"Poverty has long been associated with lower levels of school achievement within developed nation, as well as across nations. The level of economic wealth of a nation has also been found to be correlated with many aspects relating to education: funding, access, human resources, literacy, etc. This paper describes the educational scenario in four countries (Rwanda, Philippines, Argentina, and the United States)--one at each of four levels of economic wealth as described by the World Bank--and develops a simple explanatory model including issues, problems, and programs. Data sources include personal teaching experience, published research, government documentation and international comparison data for each country."