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Statewide Survey

PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Education

By Mark Baldassare, Dean Bonner, Alyssa Dykman, Lunna Lopes

Key findings from the current survey: Californians are concerned about the threat of a mass shooting in their local schools, but a majority oppose arming more teachers and school officials. Majorities are concerned about the impact of immigration enforcement on undocumented students in local public schools and their families.

Statewide Survey

PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Education

By Mark Baldassare, Dean Bonner, Alyssa Dykman, Rachel Lawler

Key findings from the current survey include many California parents see school closures for COVID-19 as somewhat of a problem and are concerned with providing productive learning at home. An overwhelming majority of parents approve of school districts’ handling of closures and Governor Newsom’s handling of K–12 education. As optimism wanes about the economy, views on school bonds are mixed.

Report

California’s English Learner Students

By Laura Hill

English Learner (EL) students in California’s schools are numerous and diverse, and they lag behind their native-English-speaking peers. Closing the achievement gap for EL students has been a long-standing goal for California educators, and there are some signs of success. Now that EL funding and curriculum issues are receiving a fresh level of scrutiny from decisionmakers in Sacramento, it is important to assess our understanding of this diverse group, highlight the opportunities to improve policies around demonstrating mastery of English, calibrate funding formulas involving EL students, and implement new curriculum standards thoughtfully.

Statewide Survey

PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Higher Education

By Mark Baldassare, Dean Bonner, Lunna Lopes, Alyssa Dykman

Key findings: Most Californians think public higher education should be a high priority for the next governor; many are ready for a change in policies. A majority see affordability as a big problem and are concerned about students at public colleges and universities taking on too much debt.More than half say the level of state funding for higher education is inadequate; many think a state spending guarantee for the California State University and University of California systems is a good idea.

Statewide Survey

PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Education

By Mark Baldassare, Jennifer Paluch, Dean Bonner, Sonja Petek

Some findings of the current survey:

  • More than half (53%) of the state’s residents say the quality of K-12 public schools is a major problem.
  • Blacks (72%) and whites (60%) are much more likely than Latinos (42%) and Asians (38%) to say that educational quality is a big problem.
  • But more than half of Californians (54%) give their public schools an A (18%) or B (36%). Among public school parents, 27 percent give an A and 40 percent a B.
  • A strong majority (60%) of Californians choose K-12 public education as the area they would like to protect from budget cuts.

This is the 85th PPIC Statewide Survey. It is part of a series covering K-12, higher education, environment, and population issues. This survey includes the responses of 2,502 Californians and is supported by The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

Statewide Survey

PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Education

By Mark Baldassare, Dean Bonner, Sonja Petek, Jui Shrestha

Some findings of the current survey:

  • Strong majorities of Californians support the Common Core State Standards and the Local Control Funding Formula.
  • Nearly three in four say the state should fund voluntary preschool for all four-year-olds.
  • About half still consider California’s budget situation a big problem for K–12 education and view state funding for local schools as inadequate.

Job Approval Ratings:
Governor Brown [PDF]
California State Legislature [PDF]

Time Trends of Job Approval Ratings:
Governor Brown [XLS]
California State Legislature [XLS]

This survey was supported with funding from the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, The Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the Silver Giving Foundation, and the Stuart Foundation.

Fact Sheet

The Digital Divide in Education

By Darriya Starr, Joseph Hayes, Niu Gao

The pandemic spurred efforts to close longstanding gaps in digital access that affect African American, Latino, and lower-income students.

Report

Understanding the Effects of School Funding

By Julien Lafortune

Funding for California’s K–12 public schools has reached record highs, but gaps in student outcomes remain. Understanding the benefits of additional funds, and how to distribute those funds, are key concerns for policymakers. This report offers insights from a robust body of research on the extent to which higher spending improves outcomes.

Statewide Survey

PPIC Statewide Survey: Special Survey on Education

By Mark Baldassare

Some findings of the current survey

  • The vast majority of Californians (82%) believe that the quality of education in the state’s K-12 public schools is at least somewhat of a problem.
  • 59% of public school parents say that their local public schools do not receive enough state funding.
  • Most Californians are more likely to say that private schools (60%) rather than public schools (24%) provide the best education.
  • 78% of Californians say parents who fail to pay attention to how their children are doing is a big problem in K-12 public education.
  • Parental hopes for their children’s future education are stunning. Nine in 10 aspire to college graduation for their children, and 41 percent hope that their children will earn a postgraduate degree.

This special edition of the PPIC Statewide Survey—a survey on education—is the first in a three-year PPIC survey series made possible with funding from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. The intent of this special series is to inform state, local, and federal policymakers; encourage discussion; and raise public awareness about a variety of education, environment, and population issues facing the state.

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