Mckinney Vento and the Homeless Education Crisis in the United States

No qualitative or quantitative studies have compared the education of homeless and normally housed students in North Carolina. Nationally, no studies using Grade 6 statewide end-of-grade (EOG) scores have compared homeless and normally housed students. This quantitative study fills both gaps in the literature. The study used archival EOG records from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction of more than 57,000 Grade 6 students in 2006 and more than 94,000 Grade 6 students in 2007. Independent sample t tests supported the hypothesis that normally housed students scored significantly better than homeless students in four t tests with the indicated probabilities (p < .05) as follows: reading comprehension 2006 (.000), reading comprehension 2007 (.000), mathematics 2006 (.001), and mathematics 2007 (.000). Effective response to homeless education begins with accurate information.