blog post Interview: Filling the Gaps in California’s Education Data By Vicki Hsieh Jun 20, 2019 Dr. Jessica Cunningham of the Kentucky Center for Statistics discusses her state’s preschool-to-workforce data system and potential lessons for California.
event Reopening K–12 Schools: A Conversation with Linda Darling-Hammond Aug 10, 2021 As fall approaches, California’s public schools continue to grapple with a myriad of challenges. What does reopening look like, and how do educators address issues such as declining enrollment, learning loss, and the health and safety of students and staff?
blog post Californians Favor Funds for School Construction By Dean Bonner Sep 18, 2019 On prior PPIC Statewide Surveys, majorities of Californians across regions supported bonds for K-12 and higher education construction projects.
Report Assessing Transitional Kindergarten’s Impact on Elementary School Trajectories By Julien Lafortune, Laura Hill Oct 23, 2023 California’s Transitional Kindergarten (TK) program provides an early year of schooling within the K–12 system. Launched a decade ago with limited eligibility, TK will soon be open to all four-year-olds. Taking stock of the program’s impact so far—especially among multilingual and special education students—can help TK expansion succeed.
Report Examining the Reach of Targeted School Funding By Julien Lafortune, Joseph Herrera, Niu Gao Sep 6, 2023 Under California’s ten-year-old funding formula, districts with higher shares of high-need students receive additional dollars on top of base funding. Districts have flexibility around spending these funds, but when money is not fully directed to the intended students and schools, the impact on achievement gaps is diluted.
blog post Video: COVID in California—What Have We Learned about Education? By Mary Severance Apr 8, 2022 Tony Thurmond, California State Superintendent of Public Instruction, talks with PPIC’s Lande Ajose about how schools adapted to the pandemic and ways to create a more equitable education system moving forward.
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.