Report The Central Valley at a Crossroads: Migration and Its Implications By Joseph Hayes, Hans Johnson Nov 16, 2004 Tremendous population growth, much of it fueled by domestic and international migration, has already begun to transform large parts of the Central Valley. Although this influx of migrants is posing new environmental, economic, social, and political challenges, little is known about it or its effects on the region. In The Central Valley at a Crossroads: Migration and Its Implications, Hans Johnson and Joseph Hayes find that the valley’s migration patterns are remarkably complex and vary over time, by subregion, and according to the type of migration. They also find that each subregion has pursued policy strategies to address its specific challenges. Finally, they predict that migration patterns will continue to alter the entire valley’s character and profile for the foreseeable future.
California Counts, Report Can California Import Enough College Graduates to Meet Workforce Needs? By Deborah Reed, Hans Johnson May 23, 2007 Economic projections for California indicate a continuation of the trend toward a more highly skilled economy. But projections of educational attainment for the future population tend to predict a wide gap between the levels of skills the population is likely to possess and the level of skills the economy is likely to need. This issue of California Counts assesses whether California will be able to attract enough college graduates from other states and other countries to close that gap. The authors conclude that because of the sheer numbers of migrants required and other factors, it is unlikely that migration alone will solve the problem.
California Counts, Report Educational Resources and Outcomes in California, by Race and Ethnicity By Deborah Reed Feb 23, 2005 Examines family and school resources, student outcomes, and public policy initiatives affecting California’s students from early childhood through university. Describes several factors potentially contributing to racial and ethnic gaps in college completion.
Report Educating California: Choices for the Future By Hans Johnson Jun 2, 2009 The bad news is that California is facing a "skills gap” - a shortage of college graduates - that threatens its economic future. But the good news is that modest improvements in college enrollment, community college transfers, and the college completion rate, particularly in the California State University system, could help to narrow that gap substantially. These improvements will not only help California’s young adults succeed in an increasingly high-skill economy but will also benefit the state by increasing tax revenues and allowing for greater economic growth.
Report English Learners in California Schools By Christopher Jepsen, Shelley de Alth Apr 7, 2005 Well over a million students who are unfamiliar with the English language attend California’s schools, constituting about one-quarter of the state’s K-12 population. Given that proficiency in English is vital to success not only in academic subjects but also in the workforce, both state and federal policymakers consider English proficiency a major goal for English learner (EL) students. The federal government’s No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 establishes mandates for improving both the number of students achieving gains in English proficiency and the number who are reclassified as Fluent English Proficient (FEP). This report investigates how effective California schools are in achieving both NCLB goals. The authors examine the determinants of school-level reclassification rates (i.e., the school characteristics that seem to affect the percentage of EL students who are reclassified as FEP), and they also explore the student-level characteristics that appear to affect gains in achievement on an English proficiency test. The study identifies several categories of students who lag behind others in gaining English proficiency, and these distinctions should help policymakers target EL students who are in need of special assistance.
California Economic Policy, Report Day Labor in the Golden State By Arturo Gonzalez Jul 25, 2007 Situated on busy street corners and in front of home improvement stores, day labor markets are highly visible. Yet little is known about day laborers themselves—their demographic characteristics, economic outcomes, or working conditions. Using data from the National Day Labor Survey, this report examines the day labor population and looks at the ways local governments are responding to the presence of day labor markets in their communities.
Report From Blueprint to Reality: San Diego’s Education Reforms By Julian Betts, Andrew C. Zau, Kevin King Oct 5, 2005 During the 1999-2000 and 2000-2001 school years, the San Diego Unified School District introduced a focused set of reforms to improve San Diego students’ reading and literacy skills called the Blueprint for Student Success. The changes the district implemented included new teaching materials, double- and even triple-length English classes where necessary, additional teacher training, and more classroom time for reading practice and instruction. This report presents the first student-level evaluation of that effort and shows that the Blueprint reforms in large part accomplished what they set out to do: reading scores at elementary and middle-school level improved among students who participated in Blueprint activities, and achievement gaps among different racial and ethnic, language, and socioeconomic groups narrowed.
Report Impact of Realignment on County Jail Populations By Steven Raphael, Magnus Lofstrom Jun 20, 2013 Has California’s historic public safety realignment shifted the problem of overcrowding from state prisons to county jails? This report finds that the shift of most lower-level offenders to the counties has increased the statewide county jail population but decreased the overall incarceration rate. The authors also examine county-level factors outside the direct impact of realignment that help explain variations in jail population growth. This research was supported with funding from the Smith Richardson Foundation.
Report Does School Choice Work? Effects on Student Integration and Achievement By Julian Betts, Andrew C. Zau, Lorien A. Rice, Y. Emily Tang Aug 30, 2006 Public school choice programs in San Diego—the nation’s eighth-largest school district—are extremely popular, especially among non-white communities; many San Diego families who apply for these programs are turned away each year. San Diego's experience stands against the backdrop of a national debate about choice—with proponents arguing such programs will create better schools and accountability, and opponents countering that they could stratify and resegregate a system premised on educational equality. Researchers examined the selection of students for choice programs and their movements through the school system and found that such programs do seem to have helped to integrate San Diego’s student bodies, not only along racial-ethnic lines but also in terms of students' parental education levels. But evidence that choice programs also boost academic achievement is less clear. With some exceptions—elevated math achievement for students in magnet high schools — those who won lotteries that allowed them to attend choice programs did about the same on standardized tests as non-winners one to three years later.
Occasional Paper, Report Blueprint Planning in California: Forging Consensus on Metropolitan Growth and Development By Michael B. Teitz, Elisa Barbour Jun 21, 2006 A background report for the Blueprint Learning Network, an ongoing working group convened by the California Department of Transportation. A presentation based on this report was given to the group on May 12, 2006.
