In winter 2019, strikes by Los Angeles and Oakland teachers dominated headlines. Teachers in both cities ultimately won more pay and support staff, but the strikes also presented an opportunity for additional change. The Los Angeles Times editorial board, for...

Susanna Cooper and Michal Kurlaender, UC Davis: Allowing high school students to take college-level courses while they are still in high school is good for students, good for high schools, and good for community colleges, which are the primary vehicle...

Few goals in education have been as frustrating and urgent as the effort to fix the deep, generational disparity in achievement between the haves and the have-nots in California schools. It is an article of faith in the K-12 school...

This brief identifies the steps necessary to realize an integrated system of care, reviews two current approaches, and makes recommendations—including specifying policy reforms that would promote interagency collaboration, integration, service delivery, and improved outcomes for California’s children, both with and...

The March 3 California ballot includes a $15 billion state bond issue to help schools, community colleges and universities with construction costs for their facilities. Last fall, the Legislature and Gov. Gavin Newsom placed the measure on the ballot by...

Impact of teacher activism in California being felt in multiple but less visible ways, leaders say.

A year ago teachers in Los Angeles were celebrating the signing of a new agreement with their district after an outpouring of support from teachers around California and the larger public. But since then, there have been few visible signs...

The California reading instruction test is a major hurdle for many aspiring teachers across the state. So much so that about one-third who take the test fail the first time, according to state data of the five-year period between 2012...

Governor Newsom’s proposed 20-21 state budget directs $3.8 billion in new revenue towards public schools. However, it is not enough. The California School Board Association reports that California ranks 38th nationally in school funding, $2,475 per student below the national...

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is leading the crowded Democratic primary field in California, according to a new poll from the University of Southern California's Rossier School of Education/PACE.

When then-Governor Jerry Brown signed the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) into law in 2013, California’s leaders were hopeful that this legislation would set high expectations for flexibility, transparency, and equity within school districts. In a new report, “English Language...

Research shows that preK–3 alignment—coordinating preK–3 standards, curricula, instructional practices, assessments and professional development—can narrow achievement gaps by helping children sustain the gains they made in preschool, but many California districts say they are struggling to support alignment efforts.

School climate and student engagement surveys can tell us a good deal about important contributors to student success. They can illuminate students’ sense of belonging at school and their sense of themselves as learners. They can shed light on bullying...

Local officials have begun reevaluating how much their communities are getting for their single biggest expense: the degree-certified competence of public school teachers and administrators. Does every school system really need a credentialed curriculum director, when any good teacher should...

More than 20 years ago, Proposition 227 was passed in California, requiring that all public schools teach curriculum in English and providing only a year of special instruction to English learner students in the hope of quickly producing assimilated and...

Due to statewide teacher shortages, many of California’s approximately 800,000 special education students are being taught by teachers who haven’t completed teacher preparation programs or have received only partial training.

Recent survey results show that while more California county office of education leaders are understanding and accepting of the new roles of COEs in the Statewide System of Support, the state must further build out and enhance the system to...

As he was campaigning for governor, Gavin Newsom made some enormous promises for the youngest Californians and their families — universal preschool, affordable, high-quality child care, six months of paid family leave. And he’s delivered — on the first few...

The debate over whether to stop using the SAT in admissions at the sprawling and nationally influential University of California is approaching a turning point. Anti-testing groups are expected to file a lawsuit Tuesday demanding that the university drop the...

Research has shown that grades are the best single predictor of college performance and aren’t as heavily influenced as the standardized exams by income, parent education levels and race. But the ACT and College Board, which owns the SAT, argue...

The “Birth to Twelfth Grade Water Cooler Conference: Building a Shared California for All Students” brought together experts from across the educational spectrum to support greater alignment across systems. Early childhood education and K–12 stakeholders from throughout California gathered in...

A key goal of public education is to provide equitable opportunities for students, regardless of their backgrounds and circumstances. Achievement gaps on state standardized tests based on differences in family income levels are staggeringly wide and have become larger over...

The debate over whether to stop using the SAT in admissions at the sprawling and nationally influential University of California is approaching a turning point. Anti-testing groups are expected to file a lawsuit Tuesday demanding that the university drop the...

The debate over whether to stop using the SAT in admissions at the sprawling and nationally influential University of California is approaching a turning point. Anti-testing groups have filed a lawsuit demanding that the university drop the requirement for students...

The UC system has formed a task force in order to eliminate the traditionally required SAT/ACT standardized test scores in its admissions process. UC Berkeley Chancellor cited “inequity” in the current requirement of standardized testing.