Dive Brief:

• A child is seven and a half times less likely to be successful if the father failed to succeed, according to a report by Britain's Office for National Statistics.    
• The report alleges that a father's education is the "strongest factor" when predicting a child's future success.  
• The report ties low levels of achievement to poverty, ultimately arguing that a cycle is initiated when a father figure fails to achieve.  

Dive Insight:

“This report shows just how important education is in breaking the cycle of poverty across generations and ensuring that poor educational achievement is not transmitted from parent to child,” Conor Ryan, director of research at the Sutton Trust, told the Guardian.  

While the report is useful, it ultimately doesn't tell us so much new. Poverty has always been considered a determining factor in student achievement. Interestingly, according to the report, a mother's achievement level is less of an indicator: Children are only three times as likely to not succeed if their mother did not further her education.