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Dual Enrollment in California

By Olga Rodriguez, Niu Gao

Dual enrollment provides opportunities for high school students to take college courses and earn college credit. The pandemic has fueled a nationwide surge in participation, and equity-centered legislation has raised dual enrollment’s profile in California. As dual enrollment expands, state leaders can take steps to promote equitable access and outcomes.

Report

Targeted K–12 Funding and Student Outcomes

By Julien Lafortune

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

Surveying the Landscape of California’s English Learner Reclassification Policy

By Laura Hill, Andrew Lee, Joseph Hayes

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.

Report

Common Core State Standards in California: Evaluating Local Implementation and Student Outcomes

By Niu Gao, Julien Lafortune

California adopted the Common Core State Standards to prepare K–12 students for college and careers—and to narrow longstanding achievement gaps. Most districts have implemented the standards, and student outcomes have improved modestly. But progress has been uneven. State tracking and support could help districts implement the standards successfully.

Report

English Learner Trajectories and Reclassification

By Julian Betts, Laura Hill, Karen Bachofer, Joseph Hayes ...

Nearly 40% of California’s K–12 students are current or former English Learners, and California is now standardizing the policies that will define English proficiency across the state. Los Angeles and San Diego have taken two different, but largely effective, approaches.

Report

Achievement in California’s Public Schools: What Do Test Scores Tell Us?

By Paul Warren, Julien Lafortune

California’s student test scores show significant progress in English—but they also show stalled gains in math and persistent income achievement gaps. State actions to improve math instruction and support struggling districts could help boost student performance.

blog post

Are K–12 Students Keeping Pace in English?

By Paul Warren, Julien Lafortune

Across all grades, growth in average SBAC test scores in English outpaced proficiency standards, but in most grades racial disparities still persist.

blog post

Are K–12 Students Keeping Pace in Math?

By Paul Warren, Julien Lafortune

The 2018 SBAC results of California's K–12 students show modest improvements over last year. But focusing on longer-term outcomes could be more instructive.

blog post

Standardized Testing and College Eligibility

By Courtney Lee, Jacob Jackson

Many states are encouraging more students to attend college by changing how they use entrance exams such as the SAT and ACT. Where does California stand?

Report

California’s K–12 Test Scores: What Can the Available Data Tell Us?

By Paul Warren

California’s K–12 system relies on the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) English and mathematics tests to measure student academic progress and assess school and district performance. This report uses publicly available data to explore trends in student performance during the first three years this test has been in place.

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