The Getting Down to Facts III Central Valley Convening brought together educators, policymakers, and community leaders to tackle the region's most pressing educational challenges. From addressing teacher shortages to improving student outcomes in rural districts, expert presenters shared research-based strategies...

The first sign was the empty desks that slowly started to appear. Then there were fewer kindergartners in San Francisco. Shrinking graduating classes in San Jose. An Oakland elementary school that lost so many students it was forced to close...

For Stanford Graduate School of Education (GSE) Professor Susanna Loeb, the work of bringing an incoming governor up to speed on the state’s education system begins with a listening tour.  “There are a billion different things you could look at...

On May 7, 2026, the SCALE initiative at Stanford announced the release of Getting Down to Facts III, a trove of new research about California's education systems. It wasn't a surprise — this is the third time that Stanford has...

Stanford University on Thursday released a sweeping research project that takes a 360-degree, immersive look at all aspects and operations of public education in California, from preschool through high school, from special education to teacher certification, enrollment decline to high...

California K-12 schools have come a long way over the past 20 years, but according to an exhaustive overview of the state’s school system, further progress may require tinkering with a long-entrenched form of school governance: local control.  That’s among...

The pandemic has intensified a multi-year trend of dwindling student enrollment statewide, causing a steep drop this year. More than a third of the decline stemmed from 61,000 missing kindergartners.

USC Rossier Professor of Education Policy discusses strategies for engaging local stakeholders, her experience as a researcher and how COVID-19 will impact funding for education.

The most damaging myth in American higher education is that college admissions is about merit, and that merit is about striving for – and earning – academic excellence. This myth is often used as a weapon against policies like affirmative...

Getting Down to Facts II combines 36 studies that explore a broad swath of K–12 policy topics central to school equity. Among some of the report’s findings: Large accountability gaps persist; students are behind before they even enter kindergarten; data...

Welcome, readers, to the new year. It’s time for our favorite armchair exercise: predictions for the year in education. There’s a wild card this year: Gavin Newsom. Gov. Jerry Brown, while sometimes mystical, proved to be true to his word...

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...

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...