The Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) provides base funding and grants for low-income students, English learners, and foster youth, and allows local school systems to allocate resources as they see fit. The LCFFRC conducted a survey of 350 California superintendents to understand their experiences with and views of the law. Results inform policymakers and indicate areas where changes may be needed. The survey sample included districts of varying sizes and proportions of unduplicated students.

This report analyzes the predictive value of the Smarter Balanced Assessment, high school GPA, and SAT scores on early college outcomes for California State University and University of California, Davis students. The study examines differences among student subgroups, including race/ethnicity and socioeconomic disadvantage, and provides insights into how well the Smarter Balanced Assessment measures up to other commonly used assessments for predicting college success.

Chaffey College in California's Inland Empire is renowned for its "risk tolerant change-oriented culture" and impressive student support programs, which have led to exceptional outcomes for Chaffey students. In this working paper, researchers visited Chaffey and other California colleges to examine the quality of instruction in basic skills and the integration of student support services. Chaffey's success story highlights the importance of developing a broad structure necessary for success both in developmental education and for all students.

This paper series addresses the issue of basic skills instruction in California Community Colleges. The problem is twofold: a high proportion of students enter college needing developmental courses, and these students are unlikely to move into college-level work. The research focuses on instructional issues, with observations and interviews to understand classroom and institutional settings. The subsequent papers in the series will cover various hypotheses for why success rates in basic skill instruction are not higher.