blog post In El Dorado County, Early Preparation and Communication Were Key to the Return to School By Laura Hill, Mary Severance Jul 23, 2021 We talked with Dr. Ed Manansala, superintendent of schools for El Dorado County, about how his mostly rural districts weathered the COVID-19 pandemic and handled the return to in-person instruction.
Report Targeted K–12 Funding and Student Outcomes By Julien Lafortune Oct 6, 2021 As students return to the classroom, record-high funding through the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) will help California districts address gaps after a year of remote learning. In this report, we examine school and district spending against trends in student outcomes to offer insight into whether the LCFF is meeting its goal of improving equity in education.
Report Implementing the Next Generation Science Standards: Early Evidence from California By Niu Gao, Lunna Lopes, Grace Lee, Sara Adan Mar 6, 2018 The California State Board of Education (SBE) adopted the California Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) to transform science teaching and learning in K–12 schools in 2013. The new standards emphasize “three-dimensional learning”: disciplinary core ideas, crosscutting concepts, and science and engineering practices.
blog post Addressing Inequities in Reopening Schools during COVID By Joseph Herrera, Darriya Starr, Emmanuel Prunty, Niu Gao Jun 23, 2022 While nearly all California schools switched to remote learning early in the pandemic, the return to in-person instruction varied across the state—potentially worsening educational inequities.
blog post COVID-19 Alters College Admissions By Jacob Jackson, Olga Rodriguez, Niu Gao May 5, 2020 UC and CSU are allowing greater flexibility in requirements for fall 2021 admission, but disadvantaged students may still face unique barriers to access.
Report Determinants of Student Achievement: New Evidence from San Diego By Julian Betts, Andrew C. Zau, Lorien A. Rice Aug 27, 2003 This report presents the results of a unique study conducted by the authors in collaboration with the San Diego Unified School District (the second-largest district in California). For this study, the authors compiled a highly detailed, student-level database that enabled them to link factors influencing student achievement in ways that have not been possible with the state-level data generally used in such studies. In this report, they examine resource inequalities across schools, explore trends in achievement, and, most important, provide detailed statistical estimates of the school and classroom factors that most influence student achievement. Some of their findings: The lowest socioeconomic status (SES) schools generally receive fewer resources than more-affluent schools, especially in the case of teacher qualifications in elementary schools. An individual student's rate of learning is influenced by the academic ability of peers in his or her classroom and grade. Classroom-level peer effects are stronger in elementary school. Grade-level peer effects are stronger in middle and high school. Class size influences gains in reading achievement in elementary grades but does not appear to be of significant importance in middle and high schools. Teacher qualifications can make a difference, but the various measures of qualification have sporadic and varying effects in elementary, middle, and high schools, as well as on gains in math and reading achievement. The authors conclude the study with a discussion of the implications of their findings, especially in light of the grim new financial reality facing most school districts as a result of California's serious budget deficits.
Report Improving College Pathways in California By Niu Gao, Hans Johnson Nov 27, 2017 Far too many California students are falling off the pathway to and through college. At current rates of high school and college completion, only about 30 percent of California 9th graders will earn a bachelor’s degree, a rate that is insufficient for an economy that increasingly demands more highly educated workers.
Report Examining the Reach of Targeted School Funding By Julien Lafortune, Joseph Herrera, Niu Gao Sep 6, 2023 Under California’s ten-year-old funding formula, districts with higher shares of high-need students receive additional dollars on top of base funding. Districts have flexibility around spending these funds, but when money is not fully directed to the intended students and schools, the impact on achievement gaps is diluted.
blog post Geography of Dual Enrollment Programs in California By Olga Rodriguez, Niu Gao Nov 22, 2021 Dual enrollment, which allows high school students to take college courses and earn college credit, has been increasing steadily in California. Understanding how program availability varies across regions can inform efforts to improve equity in access.
