(980)INVESTIGATING THE IMPACT OF AT-RISK FACTORS AND FOSTER CARE STATUS IN SECONDARY EDUCATION OUTCOMES

摘要

Background/Current Paper: For youth with a history of foster care placement, the impact associated with challenges within the family environment and removal from home often compromises their ability to function and learn. Past research indicates that compared to their peers, foster students are more likely to have lower achievement test scores and perform below grade level [1,2,3]. Although many educators identify foster youth as an educationally vulnerable population, they are not specifically identified as a subgroup under U.S. federal law. While past research suggests that characteristics of foster youth and at-risk groups identified in the federal No Child Left Behind Act overlap (e.g. both groups of students are, on average, poor, non-white, and have disabilities), missing from current research is an understanding of whether poor education outcomes for foster youth are due to maltreatment and foster care placement or known academic at-risk factors. The current paper attempts to fill this gap in knowledge. Methods: This study merges administrative child welfare and education data to investigate education outcomes for youth with a foster care history in grades 8 to 11 in four California counties. Foster youth were matched closely to general population students on a number of risk factors. Specifically, students matched on gender, ethnicity, English Language Learner (ELL)Status, primary disability, free/reduced lunch program, district, and a measure of school quality. Education outcomes included performance on the California Standards Test (CST)in English Language Arts and math, the California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE), and grade level appropriate English and math classes. Statistical analyses included bivariate and multivariate regression. Results: After adjusting for the association with noted education at-risk factors, foster youth were significantly less likely to achieve positive results on the majority of education outcomes. Compared to the closely matched group of students, foster youth were 6-26% less likely to achieve proficiency on English Language Arts and math CST and 9-27% less likely to achieve success in English and math courses. For youth with a history of foster care placement, the impact associated with child maltreatment and foster care placement comprises their ability to learn beyond noted education at-risk factors. Overall this study found support for inclusion of foster youth as a specific at-risk subgroup.