Cost–benefit calculations suggest that it is more cost effective to pay for onetime primary prevention instead of paying continuous expenses focused on reversing neurotoxic damage. ß 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. * Corresponding author at: Center for Bioenvironmental Research, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA. Tel.: +1 5049883889. E-mail addresses: szahran@colostate.edu (S. Zahran), hmielke@tulane.edu (H.W. Mielke), stephan.weiler@colostate.edu (S. Weiler), berry@mail.colostate.edu (K.J. Berry), Chrisgc99@gmail.com (C. Gonzales). G Model NEUTOX-1045; No of Pages 10 Please cite this article in press as: Zahran S, et al. Children’s blood lead and standardized test performance response as indicators of neurotoxicity in metropolitan New Orleans elementary schools, Neurotoxicology (2009), doi:10.1016/j.neuro.2009.07.017 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect NeuroToxicology 0161-813X/$ – see front matter ß 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.neuro.2009.07.017