Michael W. Kirst

Michael Kirst
Michael W. Kirst
Former President of the California Board of Education and Professor Emeritus of Education and Business Administration,
Stanford University

Michael W. Kirst is professor emeritus of education and business administration at Stanford University and a co-founder of PACE. He is a longtime education advisor to former California Governor Jerry Brown, who four times appointed Kirst president of state board. In this position, Kirst was instrumental in reshaping education policy and finance in California, overseeing the new academic standards and assessments in math and English language arts, the new science standards, and the Local Control Funding Formula. Before joining the Stanford University faculty, Kirst held several positions with the federal government. He has written or edited more than a dozen books, including Political Dynamics of American Education, and, with Andrea Venezia, From High School to College. Kirst received his PhD in political economy and government from Harvard University.

updated 2013

Publications by Michael W. Kirst
Child Care and Development Services for Children and Families—Phase I Final Report
PACE was selected to conduct this study under an interagency agreement with the California Depart­ment of Education, California Department of Social Services, and the Governor's Office of Child Devel­opment and Education. PACE's task is to analyze…
This is the ninth edition of Conditions of Education in California. In this volume, PACE has compiled information on current critical issues in state education policy and presented them within the context of major policy developments. "Evolving…
A Plan for California’s Schools
Nearly five years ago, in fall 1990, PACE issued a reform plan for California schools. The state's schools faced enormous challenges and, PACE then asserted, only a systematic, all-encompassing approach to reform could help meet students' diverse…
A Report of the California Task Force on the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards
What is the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards? What does it mean for California's more than 200,000 teachers and for the communities in which they work? How can a national system of voluntary certification give new vitality and…