This study was designed to investigate the influence of poverty and parent marital status on eighth grade student achievement as measured by the EXPLORE, a precursor to the ACT. The sample included 520 eighth grade students at a middle school in West Kentucky--parent marital status, free/reduced lunch status, and EXPLORE test scores were obtained from archives. Contrary to expectations, this study found that only poverty distinguished the groups--marital status, by itself and in combination with poverty, had no statistically significant bearing upon test scores. Implications and limitations are discussed.