blog post A Look at California’s Safe and Affordable Drinking Water Gaps By Caitrin Chappelle May 24, 2021 A new state study identified a $4.6 billion funding gap to resolve safe drinking water problems over five years. We talked to UCLA’s Greg Pierce, the study’s lead researcher, about the findings.
Report K–12 Reforms and California’s English Learner Achievement Gap By Laura Hill May 30, 2018 English Learner (EL) students have been a key part of California’s K–12 system for decades. They currently make up about 21 percent of the public school population. English Learner status is meant to be temporary, and indeed, reclassified English Learners (those who are deemed English proficient) are among the best-performing students in the state. But students who remain ELs for longer periods generally have poor outcomes.
event Student Achievement and Growth on California’s K-12 Assessments Apr 27, 2017 About the ProgramNow that two years of data from California's new standardized tests are available, we are better able to evaluate the progress that students—particularly economically disadvantaged students and English Learners—are making in the wake of the state's recent reforms, which include a new funding system, curriculum, and standardized tests. PPIC researcher Iwunze Ugo will outline the findings from a new report. This research was supported with funding from the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund.
Policy Brief Policy Brief: Community College English in California’s New Era of Student Access By Marisol Cuellar Mejia, Olga Rodriguez, Hans Johnson, Cesar Alesi Perez Aug 15, 2022 Three years after a landmark law prompted major reforms across the state's community colleges, significant progress has been made. Students are now much more likely to complete college composition—the “gateway” transfer-level English course. But more can be done to address persistent racial equity gaps and pandemic challenges.
blog post A Snapshot of Homeless Californians in Shelters By Marisol Cuellar Mejia, Hans Johnson, Joseph Herrera Mar 2, 2022 During the COVID-19 pandemic, California deployed significant resources to shelter people experiencing homelessness. Recently released data offer a first look at the impact of these efforts.
Report English as a Second Language at California’s Community Colleges By Olga Rodriguez, Laura Hill, Daniel Payares-Montoya Nov 28, 2022 Colleges began implementing reforms aimed at improving English as a Second Language pathways in fall 2021—during a historic pandemic. We cannot yet disentangle the impact of reforms from the effects of the COVID-19 crisis, but an analysis of early implementation finds that colleges have made significant progress.
blog post California’s K–12 Educational Progress: Good News and Bad News By Niu Gao, Courtney Lee Apr 18, 2018 California's K–12 students have made gains in reading scores, but achievement gaps remain for English Learner, low-income, and African American and Latino students.
blog post New Reforms at California Community Colleges By Olga Rodriguez Nov 8, 2018 New reforms in California's community colleges could make placement policies more uniform and transparent, with potential to improve student outcomes and narrow achievement gaps.
Report Surveying the Landscape of California’s English Learner Reclassification Policy By Laura Hill, Andrew Lee, Joseph Hayes Feb 10, 2021 Measuring the progress of English Learners grew more complex after California schools switched to online learning, as some tools to assess students became unavailable. This report shares results from our survey of district policies and offers recommendations for standardizing reclassification criteria.
