Hostname: page-component-89b8bd64d-72crv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-05-11T02:53:33.147Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Academic achievement of homeless and highly mobile children in an urban school district: Longitudinal evidence on risk, growth, and resilience

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 2009

Jelena Obradović ,
Jeffrey D. Long ,
J. J. Cutuli ,
Chi-Keung Chan ,
Elizabeth Hinz ,
David Heistad  and
Ann S. Masten
Jelena Obradović*
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota
Jeffrey D. Long
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota
J. J. Cutuli
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota
Chi-Keung Chan
Affiliation:
Minneapolis Public Schools
Elizabeth Hinz
Affiliation:
Minneapolis Public Schools
David Heistad
Affiliation:
Minneapolis Public Schools
Ann S. Masten
Affiliation:
University of Minnesota
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Jelena Obradović, Human Early Learning Partnership, University of British Columbia, 440–2206 East Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3, Canada; E-mail: jelena.obradovic@ubc.ca.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Longitudinal growth trajectories of reading and math achievement were studied in four primary school grade cohorts (GCs) of a large urban district to examine academic risk and resilience in homeless and highly mobile (H/HM) students. Initial achievement was assessed when student cohorts were in the second, third, fourth, and fifth grades, and again 12 and 18 months later. Achievement trajectories of H/HM students were compared to low-income but nonmobile students and all other tested students in the district, controlling for four well-established covariates of achievement: sex, ethnicity, attendance, and English language skills. Both disadvantaged groups showed markedly lower initial achievement than their more advantaged peers, and H/HM students manifested the greatest risk, consistent with an expected risk gradient. Moreover, in some GCs, both disadvantaged groups showed slower growth than their relatively advantaged peers. Closer examination of H/HM student trajectories in relation to national test norms revealed striking variability, including cases of academic resilience as well as problems. H/HM students may represent a major component of “achievement gaps” in urban districts, but these students also constitute a heterogeneous group of children likely to have markedly diverse educational needs. Efforts to close gaps or enhance achievement in H/HM children require more differentiated knowledge of vulnerability and protective processes that may shape individual development and achievement.

Information

Type
Regular Articles
Information
Development and Psychopathology , Volume 21 , Issue 2 , May 2009 , pp. 493 - 518
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Adam, E. K., & Chase-Lansdale, P. L. (2002). Home sweet home(s): Parental separations, residential moves, and adjustment problems in low-income adolescent girls. Developmental Psychology, 38, 792–805.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Alexander, K. L., Entwisle, D. R., & Olson, L. S. (2001). Schools, achievement, and inequality: A seasonal perspective. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 23, 171–191.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arnold, D. H., & Doctoroff, G. L. (2003). The early education of socioeconomically disadvantaged children. Annual Review of Psychology, 54, 517–545.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bassuk, E. L., Buckner, J. C., Weinreb, L. F., Browne, A., Bassuk, S. S., Dawson, R., et al. (1997). Homelessness in female-headed families: Childhood and adult risk and protective factors. American Journal of Public Health, 87, 241–248.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bradley, R. H., & Corwyn, R. F. (2002). Socioeconomic status and child development. Annual Review of Psychology, 53, 371–399.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brooks-Gunn, J., & Duncan, G. J., (1997). The effects of poverty on children. The Future of Children, 7, 55–71.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Buckner, J. C., Bassuk, E. L., & Weinreb, L. F. (2001). Predictors of academic achievement among homeless and low-income housed children. Journal of School Psychology, 39, 45–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buckner, J. C., Bassuk, E. L., Weinreb, L. F., & Brooks, M. G. (1999). Homelessness and its relation to mental health and behavior of low-income school-age children. Developmental Psychology, 35, 246–257.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Carpenter, D. M. II, Ramirez, A., & Severn, L. (2006). Gap or gaps: Challenging the singular definition of the achievement gap. Education and Urban Society, 39, 113–127.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Caspi, A., Wright, B. R. E., Moffitt, T. E., & Silva, P. A. (1998). Early failure in the labor market: Childhood and adolescent predictors of unemployment in the transition to adulthood. American Sociological Review, 63, 424–451.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cicchetti, D., & Curtis, W. J. (Eds.). (2007). A multilevel approach to resilience [Special Issue]. Development and Psychopathology, 19.Google Scholar
Cicchetti, D., & Rogosch, F. A. (1996). Equifinality and multifinality in developmental psychopathology. Development and Psychopathology, 8, 597–600.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cole, D. A., Martin, J. M., Powers, B., & Truglio, R. (1996). Modeling causal relations between academic and social competence and depression: A multitrait-multimethod longitudinal study of children. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 105, 258–270.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Diggle, P. J. (1988). An approach to the analysis of repeated measurements. Biometrics, 44, 959–971.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dishion, T. J., Patterson, G. R., Stoolmiller, M., & Skinner, M. L. (1991). Family, school, and behavioral antecedents to early adolescent involvement with antisocial peers. Developmental Psychology, 27, 172–180.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dubow, E. F., & Ippolito, M. F., (1994). Effects of poverty and quality of the home environment on changes in the academic and behavioral adjustment of elementary school-age children. Journal of Clinical Child Psychology, 23, 401–412.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Duncan, J., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2000). Family poverty, welfare reform, and child development. Child Development, 71, 188–196.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Eckenrode, J., Rowe, E., Laird, M., & Brathwaite, J. (1995). Mobility as a mediator of the effects of child maltreatment on academic performance. Child Development, 66, 1130–1142.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Evans, G. W. (2004). The environment of childhood poverty. American Psychologist, 59, 77–92.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fitzmaurice, G. M., Laird, N. M., & Ware, J. H. (2004). Applied longitudinal analysis. New York: Wiley.Google Scholar
Foster, W. A., & Miller, M. (2007). Development of the literacy achievement gap: A longitudinal study of kindergarten through third grade. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 38, 173–181.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gutman, L. M., Sameroff, A. J., & Cole, R. (2003). Academic growth curve trajectories from 1st grade to 12th grade: Effects of multiple social risk factors and preschool child factors. Developmental Psychology, 39, 777–790.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Haber, M. G., & Toro, P. A. (2004). Homelessness among families, children, and adolescents: An ecological–developmental perspective. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 7, 123–164.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hart, B., & Risley, T. R. (1995). Meaningful differences in the everyday experience of young American children. Baltimore, MD: Brookes.Google Scholar
Heckman, J. J. (2006). Skill formation and the economics of investing in disadvantaged children. Science, 312, 1900–1902.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Heistad, D. J., & Spicuzza, R. (2000, April). Measuring school performance to improve student achievement: And to reward effective programs. Paper presentation at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, LA.Google Scholar
Keating, D. P., & Hertzman, C. (Eds.). (1999). Developing health and the wealth of nations: Social, biological, and educational dynamics. New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Lewis, C. W., James, M., Hancock, S., Hill-Jackson, V. (2008). Framing African-American students' success and failure in urban settings: A typology for change. Urban Education, 43, 127–153.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Long, J. D., & Ryoo, J. (in press). Using fractional polynomials to model nonlinear trends in longitudinal data. British Journal of Mathematical and Statistical Psychology.Google Scholar
Luthar, S. S. (1999). Poverty and children's adjustment. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maguin, E., & Loeber, R. (1996). Academic performance and delinquency. Crime and Justice: A Review of Research, 20, 145–264.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Masten, A. S. (1992). Homeless children in the United States: Mark of a nation at risk. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 1, 41–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Masten, A. S., Burt, K. B., & Coatsworth, J. D. (2006). Competence and psychopathology in development. In Cicchetti, D. & Cohen, D. J. (Eds.), Developmental psychopathology: Vol. 3. Risk, disorder, and adaptation (2nd ed., pp. 696–738). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.Google Scholar
Masten, A. S., Long, J. D., Roisman, G. I., Burt, K. B., Obradović, J., Roberts, J. M., et al. (2005). Developmental cascades: Linking academic achievement, externalizing and internalizing symptoms over 20 years. Developmental Psychology, 41, 733–746.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Masten, A. S., Miliotis, D., Graham-Bermann, S. A., Ramirez, M., & Neemann, J. (1993). Children in homeless families: Risks to mental health and development. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 61, 335–343.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Masten, A. S., Sesma, A., Si-Asar, R., Lawrence, C., Miliotis, D., & Dionne, J. A. (1997). Educational risks for children experiencing homelessness. Journal of School Psychology, 35, 27–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maughan, B., Rowe, R., Loeber, R., & Stouthamer-Loeber, M. (2003). Reading problems and depressed mood. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 31, 219–229.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McKinney Vento Homeless Assistance Act. (1987). 42 U.S.C. §11431 et seq.Google Scholar
McLoyd, V. C. (1998). Socioeconomic disadvantage and child development. American Psychologist. 53, 185–204.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Minneapolis Public Schools. (2005, December). Districtwide Assessment Results, 2004–2005. Retrieved August 29, 2007, from http://pdfdownload.04340.com/pdf2html.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Frea.mpls.k12.mn.us%2Fsites%2F770fc804-a9f8-4beb-8663-61ad5e99b91e%2Fuploads%2FDAR_2005_FINAL_2.pdfGoogle Scholar
Minneapolis Public Schools. (2006, October 24). 2005 Fall NALT/CALT and 2006 spring MCA-II linking analyses for the Minneapolis public schools. Retrieved November 8, 2006, from http://rea.mpls.k12.mn.us/sites/770fc804-a9f8-4beb-8663-61ad5e99b91e/uploads/2005_Fall_NALT-CALT_and_2006_Spring_MCA-II_Linking_Analyses_for_MinneapolisPublic_Schools.pdfGoogle Scholar
Minneapolis Public Schools. (2007, March). Districtwide assessment results, 2005–2006. Retrieved August 29, 2007, from http://pdftohtml.markoer.org/pdf2html.php?url=http%3A%2F%2Frea.mpls.k12.mn.us%2Fsites%2F770fc804-a9f8-4beb-8663-61ad5e99b91e%2Fuploads%2FDistrictwide_Achievement_Results_2005-2006.pdfGoogle Scholar
No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. (2002). 20 U.S.C. §6301 et seq.Google Scholar
Northwest Evaluation Association. (2003). Technical manual. Portland, OR: Author.Google Scholar
Northwest Evaluation Association. (2005). RIT scale norms. Lake Oswego, OR: Author.Google Scholar
Pagani, L., Boulerice, B., Vitaro, F. & Tremblay, R. (1999). Effects of poverty on academic failure and delinquency in boys: A change and process model approach. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 40, 1209–1219.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Patterson, G. R., Forgatch, M. S., Yoerger, K. L., & Stoolmiller, M. (1998). Variables that initiate and maintain an early-onset trajectory for juvenile offending. Development and Psychopathology, 10, 531–547.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Patterson, G. R., & Stoolmiller, M. (1991). Replications of a dual failure model for boys' depressed mood. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 59, 491–498.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rafferty, Y., & Rollins, N. (1989). Learning in limbo: The educational deprivation of homeless children (ERIC Doc. No. ED 312 363). Long Island City, NY: Advocates for Children.Google Scholar
Rafferty, Y., & Shinn, M. (1991). The impact of homelessness on children. American Psychologist, 46, 1170–1179.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rafferty, Y., Shinn, M., & Weitzman, B. C. (2004). Academic achievement among formerly homeless adolescents and their continuously housed peers. Journal of School Psychology, 42, 179–199.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ramey, C. T., & Ramey, S. L. (2004). Early learning and school readiness: Can early intervention make a difference? Merrill–Palmer Quarterly, 50, 471–491.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rog, D. J., & Buckner, J. C. (2007). Homeless families and children. Toward understanding homelessness: The 2007 National Symposium on Homelessness Research (pp. 5-1–5-33). Washington, DC: US Department of Health and Human Services and US Department of Housing and Urban Development.Google Scholar
Royston, P., Ambler, G., & Sauerbrei, W. (1999). The use of fractional polynomials to model continuous risk variables in epidemiology. International Journal of Epidemiology, 28, 964–974.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rubin, D. H., Erickson, C. J., Augustin, M. S., Cleary, S. D., Allen, J. K., & Cohen, P. (1996). Cognitive and academic functioning of homeless children compared with housed children. Pediatrics, 97, 289–294.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rumberger, R. W. (2003, March 26). Student mobility and academic achievement. ERIC Digest, ED466314. Retrieved from www.ericdigests.org/2003-2/mobility.htmlGoogle Scholar
Rumberger, R. W. (2007). Parsing the data on student achievement in high-poverty schools. North Carolina Law Review, 85, 1293–1314.Google Scholar
Rumberger, R. W., & Thomas, S. L. (2000). The distribution of dropout and turnover rates among urban and suburban high schools. Sociology of Education, 73, 39–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rutter, M., Kim-Cohen, J., Maughan, B. (2006). Continuities and discontinuities in psychopathology between childhood and adult life. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 47, 276–295.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sirin, S. R. (2005). Socioeconomic status and academic achievement: A meta-analytic review of research. Review of Educational Research, 75, 417–453.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Temple, J. A., & Reynolds, A. J. (1999). School mobility and achievement: Longitudinal findings from an urban cohort. Journal of School Psychology, 37, 355–377.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thornberry, T. P., Lizotte, A. J., Krohn, M. D., Smith, C. A., & Porter, P. K. (2003). Causes and consequences of delinquency: Findings from the Rochester Youth Development Study. In Thornberry, T. P. & Krohn, M. D. (Eds.), Taking stock of delinquency: An overview of findings from contemporary longitudinal studies (pp. 11–46). New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Verbeke, G., & Molenberghs, G. (2000). Linear mixed models for longitudinal data. New York: Springer Verlag.Google Scholar
Vostanis, P., Grattan, E., Cumella, S., & Winchester, C. (1997). Psychosocial functioning of homeless children. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 36, 881–889.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Williams, S., & McGee, R. (1994). Reading attainment and juvenile delinquency. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 35, 441–459.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wood, D., Halfon, N., Scarlata, D., Newacheck, P., & Nessim, S. (1993). Impact of family relocation on children's growth, development, school functioning, and behavior. Journal of the American Medical Association, 270, 1334–1338.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Zima, B. T., Wells, K. B., & Freeman, H. E. (1994). Emotional and behavioral problems and severe academic delays among sheltered homeless children in Los Angeles County. American Journal of Public Health, 84, 260–264.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed