Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE)

What We Do

PACE is an independent, non-partisan research center led by faculty directors at Stanford University, the University of Southern California, the University of California Davis, the University of California Los Angeles, and the University of California Berkeley. Founded in 1983, PACE bridges the gap between research, policy, and practice, working with scholars from California’s leading universities and with state and local decision makers to achieve improvement in performance and more equitable outcomes at all levels of California’s education system, from early childhood to postsecondary education and training.

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Recent Publications
Getting Down to Facts III Policy Recommendations
This brief draws on Getting Down to Facts III to recommend three priorities for strengthening California’s education system: clear student goals, reliable instructional support for every district, and...
Building Educator Capacity for Thoughtful Integration

This brief examines California districts’ responses to generative AI, finding that individual use often outpaces coordinated policy and support. Drawing on district interviews and a Lead by Learning...

A Governance Case Study in Accountability, Balance, and Capacity
This brief examines the first phase of California’s Community Schools Partnership Program. It finds that unclear roles, limited statewide guidance, and a lack of shared measures made it difficult to...