One in 4 California school districts received notice that they must work with county offices of education or with a new state agency to improve the education of at least one of their student groups that were ranked among the...

The disparity in educational outcomes between student populations is one of the most serious challenges facing our public education system. Gaps in test scores, graduation rates, and college readiness pose a fundamental problem that school officials must solve.With 80% of...

Bigger than the state of Rhode Island, the Antelope Valley is the northern-most part of Los Angeles County. Composed of Lancaster, Palmdale, and the surrounding communities, it is one of the highest need regions in California. Over the past year...

Speaking at the 2017 Principal of the Year Institute in Washington this week, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy​ DeVos talked about the need to cut federal red tape and to give state and local leaders as much autonomy as possible, Education Week reports...

Statewide student results on the standardized tests measuring knowledge of the Common Core standards were essentially flat in 2016-17, after a year of strong gains.

High school seniors around the country are feeling apathetic toward their classes during their final semester, which often carries over and negatively affects their freshman year of college. The epidemic, commonly known as “senioritis,” is the topic of a recent...

As states and districts work to develop new accountability systems under the Every Student Succeeds Act, six California districts who received federal waivers under the Obama administration are getting the first hints of how more holistic accountability systems might work...

California is quickly becoming a national battleground over the franchise for testing high school juniors. The College Board, producer of the SAT college admissions test, wants in, while state officials, defenders of the state’s current test provider, the Smarter Balanced...

Gardner Center Associate Director Jorge Ruiz de Velasco and  Daisy Gonzales, Associate Director of Policy Analysis for California Education, review approaches to accountability for alternative schools in a new brief published as part of the PACE Continuous Improvement Series. California’s...

Three out of 10 of California’s 2016 high school graduates earned a score of 3 or higher in Advanced Placement tests, allowing them to earn college credit, according to new figures from the test’s publisher, the College Board. The state’s...

Some low-income students in California could face a steep fee increase for Advanced Placement exams this spring following the elimination of a federal subsidy. The cost for each AP exam for these students could climb from $5 or $15 to...

PACE’s inaugural conference is the premier event for policymakers, researchers, advocates and other leaders working to define and sustain a long-term strategy for comprehensive policy reform and continuous improvement of California’s education system. Our 2017 full-day conference will engage with...

In school accountability, flashlights work better than hammers. That’s the oft-repeated argument of California’s CORE districts, a data collaborative now serving over 1.8-million students. It’s generally recognized that the practice of using data to bash schools—commonly known as naming and...

English-language-learner services are designed, in theory, to prevent educational inequity, but for some students the specialized services may be reinforcing it. A new study out of the University of Oregon found that designating early elementary students who are close to...

School districts and charter schools serving 1.7 million students in California will compile, analyze and compare data on student performance beyond what the state collects under a new agreement announced last week. The additional data will include information on school...

The State Board of Education has been working for several years to develop a new accountability system based on the Local Control Funding Formula, which the Legislature and governor passed in 2013. In September, the state board will take an...

By David Plank. Imagine you are a judge on a cooking show. Every contestant prepares three different dishes, and you must choose the best cook. But different cooks are good at different things, so what measure can you use to...

The state of California, the federal government, and your local school district all agree - our lowest-performing schools need support and improvement. The problem is that every entity has its own idea about how to make changes. A conflict between...

When Congress passed the Every Student Succeeds Act in 2015, it was celebrated as relief from its predecessor, but as regulations emerge it’s beginning to look like its evil sibling of the discredited No Child Left Behind Act’s name-and-shame policy...

To shine a brighter light on academic disparities, the six California districts known as the CORE districts have tracked test results for much smaller student subgroups than the state requires, giving a more complete picture of how some groups–African-American children...

A new paper from an assessment expert cautions the state consortia that are designing common tests that while computer-based and computer-adaptive testing offer the possibility of improving assessment, getting them right presents significant challenges. The paper by Mark D. Reckase...