English Learner (EL) students have been a key part of California’s K–12 system for decades. They currently make up about 21 percent of the public school population. English Learner status is meant to be temporary, and indeed, reclassified English Learners...

The University of California released a “major expansion” of UC Scout, a new online program designed to provide high school students with free access to Advanced Placement (AP) and “A-G” subject requirements required for competitive college admissions. UC Scout now...

A compendium of three dozen new studies on California education, involving dozens of researchers, will be released in June, in time to help shape the debate in state elections in November and the next governor’s approach to education. At least...

A new study released last week concluded the implementation of California’s school finance reform, with money targeted to address the needs of students and local districts, is making a significant difference in student outcomes, narrowing achievement gaps between groups of...

California’s sweeping education reforms championed by Gov. Jerry Brown have resulted in higher graduation rates and especially sizable gains in math among low-income students in the 11th grade, according to a new study.

New research shows that California’s landmark overhaul of public education finance and accountability is narrowing achievement gaps between groups of students and helping parents learn about school progress, the state Department of Education reported Tuesday. The Learning Policy Institute late...

California’s Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), the school finance overhaul enacted in 2013, is having a measurable positive impact on students’ academic achievement and graduation rates, improving outcomes and narrowing  gaps, according to a study released today by the Learning...

Leading education policy researchers on Monday released Getting Down to Facts II(GDTF II), a major PreK-12 education report that reveals California is generally on the right track due to recent reforms but that major system-wide funding challenges and significant gaps...

One in 4 California school districts received notice that they must work with county offices of education or with a new state agency to improve the education of at least one of their student groups that were ranked among the...

Speaking at the 2017 Principal of the Year Institute in Washington this week, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy​ DeVos talked about the need to cut federal red tape and to give state and local leaders as much autonomy as possible, Education Week reports...

California is quickly becoming a national battleground over the franchise for testing high school juniors. The College Board, producer of the SAT college admissions test, wants in, while state officials, defenders of the state’s current test provider, the Smarter Balanced...

Some low-income students in California could face a steep fee increase for Advanced Placement exams this spring following the elimination of a federal subsidy. The cost for each AP exam for these students could climb from $5 or $15 to...

PACE’s inaugural conference is the premier event for policymakers, researchers, advocates and other leaders working to define and sustain a long-term strategy for comprehensive policy reform and continuous improvement of California’s education system. Our 2017 full-day conference will engage with...

English-language-learner services are designed, in theory, to prevent educational inequity, but for some students the specialized services may be reinforcing it. A new study out of the University of Oregon found that designating early elementary students who are close to...

California’s K–12 students struggled on the new statewide Smarter Balanced assessments (SBAC) last year. The results highlight the challenges facing students and teachers as the state shifts to computer-based tests on new curricula with higher standards for achievement. Disadvantaged groups...

The education of English learners (EL) continues to be a topic of great interest across the country. But there has been little research to identify what steps to take in order to best serve this diverse group of students. In...

What can states and districts do to improve opportunities and outcomes for English Learners (ELs)? The question is asked and answered often; just this past fall, the U.S. Department of Education released a sprawling toolkit to help states and districts...

Ilana Umansky, Stanford CEPA alumni, on Improving the Opportunities and Outcomes of California’s Students Learning English: Findings from School District-University Collaborative Partnerships.

Recent policy changes in California’s education system have opened up a unique opportunity to improve educational opportunities for the state’s 1.4 million English learner students (ELs). The implementation of new state standards including new English Language Development standards will require...

California's 1.4 million English Learner children are often pigeon-holed and trapped for years in a school system that also impedes their academic progress and blocks their path to college. That’s the conclusion of a report released this week and published...

A 1998 voter referendum that strictly limited bilingual education in California's public schools has weakened educational efforts and held back non-English-speaking children, according to a report led by the UO's Ilana Umansky. The report's nine co-authors are calling on California...

Researchers studying a group of California school districts are highly critical of the state’s system for providing services to English language learners in a report released this week.