blog post Are K–12 Students Keeping Pace in Math? By Paul Warren, Julien Lafortune Oct 12, 2018 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 New Laws on Drought, Forests, and Safe Drinking Water By Henry McCann, Caitrin Chappelle Oct 9, 2018 The recent legislative session made progress on urban drought management, forest health, and safe drinking water.
blog post Poverty in California Is High by Any Measure By Caroline Danielson, Tess Thorman, Sarah Bohn Sep 20, 2018 California continues to have one of the nation’s highest poverty rates. Within California, poverty is highest in certain coastal areas, including Los Angeles County.
blog post Connecting Water Systems for Safe Drinking Water By Darcy Bostic, Caitrin Chappelle Aug 27, 2018 Most Californians have safe drinking water, but pockets of unsafe or inadequate water supply remain. Efforts to consolidate smaller systems into larger ones is helping to resolve the problem.
blog post Voters Favor New Water Bond. What Are They Missing? By Ellen Hanak, Mark Baldassare Aug 13, 2018 The PPIC Statewide Survey finds strong support for an upcoming state water bond among California likely voters. But bonds have some significant shortcomings in addressing key water needs.
blog post Paying for Water’s “Fiscal Orphans” By Lori Pottinger Jul 9, 2018 Bonds don’t currently cover ongoing expenses for the projects they fund. We talked to Dean Misczynski about his proposal to change that.
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.
blog post Testimony: Reforming Key Policies at the Community Colleges By Sarah Bohn Apr 3, 2018 Reforming the assessment and placement policies of California's community colleges is vital to helping students achieve their academic goals.
blog post Information Gaps Hinder Progress on Safe Drinking Water By Jelena Jezdimirovic, Caitrin Chappelle, Ellen Hanak Jan 16, 2018 More work is needed to understand the extent of California’s safe drinking water problem.
blog post How California’s Water Bond Is Being Spent By Jelena Jezdimirovic, Ellen Hanak Dec 13, 2017 Looking at how the 2014 water bond is being spent gives insights into how bonds are turned into projects on the ground.