blog post K–12 Enrollment Declines Vary across Districts By Julien Lafortune, Emmanuel Prunty Jun 16, 2021 Public school enrollment in California declined by nearly 3% between 2019–20 and 2020–21. Drops in enrollment vary across school districts, though there is little evidence that the size of the decline is related to reopening, demographics, or other district-level factors.
blog post Declining Higher Education Enrollment Could Widen Inequality in California By Daniel Payares-Montoya, Tess Thorman, Joseph Herrera Mar 31, 2023 The gap between high and low incomes in California is wide and growing. Recent declines in college enrollment may make it harder for the state to address this economic divide.
event Statewide Survey: Californians and Education Apr 11, 2024 PPIC’s April survey explores Californians’ opinions of the quality of K–12 public education, school funding and resources, and state officials’ handling of the education system. The survey also examines sentiments around the pandemic's impact on academic performance and well-being and probes attitudes about policies that allow school boards to ban books and decide curriculum. PPIC survey analyst Deja Thomas will present findings and discuss key takeaways from the survey with associate survey director Dean Bonner.
Statewide Survey PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Their Government By Mark Baldassare, Dean Bonner, Alyssa Dykman, Rachel Lawler Sep 16, 2020 Key findings from the current survey: A slim majority of likely voters support Proposition 15, which would change how commercial property is taxed. Well below half of likely voters support Proposition 16, which would repeal the state’s ban on affirmative action in the public sector. Joe Biden leads Donald Trump by a wide margin, with 60 percent of likely voters favoring Biden/Harris and 31 percent favoring Trump/Pence. Most Californians remain concerned about contracting COVID-19, but a slim majority believe the worst is behind us.
Report Special Education Finance in California By Laura Hill, Patrick Murphy, Paul Warren, Iwunze Ugo Nov 28, 2016 California's extensive special education system is costly and complex. By giving districts greater flexibility over special education funding, the state can strengthen transparency, accountability, and local control. This research was supported with funding from the Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation and the Stuart Foundation.
blog post Testimony: California’s K–12 Digital Divide Has Narrowed, but Access Gaps Persist By Niu Gao Feb 21, 2024 At an Assembly Education Committee hearing on addressing students’ post-pandemic needs, PPIC senior fellow Niu Gao discussed the role that federal, state, and local efforts have played in increasing digital connectivity and outlined key challenges that remain.
blog post What’s Ahead for Education Recovery in California? By Niu Gao, Julian Betts, Bruce Fuller, Laura Hill Oct 20, 2022 National test scores show that the pandemic caused major disruptions to student learning, with especially large effects on Black, Latino, and low-income students. In the coming months and years, we will be studying strategies that the state’s school districts use to help students recover, and recover equitably.
blog post Chronic Absenteeism in K–12 Schools Remains Troublingly High By Emmanuel Prunty, Laura Hill Feb 20, 2024 The rate of chronic absenteeism in California schools declined slightly during the 2022-23 school year but is still double what it was prior to the pandemic. Districts that have conducted student outreach in partnership with community organizations have had promising results in bringing down absenteeism.
Statewide Survey PPIC Statewide Survey: Californians and Education By Mark Baldassare, Dean Bonner, Sonja Petek, Jui Shrestha Apr 23, 2014 Some findings of the current survey: Strong majorities of Californians support the Common Core State Standards and the Local Control Funding Formula. Nearly three in four say the state should fund voluntary preschool for all four-year-olds. About half still consider California’s budget situation a big problem for K–12 education and view state funding for local schools as inadequate. Job Approval Ratings: Governor Brown [PDF] California State Legislature [PDF] Time Trends of Job Approval Ratings: Governor Brown [XLS] California State Legislature [XLS] This survey was supported with funding from the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, The Dirk and Charlene Kabcenell Foundation, the Silver Giving Foundation, and the Stuart Foundation.
Report Increasing the Usefulness of California’s Education Data By Paul Warren, Heather Hough Aug 13, 2013 California has made major progress in building a comprehensive educational data system, but most educators and policymakers lack access to the data that have been collected. This report outlines a series of small, cost-effective steps toward linking and sharing data that can help teachers and administrators improve student outcomes.
