This brief examines how schools shape math course-taking among California high school students. It finds that 12th-grade math enrollment has declined in about two thirds of high schools in recent years, with differences tied to school size and student demographics. Students in smaller schools and in schools serving higher shares of socioeconomically disadvantaged students are less likely to take advanced math courses. The findings highlight how variation in course offerings and access contributes to unequal opportunities in math preparation for college.

This report examines trends in high school math course-taking among California students over the past decade. It finds that after increasing prior to 2020, 12th-grade math enrollment has declined to earlier levels, alongside shifts in the types of courses students take. Students are less likely to enroll in Algebra 2, precalculus, and calculus, and more likely to take statistics. While the share of students reaching Algebra 2 has remained stable, fewer are progressing to higher-level math, raising concerns about college and career readiness.

This brief examines how changes in foster youth classification status relate to student absenteeism and discipline in four California CORE districts. Drawing on longitudinal data, it finds that entering foster care is associated with reduced absenteeism but increased exclusionary discipline, while exiting foster care is linked to increased absenteeism with no significant change in disciplinary risk. These findings highlight critical transition points where targeted supports and stronger policy alignment can improve educational stability and outcomes for youth in foster care.

This report examines how California’s policies and local practices shape the reclassification of students designated as English learners. Drawing on a nine-year research–practice partnership, it analyzes how locally determined criteria—particularly the “basic skills” requirement—and administrative processes can delay or prevent reclassification. The findings highlight how variation across districts contributes to unequal opportunities, especially in nonunified systems.

This infographic examines chronic absence trends in California through 2024–25, nearly five years after the COVID-19 pandemic. Although rates have declined from their 2021–22 peak, nearly one in five students remains chronically absent—well above prepandemic levels—and progress has slowed. Eight key facts highlight persistent disparities and the urgent need for sustained, data-informed action to reengage students and reduce barriers to attendance.

This report examines the CORE Districts’ Breakthrough Success Community (BTSC), which focused on improving ninth-grade on-track rates through evidence-based changes in daily practice. Some schools effectively adapted BTSC strategies, fostering strong relationships and engagement. While implementation varied and overall impact on student outcomes was not detected, schools valued key BTSC measures, and later adjustments may strengthen results. This report highlights promising practices and offers recommendations to enhance future education improvement efforts.

Absenteeism soared in California and nationally in the wake of the pandemic, and addressing this extraordinary increase is crucial to helping students catch up academically. Using data available from the California Department of Education and building on prior analysis, we examine trends in chronic absence (students missing school more than 10 percent of the time) through school year 2023–24. Although rates of chronic absence have continued to decrease since their peak in 2021–22, they remain alarmingly high. Ensuring equitable opportunities to learn will require ongoing attention and action.

Chronic absenteeism has soared in California and nationally in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, and addressing this extraordinary increase is crucial to helping students catch up academically. Using data available from the California Department of Education, this analysis examines trends in chronic absenteeism through school year 2022–23.3 Although rates of chronic absence have begun to decrease, they remain alarmingly high. Ensuring equitable opportunities to learn will require ongoing attention and action, including taking into account these seven key facts.

In October 2023, the California Department of Education released test scores for all students in Grades 3–8 and 11 for the 2022–23 school year. These results represent an opportunity to analyze whether and to what extent student learning has rebounded after the dramatic declines in scores resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and related school closures. Despite marginal improvements from 2021–22, student cohorts in 2022–23 remain very far behind prepandemic levels.

Student achievement in California has not rebounded after the precipitous declines of the COVID-19 pandemic, with English language arts (ELA) and math scores remaining well below prepandemic levels. Student attendance has declined dramatically, and trauma and time away from school have led to mental health challenges, delays in social development, and behavioral issues among students. All too often, teachers work in isolation to create lesson plans and deliver instruction, with little instructional support, limited opportunities for collaboration, and unclear expectations.

Declining student enrollment is leading to a loss of revenue in many California school districts. To address ongoing budget shortfalls, many districts have consolidated or shuttered schools,and others are contemplating doing so. A new report and working paper, summarized in this brief, explore the racial dimensions of school closures and how to address them.

Enrollment in California public schools has been declining and is projected to fall even more steeply during the next decade. Because funding for school districts is largely based on average daily attendance rates, a decline in enrollment results in a loss of funding. To address budget shortfalls and align services with student counts, many districts have consolidated or closed schools, or they are contemplating doing so.

This study investigates racial disparities in school closures both within California and nationally. Findings highlight an alarming pattern: Schools enrolling higher proportions of Black students are at significantly increased risk of closure relative to those enrolling fewer Black students, a pattern that is more pronounced in California than elsewhere in the United States. The findings underscore that school closures in California and elsewhere reflect racial inequalities that require adequate policymaking to ensure equitable and fair school-closure proceedings.

This chapter in an edited book focuses on the work of two improvement network hubs in California as they tried to support participating districts and schools to improve the proportion of students “on-track” for post-secondary success. California has a particular stake in figuring out how to support districts in consistently using continuous improvement (CI) to achieve measurable gains in student outcomes because state policy (e.g., Local Control Funding Formula, California’s Every Student Succeeds Act Plan) prescribes CI as the approach to improvement in its accountability system.

Newcomers represent a large and understudied subgroup of students in California. The Oakland Unified School District has been disaggregating data on newcomer status for the last 7 years, providing a basis for analyzing graduation outcomes for newcomer compared to non-newcomer students. The data highlight the variance in outcomes based on program placement and design. Drawing from analysis of Oakland Unified’s data and practices, the authors make programmatic recommendations for districts with newcomer students.

Oakland International High School, winner of the 2017 National Community School Award, supports its recently arrived immigrant students by integrating academic, social, mental health,and material supports into the school day and beyond. Its community school model incorporates a Wellness Center, a tiered system of support and engagement, external partnerships, specialized staffing, and a collaborative culture of continuous improvement that promotes agency and belonging for both students and staff.

This case study identifies promising practices for newcomer education implemented in San Juan Unified School District (SJUSD), one of 12 local educational agencies (LEAs) funded under the California Newcomer Education and Well-Being (CalNEW) project between 2018 and 2021. This report was developed through a partnership between PACE and the Center for Equity for English Learners (CEEL) at Loyola Marymount University (LMU).

This study highlights the collaborative efforts undertaken to create a temporary school called Futuro Brillante in San Diego County, California, to provide educational services for more than 3,000 unaccompanied undocumented minors who had newly arrived in the U.S. The study describes the compelling trajectory of the school’s development, its multisector community partnerships, its core facilitating organizational conditions, and the key curriculum strategies that facilitated the school’s success.

This resource guide addresses a key problem that many district and school leaders in California face: how to increase student enrollment and success in A–G courses to reduce equity gaps in college eligibility. Developed from a qualitative research study that examined the policies and practices of nine school districts in California with A–G completion rates surpassing the overall statewide rate, the guide presents strategies, tools, and resources to address challenges with A–G course alignment, counseling, and scheduling.

Every year, 150k-200k new immigrant students in California need specialized instruction and social services to succeed, but many districts struggle to provide them, resulting in dropouts and poor outcomes. Inaccessible instruction and lack of basic necessities hinder progress. The PACE report recommends developing data, instruction, and social support services to improve newcomer outcomes in California.

This report finds that improving school attendance is crucial, especially with the increase in chronic absence. Data on unexcused absences should be used to create a more preventive, problem-solving, and equitable response to poor attendance. Labeling absences as unexcused affects how students and families are treated and can lead to punitive measures that may not improve attendance. Overuse of the unexcused-absence label could undermine efforts to partner with students and families to improve attendance.

Educators face a dilemma of staying up-to-date with evidence-based practices while dealing with superficial ideas. Continuous improvement methods can help in testing new ideas but if seen as add-ons, they may not yield sustained improvement. This brief describes the CORE Districts’ five-driver model that deepens educators’ ownership and sustains improvement over time.

This report discusses the implementation challenges of restorative practices (RPs) in schools, which have the potential to reduce the use of exclusionary discipline and improve school climates. However, schools often struggle with selective adoption, and there is a need to measure the extent to which teachers are using and students are experiencing RPs. The report provides guidance on how to measure RP implementation and why it is essential for achieving the intended impacts, including decreasing discipline, reducing racial disparities, and improving academic achievement.

This brief outlines findings from a study that examines the English proficiency levels and growth of newcomer English learner students in comparison to their non-newcomer peers. It was found that while newcomer students tend to have lower initial English proficiency levels, their English proficiency develops quickly. There is, however, wide variation in newcomer English level and growth patterns, and schools play an important role in fostering growth. Additionally, newcomers enter school at earlier stages of English proficiency than non-newcomer English learner peers.

This study explores the impact of reclassification on social-emotional learning skills (SEL) of English learners (ELs) in grades 4 to 8. Using a regression discontinuity design, the study found that reclassification improved academic self-efficacy by 0.2 standard deviations for students near the cutoff threshold. The results suggest that reclassification can positively influence the academic beliefs of ELs and the authors provide recommendations for districts to create practices that foster such positive beliefs.