Most Californians won’t be able to vote for their local school board again this year because of a lack of candidates. Even a new law allowing school boards to raise trustee pay has not led to more competitive races statewide...

This webinar, hosted by the SCALE Initiative, looks at the condition of California’s teacher and school leader workforce. Presenters analyze data from the Getting Down to Facts III study to highlight key factors influencing educator recruitment and retention across the...

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...

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...

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. 

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 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...

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.

Due to statewide teacher shortages, many of California’s approximately 800,000 special education students are being taught by teachers who haven’t completed teacher preparation programs or have received only partial training.

The most inexperienced and least qualified teachers continue to teach in schools with the highest-needs students in California ­— even though those students require the most expert teachers, and research has shown that the effectiveness of classroom teachers is the...

Living where they teach is a fading dream for many California teachers. An EdSource analysis of teacher salaries and rents reveals just how crushing California’s housing crisis has become for them. Teachers at the bottom of the salary scale working...

Calling the issue of underpaid teachers a “crisis” with “disastrous consequences,” Sen. Kamala Harris, the California Democrat who is running for president, says she wants to increase the average teacher’s salary in the United States by $13,500.

When Joyce Ponce used to teach Head Start preschool programs in Santa Clara County, she taught in English, though many of the children in her classroom spoke Spanish or Punjabi at home. “I noticed the kids who did not understand...

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...

Host Joseph Pace and guests discuss the policy and funding issues underlying Oakland and California’s public school crisis.  What solutions exist to get our schools back in session and back on track?

A new analysis by the Palo Alto-based nonprofit Learning Policy Institute calls for doubling down on efforts to deepen and strengthen “one of the country’s most ambitious equity-focused education reforms.” LPI’s report cites multiple publications from PACE and Getting Down...

When it comes to implementing policies that will shape education, research is a critical starting point, says Heather Hough, executive director of Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE), a nonpartisan center led by faculty members at five universities in California...

School's In with Dan Schwartz and Denise Pope:
"Improving Education from the Inside with guest Heather Hough"

Policy Analysis for California Education executive director Heather Hough talks about the value of arming local officials with the best information to make...

As Oakland Unified faces a possible teachers’ strike and braces for deep budget cuts for the 2019-20 school year, its leaders are asking themselves: “Which expenditures would give us the greatest academic returns on our investments?” Their answer: Increasing teacher...