For school districts facing enrollment declines and mounting budget pressures, closing schools seems like an obvious – if often contentious – way to get finances back on track. But new research from Stanford suggests the reality is not so open-and-shut...

The first webinar in the five-part Getting Down to Facts III webinar series is now available to watch on demand.  Held September 3, the webinar examined how California funds its public schools and the fiscal pressures shaping future policy choices...

In a step toward giving math the attention early literacy has gotten, the Legislature on Monday approved a bill that would require schools to assess the math capabilities of all students in kindergarten through second grade each year, beginning in...

A new school year begins for California students this week with fresh data for administrators. Stanford University released an 18-month study of California’s K-12 public school system on May 7, 2026, with contributions from 112 researchers. The project, led by...

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...

Students returning to school may not have noticed it.  As the years pass, they hang out with the same friends or play on the same sports teams. But something’s been changing.  There are fewer students.  While charter school enrollment in...

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...

School closures—commonly touted as a financially responsible strategy to right-size cash-strapped districts—often do not improve districts’ financial standing, according to a new study out of California.  Even worse: Any money actually saved from closing a school building is largely offset...

A new report from Penn GSE researchers explores one of the most pressing tensions in education policy today: how to ensure rigorous preparation for teachers while expanding access to the profession. 

It’s not often you see over 900 diverse organizations across California all agree on something. But when a problem affecting our kids’ education has existed for over a century with little progress towards fixing it, it brings people together to...

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...

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...

Two months ago, the idea of stripping the State Superintendent of Public Instruction’s job of managing the California Department of Education and handing it to the governor was a recommendation in a university-based research center’s report.  This week, it became...

The SCALE Initiative is using text-based tutoring and research-driven insights to address key educational challenges, with generative AI as the next frontier. The next project for the SCALE Initiative is generative AI. Professor Susanna Loeb and her team, with input...

When the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered schools, the grades and mental health of millions of students declined. Several of the leading Republican challengers in the upcoming California recall election of Governor Gavin Newsom see this crisis as an opportunity. Turning parents...

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.

Heather Hough, executive director of Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE), talks about a closely watched measure to increase school funding. California’s Proposition 15, which would increase funding for public schools and local governments by changing tax rules for commercial...

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.

Is charter school conflicts intensify in California, increasing attention is being focused not only on the schools themselves but on the school boards and other entities that grant them permission to operate in the first place. They’re called charter authorizers...

As charter school conflicts intensify in California, increasing attention is being focused not only on the schools themselves but on the school boards and other entities that grant them permission to operate in the first place. They’re called charter authorizers...

Research shows California schools are now relying more on counselors in order to improve outcomes for students in areas such as attendance and graduation. A report released last year as part of Getting Down to Facts II—a project involving Stanford University...

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...