The alliance intended the website to serve as a guide for parents and the public that may be unaware of the significant shifts in policy under Gov. Jerry Brown and the State Board of Education that he appointed. To support...
Once thought of as a sacred cow, Proposition 13, the tax revolt measure passed in 1978, is now under attack. Schools and Communities First, a coalition of nearly 300 groups and leaders, has qualified an initiative for the Nov. 2020...
Besides voting for a new state superintendent of public instruction, voters in dozens of school districts in California on Tuesday decided whether to borrow money for school construction projects and tax themselves.
Over the past decade, California’s PreK-12 education system has seen a variety of reforms— new academic standards and assessments, the Local Control Funding Formula, advancements in data systems—yet despite these changes, a new research project reports that California lags behind...
California districts with the most affluent students have been averaging more than twice as many local school bond dollars per student as the most impoverished districts, a CalMatters analysis reveals.
Six years ago, Governor Jerry Brown cut a deal with unions and the Legislature to rescue the state’s two largest public employee pension funds from insolvency—but at a steep price for school districts and other public employers. Now, in the waning...
Anyone skeptical of last month’s Stanford University study of Golden State K-12 underfunding must either be unusually perspicacious or a veteran California classroom teacher. That’s because the true amount should have been $25.6 billion — $3.5 billion more than the...
Marshall Tuck, a candidate for state superintendent of public instruction, sat down with Louis Freedberg and John Fensterwald of EdSource to talk about his vision for California’s public schools. Tuck responds to the finding in the "Getting Down to Facts"...
This week, Louis and John interview Marshall Tuck, candidate for State Superintendent of Public Instruction. Tuck, a former school administrator, lays out his vision for the job and explains what he would do to strengthen the state’s limited education data...
Child360, a nonprofit organization committed to supporting early learning from every angle, today announced the appointment of William (Bill) Sperling as Chief Executive Officer. He will lead as CEO effective immediately and will be the force behind Child360's vision to...
A team of researchers managed by Stanford University and Policy Analysis for California Education recently released a massive study of California schools’ successes and shortcomings.
Two separate panels of experienced California teachers and administrators were given background information and three days together to help answer a longer version of this question: How much would it cost to provide all California students the academic knowledge, skills...
Dr. Michelle Hall, Attallah College of Educational Studies’ Director of Program Assessment and Improvement, was one of the contributors to a major update to a key research project, Getting Down to Facts II (GDTF II), that examines the many facets...
San Diego is to pension crises like Connecticut is to pizza: We may not make the most well-known, but we can cook them up with the very best. And if that remains true, we should be in for a grand...
California has earmarked nearly $200 million over the last four years to address the state’s persistent teacher shortage, but it is not enough, according to new studies that are part of “Getting Down to Facts II,” a research project focused...
California is under-funding its schools by $22 billion dollars, according to a new report released last week. KUSI news anchor Lauren Phinney sat down with Jennifer Imazeki, Director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at SDSU, to discuss the...
Despite investing in education data systems, California produces little information on how to provide an effective education for its students, according to a 36-study analysis by the Policy Analysis for California Education Center at Stanford University. The study finds that...
In 2007, researchers associated with Stanford University released “Getting Down to Facts”–a massive compilation of studies of the California K-12 public school system. The hundreds of pages of voluminous research allowed both the state education establishment and its critics to...
This week, Louis and John pick out the highlights of the voluminous set of research reports on preK-12 education in California, Getting Down to Facts II, which was released Monday. The 36-study project, organized by Stanford University, examines pressing issues...
A troubling new research project finds that the achievement gap among California’s 6 million school children begins as early as kindergarten. What contributes to this startling inequity and what can be done to narrow the gap?
A troubling new research project finds that the achievement gap among California’s 6 million school children begins as early as kindergarten. What contributes to this startling inequity and what can be done to narrow the gap?
Sweeping reforms to the way California funds its public schools appear to be lifting student achievement, but this state may need to do and spend much more, particularly on early childhood education, if Californians hope to keep up with the...
A major research project released this week claims California has under-funded its schools by $25.6 billion, many California students are entering school already behind in learning and California schools don’t have nearly enough teachers, counselors and other personnel. The project...
In advance of a newly-elected Governor and State Legislature, a comprehensive study of the California PreK-12 education system was released earlier this week. The study, Getting Down to the Facts II, is the second effort to highlight the analysis and...
New research detailed in a report titled "Getting Down To Facts II" examines how California’s students are still lagging behind their peers nationwide, with minority, low-income or special education students typically faring the worst.