There are 725,000 K-12 students in California who receive special education services -- and a new report says that the state has a long way to go to adequately meet the needs of these kids. With us to break down...

Special education in California should be overhauled to focus on the individual needs of students, with better training for teachers, more streamlined services and improved screening for the youngest children, according to a compilation of reports released today. Those were...

Special education in California should be overhauled to focus on the individual needs of students, with better training for teachers, more streamlined services and improved screening for the youngest children, according to a compilation of reports released today.

Recent survey results show that while more California county office of education leaders are understanding and accepting of the new roles of COEs in the Statewide System of Support, the state must further build out and enhance the system to...

There is a deeply rooted impulse in American society — perhaps any society — to rank everything from restaurants and refrigerators to athletes and colleges. That may help explain why pressures continue in California to rank its schools based on...

Distinguished Professor George Farkas presented his latest research findings at the Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE) group in Sacramento on August 13. The meeting title was PACE Policy Research Panel on Special Education: Organizing Schools to Serve Students with...

Research shows California schools are now relying more on counselors in order to improve outcomes for students in areas such as attendance and graduation. A report released last year as part of Getting Down to Facts II—a project involving Stanford University...

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...

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...

Brown University professors ors Susanna Loeb, Kenneth Wong, Matthew Kraft and John Papay were named in the 2019 Rick Hess Straight Up Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings. The list ranks the top 200 U.S. university scholars who most influenced “educational practice...

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...

Gavin Newsom is officially California’s 40th governor. During his electoral campaign and inaugural speech, he made several promises to provide services and representation to different communities across the state. Advocates for early childhood development, housing policy and the LGBTQ community...

EdSource asked several education leaders to comment on what they think Gov. Jerry Brown’s most important contributions to education reforms in California have been, what major education issues remain unaddressed and what they are hoping for from incoming Governor Gavin...

Welcome, readers, to the new year. It’s time for our favorite armchair exercise: predictions for the year in education. There’s a wild card this year: Gavin Newsom. Gov. Jerry Brown, while sometimes mystical, proved to be true to his word...

Early childhood education. A top-tier national ranking for K-12 per-pupil spending. A data system that would track kids from nursery school through state universities. California’s Legislature won’t reconvene until 2019, but the Christmas wish list for public schools  is already...

The California legislature will debate three Assembly bills in the upcoming session that would open up preschool options for thousands of California families.

Governor-Elect Gavin Newsom is promising universal preschool for the next generation, and with Democrats winning a supermajority in the state Legislature, education in California is likely to see some big changes. Newsom's plan includes preschool for all children, which estimated...

One Stanford University study says that California needs to spend billions more on the state’s PreK-12 public school system. Another Stanford study says that too-generous public pensions are robbing core government programs of needed funds. Will the two disparate ideas...

Tony Thurmond has named a veteran California education administrator as his chief deputy superintendent in his first act as state superintendent-elect of public instruction.

The alliance intended the website to serve as a guide for parents and the public that may be unaware of the significant shifts in policy under Gov. Jerry Brown and the State Board of Education that he appointed. To support...

Over the past decade, California’s PreK-12 education system has seen a variety of reforms— new academic standards and assessments, the Local Control Funding Formula, advancements in data systems—yet despite these changes, a new research project reports that California lags behind...

Marshall Tuck, a candidate for state superintendent of public instruction, sat down with Louis Freedberg and John Fensterwald of EdSource to talk about his vision for California’s public schools. Tuck responds to the finding in the "Getting Down to Facts"...

This week, Louis and John interview Marshall Tuck, candidate for State Superintendent of Public Instruction. Tuck, a former school administrator, lays out his vision for the job and explains what he would do to strengthen the state’s limited education data...

Child360, a nonprofit organization committed to supporting early learning from every angle, today announced the appointment of William (Bill) Sperling as Chief Executive Officer. He will lead as CEO effective immediately and will be the force behind Child360's vision to...