The increase in students opting out of standardized tests is a threat to accurately measuring student achievement. This brief examines the effects of opting out in the CORE districts and models how it could affect accountability measures. More opt-outs could significantly impact some metrics, but the growth measure is largely unaffected. Metrics tracking achievement by cohort are at risk of bias, even with low levels of opting out. Adjusting for characteristics of students who take the tests could be a solution.
Governor Newsom has proposed initiatives to support children under 5, but California voters prioritize K-12 education and college affordability over early education. Despite evidence that high-quality early education has a powerful impact on children’s future success, more active engagement by the Governor and his allies may be necessary to build public support for expanding access and improving the quality of early education programs.
College affordability was ranked as the second most important education policy issue in the 2019 PACE/USC Rossier poll. Governor Newsom’s budget proposal and several bills in the state legislature reflect this concern. The diverse geography and socioeconomic status in CA demand local context consideration for designing effective reforms. Variation in concern over college costs is discussed by county and income and racial/ethnic groups. Proper evaluation and implementation of college promise programs and equity initiatives are suggested as fruitful avenues for addressing college affordability.
This report examines the stability of school effects on social-emotional learning (SEL) over two years in California's CORE districts. The correlations among school effects in the same grades across different years are positive but lower than those for math and ELA. While these effects measure real contributions to SEL, their low stability draws into question whether including them in school performance frameworks and systems would be beneficial.
This report highlights the challenges that California’s school districts face due to increasing employee health benefit costs, including retiree benefits. Such costs strain district budgets, making it harder to address other priorities, like increasing teacher salaries or supporting disadvantaged students. The brief suggests that districts must navigate these costs more effectively, with potential help from state policymakers, to ensure they are sustainable and not left as unfunded liabilities.