Working paper

Snapshots of Reform

District Efforts to Raise Achievement across Diverse Communities in California
Authors
Elisabeth L. Woody
Policy Analysis for California Education
Soung Bae
John W. Gardner Center for Youth and Their Communities, Stanford University
Sandra Park
Improvement Collective
Jennifer Lin Russell
University of Pittsburgh
Published

Summary

In California, policymakers and educators had already turned their attention to addressing inequities in student achievement with the passage of the Public School Accountability Act (PSAA) in 1999. PSAA provided a framework for learning with curriculum standards, and set expectations for improvement through the Academic Performance Index (API). For the first time, schools were responsible for meeting achievement targets not just school-wide, but for racial/ethnic and socioeconomic subgroups of students. As a result, many educators became increasingly aware of gaps in their students’ achievement across subgroups and the challenges in closing those gaps.

Suggested citationWoody, E. L., Bae, S., Park, S., & Russell, J. L. (2006, October). Snapshots of reform: District efforts to raise achievement across diverse communities in California [Working paper]. Policy Analysis for California Education. https://edpolicyinca.org/publications/snapshots-reform-district-efforts-raise-achievement-across-diverse-communities