In education polling, people often rate their local schools highly but give lower scores to the overall public school system. This gap in trust between citizens and the broader system poses a significant issue in California due to its vastness and reliance on state resources. Rebuilding trust in the public school system is crucial for garnering necessary political and financial support. PACE’s recent seminar showcased Strategic School Funding for Results (SSFR), a project in districts like Twin Rivers, Pasadena, and Los Angeles Unified. It aims to grant more autonomy over budgets to individual schools while increasing accountability for resource use and student performance. This shift might enhance transparency in fund allocation but doesn’t solve the broader issue. While boosting confidence in local leadership, concerns about resource usage elsewhere in the system persist. California’s real challenge lies in reconnecting schools with their communities beyond merely enhancing resource efficiency.
Aligning the new educational standards with effective assessments in California is vital for enhancing school and student performance. For the governor of California, ensuring this alignment carries multiple benefits. It showcases a commitment to educational improvement, demonstrating proactive governance and addressing critical issues in the state’s education system. Successful alignment reflects leadership in driving educational reform and promoting accountability in the state. It also positions the governor as a proponent of student-centered learning and ensuring fair evaluation methods, showcasing dedication to student success and advancement. Additionally, it helps in securing federal funding and support for educational initiatives, portraying a strong vision for quality education in California.
Approximately 25% of California K–12 students are English Language Learners. Despite our best efforts, less than 60% of ELLs are English proficient after 6 years. In addition, their achievement levels are well below their English proficient counterparts. One of California Governor Jerry Brown’s gubernatorial goals is to reduce the messy number of categorical funding formulas and thus increase funding for English Language Learners and low income families.He would also like the State Board of Education to adopt instructional materials that provide intensive intervention and support for English Learners and to use existing federal funds to expand after-school and summer school programs to supplement English Learning programs.
Smart Money examines how successful school districts allocate resources linked to higher student achievement. It suggests integrating student achievement goals into labor negotiations between school management and unions. Currently, talks primarily revolve around wages and employment conditions, overshadowing student success. Advocating a transformative shift in labor law, the book proposes making student achievement a mandatory negotiation topic. This change aims to align budgeting with educational goals, prompting discussions on resource impact. It resists prescribing specific goals but encourages discussions, prompting both sides to consider how funds affect achievement. This approach broadens goals beyond test scores to encompass graduation rates, language proficiency, and authentic assessments. Incorporating student achievement goals in labor contracts could gradually reshape practices without disrupting established structures. The change aims to enhance educational outcomes in bargaining discussions while maintaining negotiation processes.
Research findings indicate that the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) exit exam has not yielded the expected benefits and, instead, has negatively affected many students. Criticism revolves around the exam's low proficiency levels in math (7th-8th grade) and English (10th grade). The debate focuses on the necessity of the exam and the appropriate performance standard. Increasing the bar to a college-ready level might significantly raise graduation failure rates, while eliminating the exam could diminish a student's incentive for engagement. With the emergence of new assessment systems aligned to Common Core Standards, the conflict between graduation requirements and college readiness will likely intensify, potentially leading to the abandonment of the exit exam.
PACE has been hosting the California Diploma Project, uniting eight stakeholders across the state's education system to enhance alignment. Recently, they endorsed using the 11th-grade CST in the Early Assessment Program as a measure of readiness for college-level work. This sets a clear target for students aiming for college success and provides a benchmark for diverse college assessment systems. However, the majority of California students fall short of this readiness standard. In 2009, only a small percentage met the EAP standard in English and Math. While boosting these numbers won't be simple, having a common indicator for college readiness offers a starting point to address this challenge.
For nearly three decades, PACE has facilitated discussions on California's education policies by integrating academic research into key policy challenges. Traditionally, this involved publishing policy briefs, organizing seminars, and producing the annual 'Conditions of Education in California' report, offering comprehensive data and analysis on the state's education system. The launch of "Conditions of Education in California" as a blog marks a shift to engage a wider audience and enable ongoing updates. This platform, authored by PACE-affiliated researchers across California, aims to share new data, compelling research findings, and insights on current legislation and policies. The objective remains fostering informed discussions on education policy challenges in California, now extending the conversation to policymakers, educators, and citizens. This inclusive dialogue is crucial to drive the necessary policy understanding and momentum for improving the state's education system.
The authors of this study employ longitudinal student data to gauge the effect of California's exit exam (CAHSEE, taken in 10th grade) on student persistence (as measured by the percentage of students remaining in school in their original district at...
Graduation rates for low-achieving minority students and girls have fallen nearly 20 percentage points since California implemented a law requiring high school students to pass exit exams in order to graduate, according to a new Stanford study. The new study...
A recent report by UC Berkeley-based Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) praises the Long Beach Unified School District for its effective, systematic efforts to boost student performance. “The Long Beach Unified School District is nationally recognized for its systematic...
On the first day of kindergarten, children—regardless of race or income—who regularly attended preschool have up to five months’ academic head start on their nonpreschooled peers, University of California researchers found in a study released today. The study, funded by...
Teachers across the country work hard to increase student achievement, but report declining morale and high stress under accountability pressures such as the federal No Child Left Behind Act, according to studies published Wednesday by UC Berkeley professors and other...
Vartan Gregorian, President of Carnegie Corporation of New York and Phillip Griffiths, former director and professor of mathematics of the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS), announced the creation of a new high-level joint commission to address the continuing concern that...
Although some argue that it’s too early to pass judgment, recent evidence suggests that the bill has fallen short of its lofty goals, leaving parents, educators and legislators discontented. Three major studies released in November reported persistent achievement gaps between...
The usual hand-wringing accompanied the Department of Education's release late last year of new statistics on how U.S. students performed on international tests. How will the United States compete in the global economy, went the lament, when our students lag...
Under No Child Left Behind, individual schools and school districts can be punished for repeatedly failing to meet the federal standards, including restructuring schools and possibly closing them in extreme cases. Researchers with Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) studied...
"Getting Down to Facts" is a new research initiative commissioned by Governor Schwarzenegger's Committee on Education Excellence, state Democratic leaders, and Superintendent Jack O'Connell. Led by Susanna Loeb, a Stanford Graduate School of Education Professor and PACE codirector, this project seeks to explore California's school finance and governance systems. Its objective is to provide comprehensive insights essential for assessing the effectiveness of potential reforms. The initiative addresses three key questions: the current state of school finance and governance, optimizing existing resources for improved student outcomes, and evaluating the need for additional resources to meet educational goals. The studies from this project are expected to be available by January 2007.
To help lay the groundwork for reforming California's faltering school system, more than 30 researchers nationwide have launched the largest independent investigation ever of how the state governs and finances education. Stanford Associate Professor of Education Susanna Loeb, an economist...
Among the less noticed fallout from Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma is the need for tens of thousands of K–12 schoolchildren to suddenly change schools. Some of the new schools are near the children's home schools; others are far away...
With more teachers entering the profession as interns, California has reduced the number of under-prepared teachers by half. However, the vast majority of intern teachers are assigned to low achieving schools serving poor and minority students, according to a new...
This annual report provides an update on California’s teacher development and teacher quality policies; discusses trends in the supply of and demand for teachers; examines data on novice, underprepared, out of field teachers; and investigates the local policies and decisions...
As teachers and principals throughout California and the country struggle to satisfy the increasing demands of the federal No Child Left Behind law, education experts and school officials say they are paying increasing attention to the middle-of-the-road students who have...
Students, parents, and K–12 educators are not receiving clear messages about the skills that high school students need to enter and succeed in college. U.S. high school students now have higher aspirations for college than ever before. During the last...
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, signed into law by President Bush on Jan. 8, 2002, was a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the central federal law in pre-collegiate education. The ESEA, first enacted in...
For children and teachers across America, it's rather bad news. Education is now the No. 2 preoccupation of voters, running just behind worries over jobs, according to recent polls. So a political catfight has suddenly broken out between President Bush...
