California supports the learning of 1.3 million English students and has the highest proportion of EL students in the nation. With the adoption of the California English Learner Roadmap by the State Board of Education and the passage of Prop 58, state support has grown for improved services. Consideration of the needs of the diverse EL student population is essential as it evolves at all education levels. In this seminar, PACE researchers present the needs of California's EL students, barriers to their success, and potential tools districts can use to support their EL populations.

Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) is excited to invite you to The Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) Implementation and Impact Conference. Panels will address three key sets of issues: Building a Culture of Continuous Improvement California’s Infrastructure of Support for Schools and School Districts What Have We Learned After Four Years of LCFF Implementation?

PACE’s inaugural conference is the premier event for policymakers, researchers, advocates and other leaders working to define and sustain a long-term strategy for comprehensive policy reform and continuous improvement of California’s education system. Our full-day conference will engage with three key education policy issues: school funding adequacy, teacher policies and cross-system-alignment. Registered participants will learn about the key policy debates and research based best-practices through conference plenaries and workshops.

In this seminar Morgan Polikoff reports findings from his research on school and district textbook adoptions in math, English language arts, and science. He presents quantitative evidence from SARCs and statewide longitudinal achievement data on the spread of new materials, timing of implementation, distribution across districts and schools, and impact on student outcomes. This with insights via interviews of district leaders on policies, practices guiding local curriculum adoption decisions in CA, alongside the utility of SARC data, and challenges scholars face using them for research.

In this seminar, Ilana Umansky and her colleagues present policy recommendations for improving the educational outcomes of English learner students in California, based on research from the educational opportunities, experiences, and outcomes of EL students conducted in a set of California school districts over the last five years. Their research sheds light on critical issues including EL classification and reclassification policies, the effects of English immersion and bilingual education, and EL students’ access to learning opportunities.

The instructional transformation that Common Core promises depends on teachers to incorporate formative assessment into classroom practice to elicit and interpret evidence, provide feedback and continuously adapt their teaching to foster students’ learning. This seminar offers an overview of what formative assessment is and why it matters. Educators and researchers will explore the challenges and opportunities in building teachers’ capacity to engage effectively in formative assessment, and identify policy and practice strategies to encourage the use of formative assessment in CA schools.

CA adopted Common Core State Standards and state and local leaders are now engaged in the implementation process. PACE has organized this conference to review the current state of CCSS implementation in California, what we have learned, and what challenges we will have to face going forward. The conference will feature presentations from state officials who are guiding the implementation effort from Sacramento, local leaders who are wrestling with the challenge of implementing CCSS in their schools and classrooms, and researchers who are monitoring the progress of CCSS in districts across CA.