PACE’s annual conference brings together nearly 300 California policymakers, researchers, and education leaders to discuss new research and approaches to improving educational outcomes for California’s students, from early childhood through higher education.

Over the past 10 years, California's PreK-12 public school system has seen transformative changes in almost every arena, from academic standards and accountability to resource allocation through the funding formula. The Getting Down to Facts II project brought together over 100 of the country's top education scholars to examine these changes and assess our progress. The project's 36 studies focused on student success, governance systems, personnel issues, and school finance, and together, they can help build a common understanding of where we are that can be used to guide further improvements.

More than 100 researchers from across the nation have focused their attention on the current status of California’s schools as part of the Getting Down to Facts II project. This fall, the project released 36 detailed studies that examined progress and challenges in student success and provide a comprehensive overview of the state’s preK-12 finance, personnel, and governance systems.

Leading experts and practitioners discuss the state’s ambitious goals of expanding high-quality early education and care statewide. In a conversation moderated by EdSource’s Louis Freedberg, learn more about California’s constraints and opportunities. The webinar, part of an ongoing series of deeper dives into the Getting Down To Facts research released earlier this year, is co-sponsored by PACE and the Learning Policy Institute.

PACE’s annual research and policy conference is the premier event for policymakers, researchers, advocates and local education leaders who are working to define and sustain a long-term strategy for comprehensive policy reform and continuous improvement in California’s education system. Our conference will focus on three key education policy issues: ensuring educational equity under the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), rethinking policy and practice in special education, and strengthening alignment between California’s pre–K and K–12 education systems.