The authors of this study employ longitudinal student data to gauge the effect of California's exit exam (CAHSEE, taken in 10th grade) on student persistence (as measured by the percentage of students remaining in school in their original district at...
Graduation rates for low-achieving minority students and girls have fallen nearly 20 percentage points since California implemented a law requiring high school students to pass exit exams in order to graduate, according to a new Stanford study. The new study...
A recent report by UC Berkeley-based Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) praises the Long Beach Unified School District for its effective, systematic efforts to boost student performance. “The Long Beach Unified School District is nationally recognized for its systematic...
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...
"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.
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...
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...
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...
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...
For children and teachers across America, it's rather bad news. Education is now the No. 2 preoccupation of voters, running just behind worries over jobs, according to recent polls. So a political catfight has suddenly broken out between President Bush...
President Bush likes to say diversity is America’s greatest strength. But when it comes to schools seeking a passing grade under the landmark education law he championed, a diverse student body can be a school district’s greatest liability, according to...
This report, produced by the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning at WestEd, provides the latest available data and analysis of California’s teaching workforce and examines the preparation, induction, and professional development of teachers. The report also examines...
Authored by Stanford education professor Michael W. Kirst, this 24-page report is the latest in the "Perspectives in Public Policy: Connecting High Education and the Public School" series, published by The Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL) and The National Center...
A state lawmaker said Tuesday that she will ask for an investigation into a statistical anomaly that allows school scores on the Academic Performance Index to go down even if all the groups of students within the school improved their...
But most people who work with problem kids say there are more relevant statistics. According to the child advocacy group Children Now, more kids than ever are growing up in poverty in California—1 in 5; 1 out of 3 kids...
California policymakers have not responded to the changing needs of the state’s children, leaving many at risk of slipping through gaps in a fragmented social-services system, according to a new report by a group of independent researchers.
What is it like to be a child in California? Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE), an independent, university-based research center, has undertaken the first comprehensive overview of that question in “The Conditions of Children in California,” to be released...
schools will do little more than ensure continued educational mediocrity, according to an analysis released Tuesday by an independent group of education professors from the state’s top universities. With enrollment statewide growing 42% above what had been projected for this year...
A recent report by USC education professors Allan Odden and David D. Marsh for Policy Analysis for California Education indicates that when schools put together all the critical reforms, they show improvement. All our estimates indicate that about 30% of...
Tougher school standards enacted by the state four years ago appear to be contributing to better learning conditions and academic gains, according to a study of 17 California junior and senior high schools released Thursday. The report, authored by two USC...
State Supt. of Public Instruction Bill Honig said Monday that current high school seniors, the first crop of students to go all the way through high school under the tougher state academic standards imposed in 1983, recorded “the highest scores...
Two privately funded studies, issued this fall, highlight the progress and problems of California’s schools and make numerous and expensive suggestions for improvement. Those studies and their recommendations: Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE), a research group based at Stanford...
Five years after Proposition 13 took away money from California schools, Senate Bill 813 brought it back—but with strings attached. The bill, hailed as the largest educational reform measure in California's history, was passed in 1983. Its provisions were backed...
Minority students will be a majority of California’s public school enrollment by 1990, ten years earlier than expected, educational researchers predict. Between 1970 and 1980 the proportion of minority students grew from 15.6% to 42.9%, said the report by Policy...
California's public schools are progressing under the state's 2-year-old reform program despite teacher shortages and deteriorating buildings, an independent research group reported Wednesday. The university-based group, Policy Analysis for California Education, said in a preliminary report that more high...
