Research Center Celebrates a Quarter Century as Leader in Legislative Policy Analysis
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The call for improved education persists annually within PACE, emphasizing the perpetual need for progress. Even with strides made, the organization does not consider its mission accomplished. Guided by three core principles—allocating resources to disadvantaged schools, granting autonomy to local districts, and rigorous evaluation of educational efficacy—PACE remains dedicated to fostering lasting policy reform and enhanced educational performance across California's system. Leveraging experience from Michigan State's Education Policy Center, PACE's leadership continues to drive the...
School Finance and Governance in California
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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.
The Case of California
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This article highlights the lack of systematic evaluations of the relationship between educational governance and student outcomes. The authors provide a framework for evaluating the effectiveness of governance systems, drawing from previous research and interviews with stakeholders in California's educational system. The aim is to guide potential policy changes and inform future studies of educational governance.
The Influence of State Policy and Community
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Findings show that charter schools in the US perform similarly or worse than public schools due to disparities in resources. State regulation leads to fewer uncredentialed teachers, and more state spending equals more equal teacher salaries. Local context and the type of students served have the greatest impact on resource variance. Charter schools serving Black students rely on less experienced and uncredentialed teachers. Conversion charter schools pay more and have less uncredentialed and part-time teachers than start-up schools, which has implications for unequal student achievement.
How to Judge No Child Left Behind?
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This report analyzes the effects of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) on student performance using three barometers: the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), state data, and fourth-grade test scores. The authors find that earlier test score growth has largely faded since NCLB's enactment in 2002, and progress made in narrowing achievement gaps in the 1990s has largely disappeared in the post-NCLB era. The report suggests that policymakers need to reconsider the efficacy of NCLB and consider alternative approaches to school reform.
Collective Bargaining and Student Achievement
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This article discusses the evolution of union-management discussions in education over the past two decades, and the emergence of professional unionism. However, in recent years, professional unionism has declined due to management's reluctance to partner with unions, politicians' lack of recognition of union efforts, and unions' reluctance to take on additional responsibilities. The article recommends labor law changes that require unions and management to negotiate student achievement goals as a means of addressing these issues.
Spinning Out the Implications of the Improved School Finance
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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.
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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.
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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.
Shaping the Landscape of Equity and Adequacy
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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.
California Policy, the "Improved School Finance," and the Williams Case
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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.
Centers and Home Settings that Serve Poor Families
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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.
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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.
Early Learning Effects of Type, Quality, and Stability
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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.
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Modern statecraft in education is giving way to unmodern policy and institutional reform, favoring small and communal schools, alternative networks, and cultural pluralism. Charter schools and preschooling illuminate this shift toward de-centering education, while posing the long-term challenge of balancing particular forms of schooling against the modern impulse to integrate groups via large institutions.
Unequal Resources, Unequal Outcomes
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This article discusses the inequitable education provided to English language learners in California, arguing that there are seven areas where these students receive an inferior education compared to English speakers. That includes having less qualified teachers, inferior curriculum, and being assessed with invalid instruments. The article provides suggestions for addressing these issues.
Constructions of Gender and Sexuality in California’s Single Gender Academies
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This article examines the impact of heterosexist assumptions and homophobia on students' experiences in California's public "Single Gender Academies." Interviews with students reveal a critical link between sexuality, masculinity, and femininity, and the ways in which assumptions about sexuality are embedded in school policies, practices, and peer relations. The article provides an analysis of homophobia among students and the influence of academy assumptions on students' attitudes towards gender and sexuality.
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This paper examines the incidence, causes, and consequences of student mobility in the US. Mobility not only harms the students who change schools, but also the classrooms and schools they attend. The causes and consequences of mobility are more complicated than many people assume. The authors suggest ways for parents, schools, districts, and policymakers to address this growing educational problem.
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This article discusses the role of childcare in promoting the development and opportunities for low-income children, noting that federal and state funding for childcare has increased dramatically since welfare reform. Despite this, children from poor households are less likely to be enrolled in high-quality programs than children from affluent families. To achieve welfare reform's goal of breaking the cycle of intergenerational poverty, welfare-to-work programs should increase access to high-quality childcare in low-income neighborhoods.
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This paper examines the relationship between policy formation in the United States and educational policy researchers. The experience of one independent 'think tank', namely PACE, located within universities, illustrates how research might inform policy and how it might not be victim to the problems, well rehearsed in the literature, of poor dissemination. Fruitful links between policy research and policy formation require close attention to the sources, channels, and format of dissemination, to the nature of the message, and to the characteristics of the policymakers.
New Education Policy Center's Goal Is to Be Information Resource for Policymakers and Michigan Educators
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Michigan State University's College of Education has established the nonpartisan Education Policy Center to provide lawmakers and educational leaders with accurate, research-based information to improve the state's educational system. With the support of the university's resources, the center aims to play an important role in deepening the policy debate and bringing about improvements in the system. The center was established due to a lack of systematic communication between researchers and policymakers in Michigan.
How Mothers Balance Work Requirements and Parenting
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This paper examines how mothers select childcare to meet welfare-to-work requirements. Interviews with seven mothers from different ethnic groups show that trust in childcare providers to keep their children safe is the most important criterion. Structural constraints on their choices are also analyzed. The findings suggest that policymakers should focus on trust and legitimacy of childcare providers in addition to supply and educational quality.
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The reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act provides an opportunity to reconsider the federal role in teacher professional development. The largest federal professional development fund is the Eisenhower program. Lessons from Eisenhower and contemporary research suggest that federal funds should be focused exclusively on subject matter knowledge and pedagogy and accountability should be based on assessment of student learning. The purpose is to generate discussion on how to more effectively use federal dollars to improve student achievement.
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This paper examines high school dropout and turnover rates in the US and tests models to explain the differences using data from the NELS High School Effectiveness Study. Variability was found among high schools, with much of the variation attributed to differences in student characteristics, but factors such as school resources and processes also influenced rates. Dropout and turnover rates are measures of school performance that policymakers and educators can influence.
The Influence of Family Structure, Parental Practices, and Home Language
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Latino children are less likely to be enrolled in preschools, even after considering household income and maternal employment. Social factors such as language, child-rearing beliefs, and practices also impact center selection. African American families participate at higher rates, while lower enrollment for Latinos is linked to Spanish-speaking households and cultural preferences. Center selection is part of a broader parental agenda of acculturation to middle-class Anglo commitments to prepare children for school.