While calls for introducing “continuous improvement” into K-12 education systems in California (and beyond) have grown, definitions of continuous improvement vary, and knowledge of what continuous improvement looks like in practice is limited. To advance the conversation, a report published...

This policy brief presents research-based information on “continuous improvement” and identifies characteristics present in organizations that are successful in building a culture of continuous improvement. It also identifies some areas that district and school administrators have identified as challenging within...

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...

A tax bill passed by the United States House of Representatives would eliminate a deduction for interest paid on student loans, a move that could have an impact on undergraduate and graduate students alike.

With Gov. Jerry Brown retiring a year from now, EdSource asked two dozen school leaders, student advocates, legislators and other astute observers to suggest the most important improvements needed to make his landmark education law, the Local Control Funding Formula, more effective, equitable and truer to its promise. Their insightful recommendations touched on the key aspects of the law — its need-based funding formula, school accountability requirements and a focus on school improvement through local control.

California is shifting to a transparent, evidence-based, collaborative approach to accountability to help schools perform better at every level. In just a few years, California has rolled out a series of major upgrades to public education designed to help all...

Michael Gottfried, Associate Professor in the Department of Education at the UC Santa Barbara Gevirtz School, will co-present the talk “Do California’s New Teachers Feel Ready to Educate Students with Learning Disabilities?” with Ethan Hutt, Assistant Professor in the Department...

The disparity in educational outcomes between student populations is one of the most serious challenges facing our public education system. Gaps in test scores, graduation rates, and college readiness pose a fundamental problem that school officials must solve.With 80% of...

Data-based decision making has been the mantra of the school reform movement since the late 1980s, but California does not yet have an effective system for collecting and using vital school information. California has taken a number of steps to...

Bigger than the state of Rhode Island, the Antelope Valley is the northern-most part of Los Angeles County. Composed of Lancaster, Palmdale, and the surrounding communities, it is one of the highest need regions in California. Over the past year...

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...

Statewide student results on the standardized tests measuring knowledge of the Common Core standards were essentially flat in 2016-17, after a year of strong gains.

When the results of the third year of the Common-Core-aligned Smarter Balanced tests are released in California this week, they will almost certainly receive a great deal of attention, in the media and elsewhere. There will be an outpouring of...

Sierra was recently featured in a PACE (Policy Analysis for California Education) brief as a leader in helping students place into higher math classes.

Limited resources for teacher training have made it difficult for some rural districts in California to fully implement Common Core standards in math and English language arts, according to a new study.

The CORE-PACE research partnership is the first of its kind to provide real-time, research-based feedback that improves student learning; informs policy; and provides breakthrough findings to inform continuous improvement in the CORE Districts and beyond. With a network of university-based...

The “Power of Two” helps us identify schools where students are learning significantly faster or slower than their academic peers, and it provides key information about which schools need the greatest support and intervention. Through our partnership with Policy Analysis...

he Fresno Unified School District increased student applications to California State University and University of California campuses after training their counselors and giving students timely information to help them make selections. Their strategies are outlined in a new report from Policy Analysis...

How necessary is intermediate algebra, a high school-level course on factoring trinomials, graphing exponential functions and memorizing formulas that most non-math or science students will rarely use in everyday life or for the rest of college? A growing number of...

California’s Fresno Unified School District used improvement science and the six core principles of improvement to address their goal of giving all students an equal opportunity to graduate with the greatest number of postsecondary choices from the widest array of...

Jorge Aguilar, superintendent of Sacramento Unified School District Superintendent and former Associate Superintendent for Equity and Access at Fresno Unified School District (FUSD), coauthored a brief highlighting the development and use of FUSD’s data dashboard and the principles of improvement...

California state law recognizes that schools primarily serving expelled students, dropouts and students who had trouble coping in traditional schools should be held accountable for academic performance–but by different measurements. This month, the State Board of Education began a more...

High school seniors around the country are feeling apathetic toward their classes during their final semester, which often carries over and negatively affects their freshman year of college. The epidemic, commonly known as “senioritis,” is the topic of a recent...

As states and districts work to develop new accountability systems under the Every Student Succeeds Act, six California districts who received federal waivers under the Obama administration are getting the first hints of how more holistic accountability systems might work...

Researchers who closely examined the impact of the state’s funding formula in eight school districts found a continued commitment to the goals of the new system but an uneven implementation and “consistent misunderstandings and confusion” of fundamental aspects of the...