The start of the 2020–21 academic year illustrated the extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the lives of school-aged students and their families, and has heightened the need to catalyze the systems that support them. AIR partnered with...
The school year has been challenging for students and educators alike as they adjust to remote programs. As a result, Palm Springs Unified School district reports failing grades are up 10 to 15 percent in their middle and high schools...
Americans believe that schools are essential institutions. That’s why public schools absorb half of local government spending, and why the nation spends $14,000 per year on each child in K–12 public schools. Yet, even as the educational establishment insists its...
California is on the verge of creating a cradle-to-career data system that could help policymakers identify effective educational policies while providing students and families with new tools to investigate college and career options. With support from Governor Newsom, the Cradle-to-Career...
Ten months into the pandemic, San Francisco’s schools remain closed, and there is no firm timetable for when students can return. The debate around reopening schools has been a controversial issue for parents, children and educators for months, but has...
As of yesterday, Californians are in the midst of what you might call an uncontrolled experiment brought on by Gov. Gavin Newsom’s sudden move to lift the state’s regional stay-at-home order, allowing outdoor dining and other business operations to resume...
A new study revealed that young and low-income students in California have been hit the hardest by pandemic-related school closures, showing a significant drop in test scores that has researchers worried the gap may be hard to overcome. The study...
A study on the extent of pandemic-induced learning loss in 18 California districts reveals younger, lower-income students and English learners were the hardest hit by school closures last spring. The research from Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) shows significant...
The closure of most California public school campuses since last March has been widely acknowledged to have hurt student learning, but a study this week brings that into sharper focus, finding significant loss in both language arts and math, and...
The first California study measuring declines in learning during the first months of the pandemic parallels findings nationally: There has been a significant drop in test results in the early grades, with low-income students and English learners showing the least...
The impact of the pandemic on California students' learning, gauged from 18 school districts in the CORE Data Collaborative, highlights significant learning loss in English Language Arts (ELA) and Math, primarily affecting younger grades. The equity gap is pronounced, notably among low-income students and English language learners (ELLs), experiencing more substantial setbacks than their counterparts. Socioeconomically disadvantaged students faced slower growth, while others accelerated their learning, intensifying existing achievement disparities. Upper-grade ELLs encountered severe setbacks due to challenges in virtual language development. These findings underscore the urgent need for targeted support to redress these disparities, emphasizing the gravity of unequal experiences during the pandemic. Yet, data limitations call for deeper investigations into absent student groups to refine learning loss estimates. Addressing this crisis necessitates a student-centric approach, prioritizing social-emotional well-being and systemic educational reforms to accommodate diverse student needs.
As districts, schools, and families navigate a new normal following the abrupt end of in-person schooling this spring, students’ learning opportunities vary enormously across the nation. Access to devices and broadband internet and a secure learning environment are just a...
EdSource asked leaders representing all segments of California’s education system to comment on Gov. Newsom’s 2021-22 budget proposal. This year, we’ve presented their responses in reverse alphabetical order, which seemed apt for these topsy-turvy times.
Schools in San Francisco shut in March of 2020, and at the time, officials announced a three-week closure. Nearly 10 months later, the city has not set an official date for reopening them. As of December, the school district and...
As COVID-19 continues to disrupt educational experiences of students across the nation, newly analyzed survey research by the California Education Lab at the University of California, Davis, details the high level of uncertainty and financial stress experienced by California high...
The transition to distance learning for all students has been a challenge, but particularly for those in transitional kindergarten through third grade who have not yet learned to read or lack experience using computers. A new brief from Policy Analysis...
Safe, high-quality recess can play an important role in children’s adjustment to school when they begin returning to in-person class, according to a policy brief by Policy Analysis for California Education.
Sacramento City Unified Superintendent Jorge A. Aguilar issues a statement in response to Governor Newsom’s announcement of a Safe Schools for All Plan. SCUSD continues its planning for in-person instruction as part of its Return Together Plan.
The San Francisco school district and its teachers union failed to reach an agreement to start reopening classrooms by late January after months of tense negotiations. The scuttled reopening timeline is the latest setback in a debate over schools marked...
Over the past 10 months, K-12 school districts in California have faced unprecedented challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To help reduce the spread of the virus in spring 2020, districts largely transitioned to distance-learning, with some or all of...
Published on December 9th, Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) reports on why EE is more than a "luxury" during COVID-19 and beyond. Environmental Education is documented to have social-emotional, physical, language/literacy, and civic benefits. Further, time in nature decreases...
To support California’s school districts and county offices of education as they navigate the new terrain of education during the COVID-19 pandemic, three of the state’s leading education-focused organizations have joined forces to create the Hybrid Distance (HD) Learning Collaborative...
Child advocates and school officials fear the enrollment drop and educational disruptions for the young children could widen existing racial achievement gaps, and endanger school financing in the future.
California’s long-awaited roadmap to reshape early childhood care and education in the state took a critical first step on Tuesday with the release of a first-ever 10-year master plan, but some advocates say more specifics are needed to ensure progress.
