blog post Testimony: Improving the Cal Grant Program By Hans Johnson, Kevin Cook Apr 22, 2015 Rapidly increasing costs to students, low completion rates, and lack of access to four-year colleges are key challenges facing the state and the Cal Grant program.
Report Stackable Credentials in Career Education at California Community Colleges By Sarah Bohn, Shannon McConville Oct 22, 2018 California is investing in career education programs at its community colleges. Stackable credentials are a key component—students who “stack” multiple, related awards can build skills and increase earnings over time. We need to know more about how well-designed stackable credential programs help students succeed.
blog post Most Parents Hope Their Kids Will Go to College, but Costs Are a Concern By Deja Thomas May 10, 2022 Overwhelming majorities of California parents want their children to get a college degree, but many parents worry about costs. Among households with lower incomes and lower educational attainment, the shares saying they are “very worried” have increased in the past year.
blog post The Growing Gender Divide in Higher Education By Hans Johnson Oct 4, 2016 In California and across the nation, women have surpassed men in educational attainment.
Report California’s Changing K-12 Accountability Program By Paul Warren Jan 17, 2013 California recently joined a number of other states in adopting the Common Core State Standards, which establish new criteria for what students should learn in school. It also joined a consortium of states to develop new tests based on those standards. The new standards are ambitious, and some teachers are concerned they are not prepared to convey the higher-level skills and concepts they contain. The new tests will allow the state to measure gains in each student’s achievement, creating new options for how the state ranks schools. The change will also prompt the state to reassess the value of state tests in high school and its options for holding secondary schools accountable. More changes to the state’s accountability program are likely when Congress reauthorizes the federal education law, and the way the state addresses these current issues will influence the shape of its future accountability program.
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 Video: Improving College Access and Success through Dual Enrollment By Stephanie Barton Sep 15, 2023 PPIC researchers Daniel Payares-Montoya and Iwunze Ugo discuss a new report that examines how dual enrollment—by which high school students take college classes and earn college credit—can improve educational outcomes and engagement for a wide range of students.
