Students experiencing homelessness meet or exceed state achievement standards at far lower rates (29% ELA, 19% mathematics) than students statewide (48%, 37%)¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · associationalr2–r3·q2
Currency · newest study 2021 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · recheck by 2026: baselines and conditions change
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q2 i? In 2015–16, 29% of students experiencing homelessness met or exceeded ELA standards and 19% met mathematics standards, compared with 48% and 37% of all students statewide. → Burns 2021
q2 i? Achievement gaps are extreme for English learners and students with disabilities experiencing homelessness: fewer than 9% of English learners met mathematics standards and 4% of students with disabilities did so. → Burns 2021 (2)
Evidence¶
Burns 2021¶
Burns, D., Espinoza, D., Ondrasek, N., & Yang, M. (2021). Students experiencing homelessness: The conditions and outcomes of homelessness among California students. Learning Policy Institute. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/students-experiencing-homelessness
q2 · i? · associational · r2
Descriptive analysis of 2015–16 CAASPP assessment results for California students in grades 3–8 and 11 compares proficiency rates. The report states that for students experiencing homelessness, outcomes "were 29% and 19%, respectively", against 48% ELA and 37% mathematics statewide. No effect size is printed.
"Statewide, 48% of all students met or exceeded state standards in English language arts in 2015–16, and 37% did so in mathematics. For students experiencing homelessness, those outcomes were 29% and 19%, respectively."
Burns 2021 (2)¶
Burns, D., Espinoza, D., Ondrasek, N., & Yang, M. (2021). Students experiencing homelessness: The conditions and outcomes of homelessness among California students. Learning Policy Institute. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/students-experiencing-homelessness
q2 · i? · associational · r3
The same CAASPP descriptive analysis reports subgroup proficiency among students experiencing homelessness. The report finds "fewer than 9%" of English learners experiencing homelessness met mathematics standards and "just 4%" of students with disabilities experiencing homelessness did so. No effect size is printed.
"For English learners experiencing homelessness, fewer than 9% met or achieved state standards in mathematics; for students with disabilities experiencing homelessness, this proportion was just 4%."
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- Students in foster care meet or exceed state standards at much lower rates than other students in English language arts and mathematics — related
- Statewide California mathematics achievement on the CAASPP was mostly stagnant from 2015 to 2018 and lagged behind English language arts gains — related
- Academic achievement of students in foster care improved before the pandemic but lost all gains afterward, with only 19 percent meeting ELA standards in 2022–23 — related
- Each within-year school move is associated with lower CAASPP achievement among students in foster care — related
- California students experiencing homelessness graduate at lower rates (69% vs. 83%) and enroll in college at lower rates (50% vs. 64%) than peers statewide — related
- Schools with high teacher turnover and large proportions of underprepared teachers are associated with lower achievement for all students and for students experiencing homelessness, after accounting for other factors — related
- Homelessness is associated with substantially lower 4-year graduation rates (68% vs. 86% for all students) — related
- In both Colorado and Washington, youth in foster care and youth experiencing homelessness are consistently prioritized in policy and practice, while migrant and justice-involved youth remain less reliably supported — related
- Students experiencing homelessness show lower academic proficiency than economically disadvantaged but stably housed peers in reading, mathematics, and science — related
- Students experiencing homelessness show substantially lower achievement and graduation than housed peers (reported from a New York City study) — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
homeless-students-lower-caaspp-achievement |
title |
Students experiencing homelessness meet or exceed state achievement standards at far lower rates (29% ELA, 19% mathematics) than students statewide (48%, 37%) |
description |
Students experiencing homelessness meet or exceed state achievement standards at far lower rates (29% ELA, 19% mathematics) than students statewide (48%, 37%) |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
moderate |
newest_evidence |
2021 |
recheck_by |
2026 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-10 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
2 — burns-2021, burns-2021-2 |
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