Report Finds Some Improvement in Educational Outcomes of California Foster Youth, But Much Remains to Be Done  

April 7, 2025

More than a decade since the 2013 release of a landmark study revealed that students in California’s foster care system were academically trailing their peers, a new study finds that youth in foster care in the state now experience greater school stability, higher graduation rates, and lower dropout rates than in 2013. The study also finds that despite policy reform to improve supports for youth in foster care, stark disparities persist.  

Released by WestEd nearly 12 years ago, The Invisible Achievement Gap: Education Outcomes of Students in Foster Care in California’s Public Schools examined the educational progress of students in foster care and provided a series of recommendations for improving supports for them. The follow-up study, Revisiting California’s Invisible Achievement Gap: Trends in Education Outcomes of Students in Foster Care in the Context of the Local Control Funding Formula, analyzes educational trends among California youth in foster care from 2014 to 2023—a transformational decade featuring significant policy reform to the state’s school funding system and a global pandemic. 

The report reveals that while there have been some improvements in outcomes for California students in foster care over the 9-year time period, students in foster care still had the poorest education outcomes compared to students in other high-need student groups. The effects were seemingly exacerbated by the onset of COVID-19.  

Key Findings From the Report: 

• Decrease in Number of Students in Foster Care: Over the 9-year period, the number of California students in foster care declined by more than 13,000 students. In the 2022–23 school year, 31,722 students in foster care enrolled in California public schools. 
• Small Number of Districts Enroll the Majority of Foster Youth: In 2022–23, nearly two thirds of California students in foster care were enrolled in a handful of districts with at least 100 students in foster care compared to the majority of districts that reported having between 1 and 49 students in foster care.  
• Disparities Continue Despite Some Progress: The number of students in foster care enrolled at only one school per year increased overall, indicating improved stability for students. However, that stability remained lower for youth in foster care than for students in other high-need student groups. Students in foster care were consistently more likely than other high-need student groups to attend a low-performing school, and the percentage of students in foster care identified as having at least one disability increased steadily. 
• Achievement Gap Persists as COVID-19 Hindered Progress: While graduation rates and dropout rates slightly improved, students in foster care frequently had the poorest education outcomes, including chronic absence, suspension, dropout, graduation, and college admission requirements, compared to other high-need student groups. COVID-19 reversed or halted improvements to students’ academic achievement.  
• More Targeted Action Could Be Taken at the Local Level: Analysis of Local Control and Accountability Plans from the state’s 10 school districts with the most students in foster care reveals that very few actions or funds were dedicated to support students in foster care as a distinct group with unique needs—and only 0.1 percent of planned expenditures were dedicated solely to supporting youth in foster care across districts. Instead, districts mostly opted to combine action and funding to address the blended needs of students in foster care, English Learners, and students from households with low income. 

“Our analysis shows that while the achievement gap for California students in foster care is no longer invisible, it is certainly transparent,” said Vanessa Ximenes Barrat, lead author and Senior Research Associate at WestEd. “While we applaud the progress that has been made to support California students in foster care, our findings underscore the ongoing need for more specific supports for foster youth, especially as students struggle to catch up post-pandemic.”  

In addition to examining trends in student outcomes across the decade and analyzing Local Control and Accountability Plans across 10 school districts, the report provides perspectives from interviews with child welfare and education professionals as well as former students who were in foster care while attending school.  

The 2013 landmark study linked, for the first time, data from California’s education system and child welfare system to provide an educational snapshot of K–12 students in foster care. The 2013 report demonstrated that youth in foster care consistently struggled compared to their peers in terms of academics, school stability, and graduation, among other outcomes. In 2013, California enacted the Local Control Funding Formula to more fairly distribute school funding and increase local control over budgeting. The law redistributes resources to provide additional funds to schools with higher percentages of high-need students to address students’ needs.

The new report is the first to reexamine education outcomes for students in foster care across the 9-year period following significant policy reform for youth in foster care in California.