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.

This brief discusses the importance of preschool program quality for improving kindergarten readiness, and highlights California Governor Gavin Newsom's efforts to prioritize preschool quality as a signature issue of his administration. The brief covers proposals, successful reforms, and ongoing challenges related to funding, access, and teacher preparation, as discussed at PACE's annual conference in February 2019.

Governor Newsom’s first Budget Proposal increases funding for education in California. There are areas of substantive overlap in the Budget Proposal and research findings from the Getting Down to Facts II (GDTFII) research project, released in September 2018, which built an evidence base on the current status of California education and implications for paths forward. As the Budget moves from proposal to reality, it is critical that the evidence from GDTFII continues to inform the policy process.

With a new governor, state superintendent and legislators in Sacramento and a diminished federal role in education, there is an opportunity for California’s leaders to take stock of recent educational reforms and make necessary improvements. There are also a host of new and looming issues in K-12 and higher education. As California’s leaders confront these and other issues, where do California voters, including parents, stand on education and education policy? The newest edition of the USC Rossier/PACE Poll shares voter perspectives on a wide range of education issues.

In recent years, California has invested in improving early childhood education programs. Research shows the importance of high-quality early childhood education, but the disconnect from K–12 education threatens its long-term benefits. If the early grades do not build on the gains made in preschool, they likely will be lost. This brief, based on a longer technical report , describes the challenges facing pre-K–3 alignment and offers promising practices and policy recommendations.

California has over 3 million children ages 5 and under, with a large proportion living in poverty or with non-English-speaking parents. Quality early childhood education is important for future success, but the state system is marked by low wages, inconsistent standards, and insufficient monitoring. Child care is expensive and doesn't meet the needs of nonstandard schedules. California has a large proportion of children in care with no standards, and identifying young children with disabilities is inadequate. There is no centralized data collection system for evaluating improvement efforts.

Over the past several years, there has been much attention and advocacy around “PreK-3 Alignment,” both in California and nationwide. The push for alignment comes in the face of a growing body of research documenting the benefits of attending high quality preschool, along with concerns about the fading of the benefits of preschool by third grade that has been found in many studies. Supporters of preK-3 alignment note that child development is a continuous process, and that skills developed in one grade must be built upon and reinforced in later grades.

This article discusses California's Early Assessment Program (EAP) to improve alignment between K-12 and postsecondary education. EAP provides high school students with information about their academic preparedness for college and encourages teachers to teach for college readiness. Findings show that EAP participation predicts college course placement but few students are ready for college-level work based on the exam. EAP can better serve community college campuses in placing students in developmental coursework.

This report commemorates the fifth anniversary of the Getting Down to Facts project, which sought to provide a thorough and reliable analysis of the critical challenges facing California’s education system as the necessary basis for an informed discussion of policy changes aimed at improving the performance of California schools and students. The report focuses on the four key issues that received emphasis in the Getting Down to Facts studies: governance, finance, personnel, and data systems.

Getting Down to Facts is an extensive investigation of CA's public education system commissioned by a bipartisan group of CA leaders. The project aimed to describe California's school finance and governance systems, identify obstacles hindering resource utilization, and estimate costs to achieve student outcome goals. The project resulted in 23 reports by scholars, which highlight that the current school finance and governance systems fail to help students achieve state performance goals, particularly those from low-income families. The reports provide a framework for assessing reform options.

This report examines factors that affect student achievement in California schools, finding that family background and school context are important determinants. The report recommends that schools focus on providing high-quality instruction, improving reading and math skills, and creating a positive school climate. Policymakers should increase resources for under-resourced schools and promote parental involvement. Continued research is needed to better understand the complex factors that shape student outcomes.

This report discusses the potential of integrating academic and occupational content through Career-Technical Education (CTE)/multiple pathways to improve California's high schools. This approach can enhance student motivation and engagement in school, improve employment and earnings after graduation, and provide more opportunities for students. They suggest building on existing practices in career academies, restructured high schools, and community colleges, but note that additional funding, technical assistance, and professional development will be necessary to support this approach.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 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.

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.

The early care and education (ECE) profession faces staffing problems due to understaffed centers, high turnover rates, and an educationally bifurcated workforce. To mitigate this issue, programs like the California Childcare Retention Incentive (CRI) provide monetary stipends to ECE professionals who meet tenure and education requirements. This policy brief summarizes findings from a two-year evaluation of CRI programs in Alameda and San Francisco counties, focusing on themes relevant to Year 2 implementation.

This paper assesses the perspectives and experiences of stakeholders on San Francisco County’s CARES program, a childcare retention–incentive program. Year 2 saw over a threefold increase in the number of stipends awarded, but recipients felt the program couldn't address ECE staff retention/turnover alone. Solutions need to be implemented within a larger system of support, raising public awareness, expanding professional development opportunities, and exerting pressure on policymakers for sustained funding to augment ECE staff salaries.

This paper discusses the second year of Alameda County’s Child Development Corps program as a childcare retention-incentive program. The program's goals were to encourage staff training, professional development, and establish a strong network of ECE professionals. Stipend recipients were pleased with the program but recognized that it could not function alone in addressing staff retention, and a larger system of support and advocacy was necessary.

This report highlights findings from a 2002-03 progress report on First 5 California's childcare retention incentive programs, aimed at improving retention and increasing training among early care and education staff. Data were collected from ten counties through a phone survey of participants and site visits. Initial findings related to program design and implementation, program participation, training and professional development, and retention are summarized.

The First 5 California Children and Families Commission has funded the Childcare Retention Incentive (CRI) to improve the quality of early care and education (ECE) staff training and retention. An evaluation funded by First 5 California assesses the efficacy of CRI programs in San Francisco and Alameda counties. This report summarizes the preliminary findings from the first year of the Alameda Child Development Corps and San Francisco CARES programs, which examine whether CRI recipients are more likely to participate in training and be retained compared to non-participating ECE staff.