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Geography of Child Poverty in California

By Caroline Danielson, Sarah Bohn

One-quarter of young children across the state live in poverty. In inland regions, reducing child poverty requires efforts to improve job opportunities. In many coastal regions, increasing access to affordable housing will help.

Report

Health Training Pathways at California’s Community Colleges

By Shannon McConville, Sarah Bohn, Landon Gibson

State and federal policymakers looking to improve economic mobility and meet workforce needs have renewed their focus on career technical education. Health training is of particular interest—California’s community colleges offer a range of health programs and credentials and demand is growing for health workers with some college training. Students who earn shorter-term health credentials tend to see relatively low wage gains, and relatively few return to school to pursue higher-level training. Targeted outreach and support could help more students move along pathways to higher earnings.

This research was supported with funding from the ECMC Foundation and the Sutton Family Fund.

Report

Math Placement in California’s Public Schools

By Niu Gao, Sara Adan

Last year, the California Legislature passed a new law—the California Mathematics Placement Act—to address widespread concern over equity in the math placement process. The law is aimed at improving the measurement of student performance in order to move more students successfully through the high school curriculum. In this context, we surveyed California’s school districts during the 2015–16 school year to examine their placement policies right before the law took effect and to identify district needs for technical assistance while implementing the new law. We found that:

  • Districts need help in determining how to proceed. Because the law leaves many details open to local interpretation, many districts are unsure about how to handle certain key elements. Teacher recommendations are a good example. Our survey indicates that the majority of districts have relied on recommendations as an important factor in determining placement. But the law now restricts their use. Improving the law’s clarity is critical going forward.
  • Despite uncertainties, most districts are implementing the new law. Among our respondents, 86 percent reported having a systematic math placement policy. Sixty percent said they are somewhat or very familiar with the new law. Among these districts, 51 percent said they were already in compliance and 42 percent reported revising their policies for compliance purposes.
  • Across districts, there is a strong need for valid, reliable, and objective performance measures. This need applies both to assessing student performance and to evaluating district policies. Districts with the largest gains in student course outcomes over a 10-year period provide some insight. These districts are more likely than others to emphasize test scores, math GPA, and overall GPA when assessing student placement. They are also more likely to use end-of-year math grades to evaluate district placement policies.
  • Districts face a number of other challenges. Districts’ concerns range from handling parental expectations, to needing evidence-based performance measures, to creating better policy alignment within and across schools. In addition, equity issues and staffing shortages present ongoing challenges for many districts.

We recommend several actions for helping districts comply with the law and improve their math placement process. These include establishing evidence-based measures, refining the approach to teacher recommendations, and identifying effective placement protocols. In the longer term, districts would benefit from using student data to improve equity issues and from increased staffing, especially in rural and high-need districts.

Report

Anticipating Changes in Regional Demand for Nursing Homes

By Laurel Beck, Landon Gibson

California’s nursing homes provide a major source of personal and medical care for the state’s most vulnerable residents—the elderly and the disabled. By 2030 the state’s 65-and-over population will grow by 87 percent. The number of people requiring skilled nursing care could increase by 32,000, far outstripping current capacities. We find that there will be significant disparities in regional growth rates across racial/ethnic groups and in regions’ abilities to absorb higher numbers of patients. Specifically:

  • The Bay Area and the Inland Empire have the largest discrepancies between existing nursing home capacity and projected demand in 2030; Los Angeles and Northern California (excluding the Bay Area) have the smallest.
  • Regional growth rates in the 65-and-over population vary widely within racial/ethnic groups. For example, rates among Latinos range from 159 percent on the state’s Southern Border (Imperial and San Diego Counties) to 193 percent in the Inland Empire; among Asians they range from 93 percent in the Central Coast to 212 percent in Northern California (excluding the Bay Area).

In order to meet the growing and changing demands for senior care at the statewide and regional levels, policymakers will need to address ways to increase nursing home capacity. These solutions must also include recruiting and training health workers who can provide effective, culturally competent care, whether in skilled nursing facilities or home- and community-based settings.

Report

College Readiness in California: A Look at Rigorous High School Course-Taking

By Niu Gao

Recognizing the educational and economic benefits of a college degree, education policymakers at the federal, state, and local levels have made college preparation a priority. There are many ways to measure college readiness, but one key component is rigorous high school coursework. California has not yet adopted a statewide college readiness requirement, but a growing number of school districts—including Los Angeles Unified, San Jose Unified, Oakland Unified, San Diego Unified, and San Francisco Unified—now require students to complete the rigorous coursework, called the "a–g courses,” that are necessary for admission to the University of California (UC) and the California State University (CSU) system.

In this report we look at participation and performance in rigorous high school courses among California high school students, both overall and across demographic and racial/ethnic groups. While enrollment in rigorous courses has been increasing, particularly among students who are traditionally underrepresented in higher education, a large majority of California high school students are not taking the courses that can prepare them for college. Forty-three percent of high school graduates in 2015 completed the a–g requirement, and 27 percent of high school graduates in 2013 passed an advanced placement (AP) exam. Participation in advanced math, biology, chemistry, and physics courses is also low. In particular, only 30 percent of high school juniors and seniors enrolled in Algebra II and smaller shares enrolled in chemistry (28%) and physics (10%).

As they monitor the progress of public high schools in preparing students for college, state policymakers and districts need to focus on indicators such as a–g completion, benchmark course-taking, and end-of-course exam (EOC) results. We also recommend tracking performance across student groups to help schools and districts address gaps in achievement and provide educational resources to students who need them most.

blog post

Race and College Admissions in Texas

By Jacob Jackson

Texas’s plan to promote diversity at its universities did not achieve the same results as affirmative action. But it may be part of a solution to address racial equity at California colleges.

Report

Are California’s Schools Ready for Online Testing and Learning?

By Niu Gao

In addition to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), California is implementing a new, online assessment system: the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP). Field tests were conducted last spring and the system is being rolled out this year, amid concerns about whether schools are technologically prepared. Using survey data from the California Educational Technology Professionals Association (CETPA), this report examines school districts’ technology infrastructure and assesses their readiness for online testing. Three findings emerge. First, school districts express confidence in the quantity and quality of their hardware and network capabilities but remain concerned about software and training of instructional and IT staff. Second, there is sizable variation in readiness across districts, linked mainly to student enrollment and district expenditure levels. Third, a clear majority of the state’s onetime CCSS Implementation Fund is going into non-technology spending such as instructional materials and teacher training. Regardless of their current readiness, districts will need targeted and ongoing support to upgrade and maintain their technology infrastructure. In the longer term, virtually all schools will need to upgrade their technology infrastructure in order to adopt and benefit from digital learning.

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