This report discusses key education policy challenges in California, including funding, teacher quality, achievement gaps, and school accountability. The report highlights the need for equitable funding and effective teacher training and retention programs to address these issues. It also emphasizes the importance of holding schools accountable for student achievement and providing targeted support to struggling schools. The report concludes by calling for sustained attention to these critical education issues to ensure that all California students have access to a high-quality education.

This paper examines the effectiveness of California's class-size reduction policy in elementary schools, finding that it improved student achievement in reading and math, particularly for low-income and minority students. However, it also concludes that the policy was expensive and had other trade-offs, such as limiting teacher collaboration and reducing funding for other important educational programs. The report suggests that policymakers consider more cost-effective and comprehensive approaches to improving student outcomes.

The report examines the effectiveness of a large-scale performance-based incentive program in California schools. Results show that the program had a small but positive impact on student test scores in math and English, with larger effects in schools with high levels of poverty. However, the authors caution that incentive programs may have unintended consequences and should be implemented with care.

This brief provides an overview of California's existing network of preschool centers and the potential impact of Proposition 82, which would provide funding for half-day preschool programs for 70% of the state's four-year-olds. PACE, an independent research center, aims to clarify evidence informing education policy options. A 2005 PACE review focused on enrollment patterns and policy options for improving access and quality of local preschools.

Despite the belief that increased spending leads to better educational outcomes, real expenditures per pupil have doubled since the late 1960s, yet problems in schools persist. An improved school finance approach focuses on effective resources in schools and classrooms that improve valued outcomes, rather than just increasing spending. Clarifying why funding is often wasted and developing new models of connections between revenues, resources, and the results of schooling is essential.

This paper analyzes the impact of the No Child Left Behind Act on the state's funding system and notes that it exacerbated inequities by penalizing schools that did not meet annual progress targets without providing sufficient resources to help them improve. The authors suggest that a more equitable funding system based on student needs and costs would better serve all students, including those who are struggling to meet academic standards.

The Teaching and California's Future initiative provides policymakers with data on the teacher workforce and labor market. The initiative's annual report details teacher development policies and their impact on teacher quality and distribution. The goal is to help policymakers make informed decisions about strengthening the state's teacher workforce.

Using national data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS-K), this study examines the association between center-based care duration and intensity and pre-reading, math skills, and social behavior of young children. Children who start center care between ages two and three see greater academic gains, while starting earlier than age two may have negative social effects. Center intensity impacts academic gains for poor and middle-income children, but not wealthier children, and negatively impacts social development for Blacks and whites but not Hispanic children.

The quality of teaching and the need to expand California's ranks of excellent teachers demand urgent public discussion. We must attract the best and brightest to teaching, prepare them effectively, and support and retain them. Solutions require bipartisan leadership, not spin. This report presents the latest research and projections, highlighting that while some numbers are improving, we're likely to face severe shortages again soon and the pipeline for recruiting, preparing, and training teachers has substantial problems.

This report examines the effects of preschool or childcare exposure on cognitive and social development before kindergarten, focusing on intensity and duration of attendance, and how this varies across different income and ethnic groups. The authors utilize data from a nationally representative sample of young children with rich family background information. Findings are important for debates over extending free preschool and which groups of children would most benefit.

The report explores why people of Spanish-speaking ancestry in the United States prefer to identify as "Latinos" over "Hispanics." The term "Latinos" is associated with ethnic pride and resistance against Anglo dominance, rather than a pan-ethnic historical identity. The authors argues that understanding the reasons behind this preference is important for policymakers in creating equitable policies that address the unique experiences and needs of this diverse group.

This report highlights the challenges faced by English learners in California schools and the need for better implementation of policies supporting them. The authors emphasize the importance of recognizing students' diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds and providing them with meaningful opportunities to develop their skills. They also call for more research in language assessment and bilingual education. Overall, improving outcomes for English learners is crucial for promoting equity and social justice in California's schools.

PACE researchers are studying the effects of early care and education in California and nationwide, working with the Language Minority Research Institute. We also are illuminating policy alternatives and evidence that advocates might consider. Here is an infographic listing related and relevant publications.

Many California children benefit from preschooling, but enrollment rates are lower for poor and working-class families. Quality is uneven, and policy makers must address key questions regarding expanding and improving preschooling, including who should benefit and who should pay, who should operate it, how to improve quality, and how to structure it for diverse families. Evidence can inform policy options, which stem from differing ideals about preschooling. Nationwide evidence is considered in this review.

California ranks 44th in the nation in education spending, spending only 86.1% of the national average per pupil in 2001-02. The recession of the early 2000s resulted in dramatic budget deficits for the state and substantial reductions to the expected level of school funding. Research suggests using the concept of adequacy to estimate the costs of providing an educational program that will enable all—or almost all—children to meet the state's high proficiency standards and offers recommendations for finding additional resources needed to adequately fund California's schools.

The National Education Association (NEA) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) initially remained neutral on the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Though both organizations have similar criticisms of the law, the AFT has taken a more thoughtful and less predictable approach, while the NEA has focused on public denunciation. However, neither organization has been entirely successful in crafting a policy response to NCLB.

This report focuses on California's school governance system and how it affects schools' ability to provide an adequate and equal education. The author examines who is responsible for ensuring adequate resources, how to assess adequacy, how to determine school performance, and how to address deficiencies. The report argues that California's state-controlled governance system is irrational, incoherent, and limited in efficacy, contributing to substandard school conditions, as seen in the Williams v. California case.

This article applies the logic of the ‘‘improved’’ school finance, arguing the need to understand how resources are used at the school and classroom levels. While California policies and most court cases have been seriously inadequate from this perspective, the recent case of Williams v. California provides new opportunities for equity since it follows the logic of the ‘‘improved’’ school finance.

This paper analyzes the observed quality of center-based care and nonparental home settings for low-income children in five cities. The study finds that centers had higher mean quality in terms of provider education and structured learning activities, but variability existed among providers. Contextual neighborhood attributes had a stronger influence on provider quality than family-level selection factors. The policy implications of such disparities in care quality are discussed, including strengthening regulatory or quality improvement efforts.

This article presents a summary of a report prepared for the Williams v. State of California lawsuit, highlighting the achievement gap for English learners in California and seven areas where they receive an inequitable education compared to their English-speaking peers. It also documents the state's role in perpetuating these inequities and proposes remedies to reduce them.

This policy brief examines how California's education governance has shifted from local control to centralized, administrative accountability over the past 30 years, including changes in school finance. It primarily focuses on categorical program funding, assessing its impact on equity, adequacy, flexibility, choice, efficiency, predictability, stability, rationality, and accountability. The authors also propose alternative models to the existing system of categorical funding.

Over the past 30 years, a combination of court rulings, legislative enactments, and voter initiatives has made dramatic changes in the landscape of education governance in California. The presumption of local control, a system based on local electoral accountability, has been superseded by a system of centralized, administrative accountability. Among the most sweeping changes are those that affect the way in which the state’s public schools are financed. Until 1980, paying for elementary and secondary education was largely a local matter. Local property taxes paid most of the bills. The state...

This report examines the critical role played by California Community Colleges in extending college opportunity to all, as envisioned in the 1960 Master Plan for Higher Education. However, the foundation of this longstanding commitment has eroded, and renewed commitment to college opportunity is urgently needed in the knowledge-based, global economy. The report calls for action from educational, governmental, philanthropic, and civic leaders to renew and extend opportunities to shape California's future.

The Bridge Project, a study of K-16 issues, presents three papers on college transition. The first finds a widespread lack of knowledge about college requirements and readiness among California students and parents. The second analyzes how students receive vague signals about academic college readiness. The third provides an example of how to improve K-16 transition and send clearer academic standards signals. Policy implications include low or no-cost recommendations to address these issues.

This report examines the effects of center care and home-based care on cognitive and social development of young children in poor communities, as well as the impact of caregiver sensitivity and education level. The study used a sample of children whose mothers entered welfare-to-work programs and found positive cognitive effects for children in center care, and stronger cognitive and social development for those with more sensitive and educated caregivers. However, children in family child care homes showed more behavioral problems.