It’s been eight years since then-Gov. Jerry Brown restructured California’s school funding formulas to direct billions of dollars to the state’s neediest students. But, in 2019, state Auditor Elaine Howle confirmed what critics had been saying for years: State and...

California’s landmark funding reform law needs to be fixed to help meet its promise of raising the achievement of underperforming student groups, conclude two recently published research studies. The co-authors of a third report, after examining recent research and interviewing...

In the broadest sense, LCFF embraced the conventional wisdom that altering the flow of money would profoundly affect educational outcomes. However, from its inception, LCFF has been awash in controversy—not over its concept, but rather its implementation. The latest attempt...

The Local Control Funding Formula, or LCFF, ushered in a new era of school funding in California when it was adopted in 2013. It’s regarded by many as the most significant resource equity reform the state has ever enacted. But...

As Los Angeles Unified begins interviewing candidates for yet another superintendent, it must face a tough question: Has its unusual board governing structure blurred the lines between board member and superintendent and contributed to the steady churn in district leadership...

The bottom line is: Spanish is just one of the many languages spoken by members of the Latino community. This problem has bled into schools, where administrators and teachers don’t know that their students speak an indigenous language, and don’t...

While the recognition of indigenous languages is layered in a complex and politically fraught history, there are concrete steps that schools can take to ensure that they account for and support all students. First, schools must create inclusive home surveys...

Students across the nation, including in Kern County are testing lower than required for their grade level as a result of virtual learning in the past year and a half. Teachers said it helps that the students are back in...

The Hoover Education Success Initiative (HESI) presented a six-part webinar series this fall that explored how public education can improve moving forward given the ongoing disruption of in-person instruction caused by COVID-19-inspired restrictions, as well as foundations of the system...

Since May 2020, the National COVID-19 Outdoor Learning Initiative (NCOLI) has created dozens of free resources to support districts to center equity by returning students to school safely through the use of outdoor spaces for learning. In the spring and...

Much of the discourse around learning loss has gotten stuck on what to call it. Learning lag, interrupted learning and unfinished learning are favored among academics, because knowledge did not vanish from the minds of young people. Kids just didn’t...

The abrupt switch to remote instruction caused by the pandemic has created potentially irreparable setbacks for the students who can least afford the disruption—low-income students of color, English learners, students with disabilities and others who have been historically underserved. The...

The Biden-Harris administration from the start proposed sweeping higher education policies that many advocates praised as long overdue and much needed to tackle equity issues that the pandemic brought to the fore. Months later, Congress this week, has been debating...

As of Sept. 23, Piedmont, Hayward, and Oakland students — 12 and older — must be vaccinated or undergo weekly testing to attend school in person. This mandate goes into effect starting November for Piedmont and December 17 for Hayward...

A 2018 study of student digital literacy skills found that only 2% of eighth grade students in the U.S. scored at the highest level of computer and information literacy. Education experts were quick to point out that this should not...

If voters recall Governor Gavin Newsom on Sept. 14, the Republican who then replaces him should grow armadillo armor, gird for a combative year and temper expectations about campaign promises he made to reform California education. That won’t happen in...

As the Los Angeles Unified School District searches for a superintendent for the fourth time in the past decade, many are wondering who is qualified to run a 710-square-mile district with a student population approximately the size of Wyoming—and who...

As we consider what we have learned during the COVID-19 pandemic about the new skills needed for future superintendent success, who will lead that debate on the future state of superintendent preparation? Will it be traditional universities and their education...

The term “learning loss” is too often used to describe the restorative restart needed in California’s most underserved communities for the 2021-2022 academic year. It is accurate that many students have experienced enormous disruptions in their lives and learning, but...

With Fall fast approaching, parents and teachers alike are wondering if this school year will bring with it some normalcy. But with over three-quarters of school districts offering remote learning options, many are worried the pitfalls of the past year...

On this week’s podcast, Morgan Polikoff, Associate Professor of Education at USC, joins Mike Petrilli and David Griffith to discuss his new book, Beyond Standards: The Fragmentation of Education Governance and the Promise of Curriculum Reform. On the Research Minute...

While we know that there is an increasing number of Indigenous Latinx students in schools. Some argue that the silencing of Indigenous communities and lack of knowledge among educators of Indigenous languages has obscured the true number of English learners...

School board meetings aren’t typically associated with shouting matches, protests and arrests. But at forums across the country, school districts have experienced an uptick in heated rhetoric and aggressive behavior. Frustrated community members are using meetings to voice their opposition to school...

A year and a half into the Covid-19 pandemic, schools are reopening amid more uncertainty than ever. Just about the only thing districts know for sure is that last year’s lockdowns and online learning were a disaster for the emotional...

Extensive news coverage of local and state policies, and dissatisfaction with education, drove increased interest, and to a lesser extent, activism in California during the pandemic, a survey released on Thursday found. Republicans, Blacks and Latinos were more dissatisfied with...