By Ashley A. Smith, EdSource, January 30, 2020
California foster students who were suspended from school or attended multiple high schools are more likely to struggle in college, according to a new report that examines the academic transition these students undergo.
The report released Wednesday, from Educational Results Partnership, a nonprofit research organization, and California College Pathways, a statewide organization that helps foster youth succeed in college, finds these students had lower grade point averages than their peers because of barriers they faced in high school. However, foster youth who had access to financial aid, clear educational plans and counseling services in college had higher GPAs and earned more course credits than foster youth who didn’t. The findings echo the impacts on low-income, black or Latino students who transfer schools multiple times and are suspended. In California, the majority of foster youth are black, Latino and low-income.
The data suggests educators should consider the impact of multiple high school transfers on foster students or removing them from school for a behavior problem, Ed Results researchers say.
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