Report School Resources and the Local Control Funding Formula: Is Increased Spending Reaching High-Need Students? By Julien Lafortune Aug 7, 2019 Six years after state policymakers enacted a new funding formula for California’s public schools, significant additional resources are going to high-need districts. However, allocating resources specifically to high-need students remains a challenge.
blog post Food Insufficiency and School Meals during COVID-19 By Caroline Danielson, Niu Gao, Patricia Malagon May 24, 2021 Despite closures, California schools have been a key source of food for low-income students during the pandemic.
blog post How Have California School Districts Used the Emergency Connectivity Fund? By Joseph Hayes, Niu Gao Dec 4, 2023 The state's school districts have received about $859 million from the federal Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF), which supports access to internet connectivity and digital devices. Most of these funds have gone to districts with large proportions of Black, Latino, or low-income students, and the ECF dollars have been used more for connectivity than for devices.
blog post Video: Online Testing and Learning in California Schools By Linda Strean Apr 17, 2015 Are schools prepared to administer the new online tests? PPIC researcher Niu Gao answered the question with findings from a new PPIC study.
blog post How COVID-19 Closures May Disrupt Student Learning By Julien Lafortune Apr 2, 2020 It appears increasingly likely that California’s K-12 schools will remain closed for the rest of the academic year. What could this mean for student learning? And what might be done to reduce the negative effects?
blog post Without Testing, Challenges for School Districts Add Up By Laura Hill May 11, 2020 The lack of statewide K–12 standardized tests this spring will pose significant difficulties for teachers and districts when schools ultimately reopen.
Occasional Paper, Report Funding Formulas for California Schools II: An Analysis of a Proposal by the Governor’s Committee on Education Excellence By Jon Sonstelie, Ray Reinhard, Heather Rose, Ria Sengupta Bhatt Jul 8, 2008 In this paper, the researchers examine a finance system proposed by the Governor’s Committee on Education Excellence which would consolidate a large number of current K-12 revenue programs into two programs: a base program serving the needs of all students, and a targeted program providing supplemental funds for disadvantaged students. This new approach would call for two fundamental changes in current policy: first, the state would have to transfer its revenue authority to local school districts; and second, the state would have to allocate a larger share of K-12 revenues to districts with high proportions of disadvantaged students. Governor's Committee on Education Excellence: Simulation Results (279KB, Excel)
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.
blog post Prioritizing Computer Science in California Schools By Niu Gao, Courtney Lee Mar 6, 2018 The fastest-growing, highest-paying jobs in the US require computer science knowledge, but California is falling behind in preparing students with these skills.
blog post Lessons in Innovation from Lindsay Unified School District By Mary Severance, Niu Gao Jul 6, 2022 Lindsay Unified, a rural district in the Central Valley, has seen dramatic improvements in students outcomes. Superintendent Tom Rooney talks about the ongoing transformation.
