Beyond the Numbers

Six of California’s largest urban school districts—Fresno Unified School District (FUSD), Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD), Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), Sacramento City Unified School District (SCUSD), San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD), and San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD)—have joined together in the Partnership for Urban Education Research (PUER), to address the most pressing issues in urban education. This report outlines the recent efforts of PUER to 1) identify the problems with dropout documentation, 2) offer a standardized method of computing cohort survival rates, and 3) present current strategies for preventing dropouts. The report closes with recommendations to the California Department of Education as it moves forward with the implementation of a student-level longitudinal data system. PUER seeks to build a partnership in which participating districts can use their collective research capacity to carefully evaluate their own instructional programs and practices. The PUER districts are working with PACE to review and publish their research.