A new report by Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) finds that six in 10 students who enter the California community college system as freshmen with high school diplomas and aspirations to transfer to four-year institutions drop out or lower...
Hundreds of California schools are "failing" under the federal standards, but one that's shining bright—and adding its own wrinkle to the debate over school reform—is Ralph Bunche Elementary, named for the black American diplomat who won the 1950 Nobel Peace...
The goal of the No Child Left Behind Act is simply stated: All children should be proficient in reading and mathematics by the end of the 2013-14 school year. But more than five years after the law was enacted, it...
Stanford researchers, led by education Associate Professor Susanna Loeb, have headed an unprecedented investigation into California's troubled K-12 education system. Their findings reveal that millions of students will be able to attain the state's high achievement standards only if what...
Although some argue that it’s too early to pass judgment, recent evidence suggests that the bill has fallen short of its lofty goals, leaving parents, educators and legislators discontented. Three major studies released in November reported persistent achievement gaps between...
The usual hand-wringing accompanied the Department of Education's release late last year of new statistics on how U.S. students performed on international tests. How will the United States compete in the global economy, went the lament, when our students lag...
David N. Plank joined PACE as Executive Director after leading the Education Policy Center at Michigan State University. With a background in educational finance and policy, he has extensive experience in academia and international consulting for organizations like the World Bank and governments in Africa and Latin America. At Michigan State, he focused on using research to influence state education policy, publishing reports on accountability, school finance, and school choice. Plank aims to leverage his expertise to expand PACE's policy research network, strengthen relationships with California policymakers, and elevate the organization's impact in addressing the state's unique educational challenges.
Under No Child Left Behind, individual schools and school districts can be punished for repeatedly failing to meet the federal standards, including restructuring schools and possibly closing them in extreme cases. Researchers with Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) studied...
It is by now a familiar story, often told as a lament: teachers in this country continue to be paid according to the single salary schedule. They accrue better pay on the basis of years of experience and college units...
"Getting Down to Facts" is a new research initiative commissioned by Governor Schwarzenegger's Committee on Education Excellence, state Democratic leaders, and Superintendent Jack O'Connell. Led by Susanna Loeb, a Stanford Graduate School of Education Professor and PACE codirector, this project seeks to explore California's school finance and governance systems. Its objective is to provide comprehensive insights essential for assessing the effectiveness of potential reforms. The initiative addresses three key questions: the current state of school finance and governance, optimizing existing resources for improved student outcomes, and evaluating the need for additional resources to meet educational goals. The studies from this project are expected to be available by January 2007.
We are delighted to announce that Professor David N. Plank, an economist teaching at Michigan State University (MSU), will become PACE's executive director in January 2007. Professor Plank is world renown for his work on school quality and democratic governance both in the U.S. and within developing countries. He currently directs an education policy center at MSU which operates much like PACE. Professor Plank has conducted extensive research in Brazil and is fluent in Portuguese. He will start work from our UC Berkeley office part time, beginning this summer.
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...
Patricia Gándara, a professor of education at the University of California, Davis, is a new co-director of Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE), an independent policy research center founded in 1983 as a joint venture between the schools of education...
Among the less noticed fallout from Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma is the need for tens of thousands of K–12 schoolchildren to suddenly change schools. Some of the new schools are near the children's home schools; others are far away...
With more teachers entering the profession as interns, California has reduced the number of under-prepared teachers by half. However, the vast majority of intern teachers are assigned to low achieving schools serving poor and minority students, according to a new...
Previous research has demonstrated that attending center care is associated with cognitive benefits for young children. However, little is known about the ideal age for children to enter such care or the "right" amount of time, both weekly and yearly...
This annual report provides an update on California’s teacher development and teacher quality policies; discusses trends in the supply of and demand for teachers; examines data on novice, underprepared, out of field teachers; and investigates the local policies and decisions...
Most teachers are ill-prepared to meet the needs of the children struggling to learn English in California's public schools, according to a new study by researchers at the UC Davis. And as the number of English learners increases, they say...
While many state pre–K programs have been launched with the aim of producing the same educational and social benefits of a few small, high-quality demonstration child-development programs. Read the Policy Analysis for California Education study, “How to Expand and Improve...
This report is based on a survey of more than 5,000 California teachers that examined their experiences, challenges, and professional development needs in teaching English language learner students. The report presents background on the issues facing teachers of English language...
As teachers and principals throughout California and the country struggle to satisfy the increasing demands of the federal No Child Left Behind law, education experts and school officials say they are paying increasing attention to the middle-of-the-road students who have...
Students, parents, and K–12 educators are not receiving clear messages about the skills that high school students need to enter and succeed in college. U.S. high school students now have higher aspirations for college than ever before. During the last...
As a co-founder in 1983 of PACE, Policy Analysis for California Education, I want to make clear that the report on state test trends by Bruce Fuller, highlighted in his Education Week Commentary (“Are "Are Test Scores Really Rising?” Oct...
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, signed into law by President Bush on Jan. 8, 2002, was a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the central federal law in pre-collegiate education. The ESEA, first enacted in...
Citing the thousands of California students who were shut out of community colleges last year because of budget-forced course and staffing cuts, a report issued Tuesday predicted worse times ahead for the state’s two-year colleges without significant funding and policy...
