In response to concerning National Assessment of Educational Progress data indicating 79% of urban eighth graders reading below proficiency, scholars offer varied explanations—cultural disparities, instructional oversight, and a content-focused approach in secondary education. Few instances are documented of schools successfully addressing these challenges. A new study chronicles Grant Street Secondary School's transformation, witnessing a notable drop from 30% to 2.9% in students reading far below level in five years, fostering a robust "culture of reading." It explores the school's context, highlighting the principal's role as a literacy advocate, engaging in professional development and modeling reading initiatives. Collaborative schedules enabled teachers to jointly design curriculum, review student work, and integrate innovative methods. Grant Street's success underscores the importance of gradual changes and the interaction between schoolwide accountability and teacher autonomy. Prioritizing teacher growth and cultivating a reading-focused environment led to significant progress, emphasizing the pivotal role of leadership, collaboration, and pedagogical emphasis in enhancing literacy.

In recent years, California has prioritized multicultural education to serve its diverse student body and enhance global competitiveness. Despite this focus, a study highlighted concerns regarding minority student retention, citing feelings of alienation and stereotypes among students. Surprisingly, fewer than half of the state's community colleges had multicultural graduation requirements, lacking depth in higher-order thinking skills in this realm. The study emphasized the discrepancy between campus diversity and the existence of these requirements. The Academic Senate initiated investigations into implementing ethnic studies requirements and urged curriculum committees to evaluate student compliance. Multicultural education remains pivotal in shaping diverse student experiences, warranting further research to gauge recent progress in these requirements across California's community colleges.

The collaborative effort between Cal Poly Pomona and PUSD resulted in the establishment of the Great Leaders for Great Schools Academy (GLGSA), an innovative principal preparation program. Its success stemmed from robust collaboration, a shared vision, and mutual responsibilities, aligning leadership theories with PUSD's needs. GLGSA incorporated a rigorous selection process, mentor-led apprenticeships, thematic curriculum, and comprehensive evaluations. Seven recommendations emerged from this partnership: fostering mutual support, understanding needs, involving skilled evaluators, regular goal reassessment, prioritizing constituents' needs, aligning programs with district goals, and utilizing evaluation evidence for enhancement. This partnership significantly bolstered PUSD's capacity to cultivate transformative administrators, amalgamating theoretical knowledge with practical experiences tailored to specific workplace contexts.

California's education funding system, laden with layered regulations akin to geological strata, restricts innovation and flexibility. Governor Jerry Brown's Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) proposes a significant overhaul, consolidating scattered funds into a flexible per-pupil grant. This reform aims to empower educators by freeing them from rigid spending rules, shifting focus from compliance to achieving student goals. Additionally, the plan directs extra resources to schools supporting disadvantaged students, offering supplementary aid based on the level of need. Notably, the proposal doesn't reduce funding but allocates more to districts facing greater challenges. The reformation aspires to create a fairer, more efficient, and innovative education finance system, paving the way for a more promising educational landscape in California.

A new study explores the impact of full-day kindergarten on English learner (EL) students in California, a group previously overlooked in research on extended kindergarten programs. While overall findings showed no significant difference in performance between EL full-day and half-day students in first or second grades, nuanced benefits surfaced within specific subgroups. EL students in full-day programs were 5.2% less likely to face retention in early grades, indicating potential help for at-risk students. Moreover, EL students with stronger English skills upon kindergarten entry exhibited advantages: they were more likely to progress to fluent-English proficiency by second grade, demonstrated higher reading skills, and slightly improved English fluency. Interestingly, students from lower-performing schools experienced the most substantial benefits from full-day kindergarten. Despite no broad performance differences, targeted advantages for specific EL subgroups emphasize the nuanced impact of extended kindergarten hours. Schools considering adopting full-day programs should weigh these specific benefits against implementation costs for individual districts.

In the post-World War II era, community colleges expanded significantly, initially tasked with providing higher education access to broader populations. However, from the 1970s, fiscal constraints led to reduced state funding, creating competition with other priorities like criminal justice. This shift resulted in declining support for community colleges, contrasting sharply with increased investment in incarceration. The repercussions of this budgetary shift are evident. Recent studies show that while community colleges significantly boosted local employment during periods reliant on state funding, more recent years marked by rising tuition fees and decreased appropriations saw a decline in their employment impact. Ironically, where community colleges maintained low tuition rates, an unexpected inverse relationship between their presence and local employment growth emerged. Despite the soaring demand for community colleges, they face constraints and are compelled to operate with limited resources, compromising both educational opportunities and their contributions to local employment. A recent study advocates for a reprioritization towards community colleges and other postsecondary educational opportunities, urging states to reconsider their allocation of resources to bolster educational access and promote rural employment growth.

Charter schools have evolved, now aiming to influence traditional districts. Charter Management Organizations (CMOs) are gaining attention as vehicles for reform. In a study of 25 CMOs, factors impacting their growth were analyzed. Positive influences included charter-friendly state policies and local resources like facilities and staff. However, limited funding and strained relations with authorizers restricted growth. State legislation, particularly charter caps and the chartering process, heavily affected CMOs. For California CMOs, the state charter cap and appeal rights enabled scale-up, while funding and facilities posed challenges. Policymakers face questions about facilitating CMO scale-up through state and local policies, treating high-performing CMOs differently during oversight, and supporting CMOs replicating models across state lines. The role of state policies in regulating and aiding high-quality CMOs seeking expansion remains a key consideration.

Quality teachers are pivotal resources in education. Students benefit significantly from being taught by higher-quality teachers, exhibiting improved learning during their time in class and in subsequent years. Such students also have higher graduation rates, attend college more frequently, secure better-paying jobs, and often reside in more prosperous neighborhoods. The variance in teacher quality across schools is a pressing concern. Urban schools, especially, struggle to attract and retain effective teachers. Those serving low-income, low-achieving, or minority students tend to employ less experienced, lower-scoring, and less qualified teachers, perpetuating disparities. In a new study, teacher sorting within and between schools was explored. The research revealed that less experienced teachers are often assigned classes with lower-achieving students, while more experienced and academically accomplished teachers teach higher-achieving classes. This trend persisted across different grade levels, potentially influenced by various teacher and organizational preferences. Such within-school teacher sorting might counteract policies aimed at equalizing teacher quality across schools, posing challenges in effectively matching effective teachers with students who need them most.

Student mobility, the act of changing schools, often leads to academic setbacks, yet determining whether this shift directly causes harm remains challenging. Analyzing data from Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools, a recent study examines various school changes' impacts on students' annual growth in reading and math. Despite the reasons for relocation, such as desegregation policy shifts, all types of school changes adversely affect academic progress. Research demonstrates that changing schools is linked to diminished growth in test scores, equivalent to a loss of ten days of instruction, impacting disadvantaged and advantaged students alike. Surprisingly, this academic penalty remains consistent regardless of the move's compulsion or the cause. Disadvantaged students, experiencing more frequent school changes, consistently lag behind their peers, emphasizing the educational system's role in mitigating school shifts' disruptive effects. While school mobility is considered a reform tool, this research underscores its limited efficacy, complicating its potential as a solution for disadvantaged students in struggling schools.

Educational technology has often fallen short of expectations, but the Internet's emergence could revolutionize learning. It enables individualized learning, tailoring pace and style to students. Adaptive software makes learning smarter, offering support and challenges. Moreover, it reshapes the rigid educational hierarchy into an open network. Despite technology's advancement, policy struggles persist. While development continues, California’s educational model remains antiquated. Strategic policies could shift this landscape. Supporting tech applications in key areas like English Language Learning or Special Education promises significant returns. Deregulation, while not wholesale, could unlock potential by allowing online courses statewide, shifting from seat time-based credit, and introducing the California Diploma. Rather than a single virtual school, a network, Learning 2.0.net, offers diverse resources. It divides into information, learning, and credit systems. It illuminates educational pathways, aggregates quality learning materials, and allows test-based credits, challenging conventional classroom constraints. Internet technology's potential upheaval mandates a transformative educational adaptation. While policy can't control technology’s spread, it can guide its integration, fostering a paradigm shift in public education.

In response to overcrowding, LAUSD invested $20 billion in 130+ new schools, effectively easing overcrowding and modernizing infrastructure. Researchers investigate if these new facilities affected student achievement. Elementary students who switched schools experienced increased annual growth in standardized test scores, particularly in language arts and math, regardless of ethnicity or meal assistance. However, this benefit wasn't observed for high schoolers. Those from severely overcrowded schools saw more significant improvements after switching, suggesting relief from overcrowding was the primary factor. Interestingly, nearby students in existing schools also benefited, despite not switching schools, indicating broader positive effects. Surprisingly, construction costs and physical amenities didn't consistently correlate with achievement gains. Moreover, teacher qualifications within new facilities showed minimal influence. The study delves into LAUSD District 6, revealing the intricate changes in student migration and school diversity spurred by this massive construction project.

Elementary teachers often feel time-strapped due to high-stakes testing and curricular demands, leading to reduced focus on social studies. In states mandating social studies assessments, teachers allocate roughly 30 extra minutes weekly to social studies compared to non-testing states. Moreover, teachers perceiving more control over their teaching dedicate up to 6 additional hours to social studies. Surprisingly, factors like teacher credentials and school demographics had minimal impact on social studies teaching time. These findings emphasize the link between mandated tests, teacher autonomy, and social studies instruction. Advocating for social studies inclusion in standardized testing, while prioritizing teacher autonomy, is suggested to balance subject emphasis. Encouraging educators' independence might enhance social studies teaching despite test-centric pressures. A new study urges educational leaders to reshape policies, fostering both teacher autonomy and acknowledgment of social studies' importance within the accountability framework.

In efforts to equalize college access, policymakers pushed for universal algebra in schools. However, recent research suggests unintended consequences. California mandated algebra for graduation, influencing eighth-grade algebra standards and penalizing schools if students didn't take Algebra I exams. Studies revealed problems: more eighth-graders enrolled in algebra, but many struggled and repeated the course. Programs enforcing early algebra showed lowered scores, course failures, and no significant college entrance improvements. These findings raise crucial queries: Are such aggressive algebra policies beneficial for all students? Can they be implemented effectively, considering diverse student needs? Experts propose early preparation, support, emphasizing academic value, diverse pedagogy, and role models as potential solutions. Balancing curricular rigidity against students' diverse skill levels remains a challenge. Decisions on 8th-grade math policies should address these concerns to avoid harming students academically while efficiently utilizing educational resources.

California’s push for universal algebra for 8th graders has led to a rise in students taking algebra but also shows a significant dropout in advanced math courses. Researchers focused on CST results from 2003 to 2011, revealing that while more 8th graders took Algebra I CST, fewer reached higher-level math in grades 9-11. The increase in 8th-grade algebra seemed to double the dropout rate in the pipeline toward higher math courses, especially for students scoring below proficient in 8th-grade algebra. The study found that students who scored proficient in 7th-grade general math had a significantly higher success rate in 9th-grade algebra compared to those below proficient in 8th-grade algebra. It highlighted that preparing students better in Grade 7 Mathematics could be more effective than funneling them into 8th-grade algebra, where more than half struggled to pass. The research calls for a reevaluation of the 8th-grade algebra policy, suggesting the need for alternatives to better support students' future success in math, highlighting the limitations of policy-driven change without effective changes in classroom practices.