Back to School, Back to Instability: New Study Shows Foster Children Struggle in Math, English, Other Standardized Tests
Bipartisan Hill Leaders and DC 'Real Housewife' Stacie Scott Turner Call for Change
Full Release available online at http://bit.ly/cA7hKR
WASHINGTON, Sept. 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute (CCAI) and Fostering Media Connections (FMC) today released preliminary findings from a pilot program conducted by the California Partnership for Achieving Student Success (Cal-PASS) which indicate that foster youth in four counties in California are less likely than their closely matched peers and the general student population to achieve proficiency in English and math at all grade levels.
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Early results found one in 10 foster youth are proficient in math by the 11th grade; just over two in 10 foster youth will be proficient in English by the 11th grade. The complete study will be released this winter. In reviewing the preliminary results of this study, Senators Mary Landrieu (D-LA) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Representatives Jim McDermott (D-WA) and Michele Bachmann (R-MN), and former foster child turned reality TV personality Stacie Scott Turner called on Governors, the Congress and the Administration to take immediate action to reverse this disturbing trend.
The compelling testimony of two former youth put a face on the numbers. Sokhom Mao was placed in a stable environment, protected by a 2004 California law that requires that youth in care have the chance to stay in the same school despite a change in placement. "Stability allowed me to graduate from high school successfully and attend college." Conversely, Christina Miranda attended 10 different schools. "I remember moving a lot and that was pretty painful. I had the realization that I wasn't a normal student with a normal life. I remember feeling like there was no reason to try because I knew I was going to leave anyway."
Former foster child and Bravo's Real Housewives' Stacie Scott Turner said, "Many people don't understand what foster children face: an unstable home, lack of parental influence and moving from place to place makes focusing on school five times as difficult. When we can ensure foster children are supported and nurtured and can focus on education we will start to see results and level the playing field between them and a general population that often takes their stability and education for granted."
"While lower educational outcomes always signal a need for reform, what makes these numbers even more disturbing is we know they do not accurately reflect these youth's academic potential," said Kathleen Strottman, Executive Director of CCAI. "The fact that they can perform at all, in light of the constant changes in school and other trauma in their lives, is a testament to their ability."
CCAI (www.ccainstitute.org) is a non-governmental, non-profit organization that is an objective, educational resource critical to advancing the efforts of policymakers on behalf of children in need of homes. CCAI is available on Twitter (http://twitter.com/ccainstitute), Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/ccainstitute), YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/ccainstitute), and our blog (http://ccainstitute.wordpress.com/).
CONTACT: Daniel Heimpel, 510.334.8636/[email protected] or Emily Collins, 202.544.8500/ [email protected]
SOURCE Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute
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