California has just enacted what may be the most consequential change to the state’s public education system in more than a century. What does this historic TK–12 governance reform mean for students, families, educators, and communities—and what happens next? Join the California Education Promise Alliance, Children Now, Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE), EdTrust—West, Para Los Niños, and Families In Schools for a timely conversation about the new governance structure, the implementation timeline, and the opportunities and challenges ahead. Hear directly from Brooks Allen of the

Join Getting Down to Facts III researchers for a closer look at the evidence from this landmark independent study of California’s education system. Drawing on 55 technical reports and 22 research briefs from researchers across the country, each webinar will examine a critical area of California education highlighting what the research tells us, where challenges and opportunities remain, and what the findings mean for policy and practice. What You’ll Gain: A Clear Synthesis of the Evidence: Understand the most important findings on each topic. Insights Directly from Researchers: Hear

Join Getting Down to Facts III researchers for a closer look at the evidence from this landmark independent study of California’s education system. Drawing on 55 technical reports and 22 research briefs from researchers across the country, each webinar will examine a critical area of California education highlighting what the research tells us, where challenges and opportunities remain, and what the findings mean for policy and practice. What You’ll Gain: A Clear Synthesis of the Evidence: Understand the most important findings on each topic. Insights Directly from Researchers: Hear

Join Getting Down to Facts III researchers for a closer look at the evidence from this landmark independent study of California’s education system. Drawing on 55 technical reports and 22 research briefs from researchers across the country, each webinar will examine a critical area of California education highlighting what the research tells us, where challenges and opportunities remain, and what the findings mean for policy and practice. What You’ll Gain: A Clear Synthesis of the Evidence: Understand the most important findings on each topic. Insights Directly from Researchers: Hear

Join Getting Down to Facts III researchers for a closer look at the evidence from this landmark independent study of California’s education system. Drawing on 55 technical reports and 22 research briefs from researchers across the country, each webinar will examine a critical area of California education highlighting what the research tells us, where challenges and opportunities remain, and what the findings mean for policy and practice. What You’ll Gain: A Clear Synthesis of the Evidence: Understand the most important findings on each topic. Insights Directly from Researchers: Hear

Join Getting Down to Facts III researchers for a closer look at the evidence from this landmark independent study of California’s education system. Drawing on 55 technical reports and 22 research briefs from researchers across the country, each webinar will examine a critical area of California education highlighting what the research tells us, where challenges and opportunities remain, and what the findings mean for policy and practice. What You’ll Gain: A Clear Synthesis of the Evidence: Understand the most important findings on each topic. Insights Directly from Researchers: Hear

Building a future where every family has access to affordable, high-quality childcare will require bold leadership and meaningful collaboration. This dynamic panel brings together state and local leaders to explore bold policy solutions, cross-sector partnerships, and innovative approaches to building a more equitable early childhood system. Join Kim Johnson, Lupita Cortez Alcalá, and Kristin Spanos at the 2026 First 5 California Summit: Their Futures First for an engaging discussion on the policies, partnerships, and innovative strategies driving progress toward a more equitable early

We are pleased to invite you to the Getting Down to Facts III Central Valley Convening, a gathering of educators, school board members, families, researchers, policymakers, and community leaders committed to strengthening educational opportunities for students across California's Central Valley. Hosted by Stanford University's SCALE Initiative in partnership with the University of California, Merced, the Central Valley Multilingual Consortium, Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE), Parent Institute for Quality Education (PIQE) and Californians Together this regional convening will

We are pleased to invite you to the Getting Down to Facts III Bay Area Convening, a gathering of education leaders committed to strengthening educational opportunities and outcomes for California's students. Hosted by Stanford University's SCALE Initiative, EdTrust—West, and Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE), this convening will bring together educators, policymakers, researchers, advocates, and community leaders from across the Bay Area to explore what the latest findings from Getting Down to Facts III mean for our schools, communities, and the future of public education. Event

California students who can’t easily access a four-year university but want to earn a bachelor’s degree now have the option to get one at community college. Across the state, dozens of community colleges offer four-year degrees that train students to fill workforce needs in fields such as biomanufacturing, cyberdefense and respiratory care. However, those campuses are limited in they can offer. State law prohibits them from creating degrees that duplicate what’s offered at the University of California and California State University systems. Two bills currently being considered by the state

Hosted by Stanford University’s SCALE Initiative, Families In Schools (FIS), and GPSN, this convening will take place at the California Community Foundation in Los Angeles and will bring together a diverse group of regional leaders to explore what the findings of Getting Down to Facts III mean for students, schools, and communities across Los Angeles. Getting Down to Facts III is the latest in a series of landmark studies from the SCALE Initiative examining California’s education system. The convening will foster community dialogue and shared learning around key issues shaping the future of

Event update: Registration for the Getting Down to Facts III 2026 Conference is presently at capacity. Thank you for your interest. About the Conference Co-hosted by Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) and Stanford University’s SCALE Initiative, the Getting Down to Facts III 2026 Conference: Aligning Governance, Policy, and Capacity to Support Student Success Conference will bring together 250 state leaders, educators, researchers, and advocates to engage with new, policy-relevant research at a pivotal moment for California’s education system. What to Expect Building on the legacy

Join Susanna Loeb, Professor and Faculty Director of the SCALE Initiative at Stanford University, and a team of leading researchers for the official release of Getting Down to Facts III—a landmark, independent study on California’s education system. This webinar will unpack important findings from the research, highlight the challenges facing students and schools today, and outline a forward-looking vision for building a more effective and equitable system for the future. What You’ll Gain: A clear synthesis of key findings across the full research portfolio Practical insights on designing

Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE), California State PTA (CAPTA), and Youth Leadership Institute (yli) will co-host a youth-led gubernatorial forum on April 30, 2026 at the Fresno Convention Center. The evening will begin with a Civic Engagement Festival (4:00–5:30 pm) followed by the youth-led gubernatorial forum (5:30–7:00 pm). Together, these components will create a dynamic, youth-centered civic experience that elevates youth voice while directly connecting participants to pathways for ongoing democratic participation. Gubernatorial candidate and California Superintendent of

California educates more multilingual learners than any other state—yet many multilingual learners remain classified as English Learners (EL) even after demonstrating English proficiency. California relies on its own reclassification system to determine when students have met the requirements to exit EL status and transition out of language support services. In California, reclassification involves multiple criteria and substantial local discretion, which can limit access to broader academic opportunities for students who are already English-proficient. In this PACE webinar, panelists shared

The Stanford SCALE Initiative and Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) invite you to join us for a virtual statewide education partner briefing on the next phase of the Getting Down to Facts III project. Your leadership and perspective are essential as we work to connect rigorous research with the realities facing California’s students, families, and schools. About the Briefing This virtual session will bring together community partners, policymakers, researchers, and education leaders.

Newly appointed PACE Executive Director Lupita Cortez Alcalá will convene educators and community partners for a listening session on the current landscape of California’s P–16 education system. The discussion will highlight regional perspectives from the San Joaquin Central Valley and explore opportunities to strengthen alignment across educational systems through research, policy, and practice.

The PACE Annual Conference in January 2024 will bring together California policymakers, researchers, and education leaders to address critical questions about the state's public education system and explore transformative actions for improvement at all levels, from early childhood through higher education.

Two years after schools returned to in-person learning, the state’s Smarter Balanced scores show disappointingly little improvement. Nearly two-thirds of California students failed to meet math standards for their grade level, and more than half fell short of the standards for English. But while the pandemic was devastating for families, students and schools, test scores were languishing even before Covid. EdSource’s Anne Vasquez and John Fensterwald hosted this webinar along with PACE Heather J. Hough and a panel of educators and policy experts to explore this topic and more.

Declining student enrollment is leading to a loss of revenue in many California school districts. To address ongoing budget shortfalls, many districts have consolidated or shuttered schools, and others are contemplating doing so. In this session, Carrie Hahnel (Bellwether) and Francis A. Pearman (Stanford Graduate School of Education) will discuss new research exploring the racial dimensions of school closures and how to address them.

This one-day conference builds on the conversation started in a recent Special Issue of Educational Assessment centered on fairness in testing and assessment. The event is cosponsored by the University of California, Los Angeles, UCLA CRESST, and Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE).

Newcomer students have long been an underserved group in California’s school systems. Newcomers require specialized curricula and instruction to succeed in school as well as access to social services to meet even their basic needs. Unfortunately, most newcomers have not experienced schooling that adequately addresses their unique needs and drop out at a disproportionately high rate. There are thus significant opportunities to improve education for newcomers in California through policies, data systems, curricula, programs development, and collaborations.

Academic preparation for postsecondary schooling is largely a function of rigorous, inclusive, and relevant high school curricula, including mathematics. Yet not all high school students have equal access to the courses that best prepare them for college and career. In this webinar, we will present new research on 12th grade math and course-taking in California which shows that nearly half of high school graduates do not meet the math requirements of state universities or are ill-prepared for college math.

Join us March 7-9, 2023 for Just Equations’ fifth-annual Mathematics of Opportunity conference, a three-day conference that is cosponsored by PACE. This free, virtual event will continue conversations about how education systems leaders, policymakers, and advocates can advance math education that uplifts and empowers students, resulting in deeper math learning and more equitable access to opportunities.

PACE’s 2023 conference marks many important milestones: our first in-person annual conference since the start of the pandemic, the 10-year anniversary of the implementation of the Local Control Funding Formula, and the 40-year anniversary of PACE’s founding.