Elementary social studies needs an overhaul, research finds

Basic infrastructure to support K-5 social studies instruction — academic standards, accountability requirements, teacher evaluation, professional learning opportunities, guidance around materials and assessment programs — is inadequate in many states, according to new Rand Corporation research. And even where state-level infrastructure to guide teachers’ instruction […]

Local and state leaders discuss disproportionate discipline

In light of recent findings that discipline rates have increased, particularly for African American and Native American children and students with disabilities, the California Department of Education hosted a panel on March 2 focused on alternatives to discipline. State and local education leaders and advocates […]

The progress of using federal COVID-19 aid in California — winter 2022 update

By Jeremy Anderson The first spending deadline for the historic federal COVID relief funding known as the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER I) fund and the Governors’ Emergency Education Relief (GEER I) fund was Jan. 30, 2023. These 2020 funding packages were the […]

How parents, teachers and LEAs can help students read by third grade

Almost 60 percent of children in California don’t meet state standards for reading by third grade. A recent EdSource webinar “Reading by third grade: What parents and teachers can do” provided parents and educators who are on the front lines of the “literacy crisis” an opportunity […]

Dashboard changes take shape during State Board of Education meeting

During its March 8–9 meeting, the State Board of Education laid the groundwork for developing updates to the 2023 California School Dashboard, which will be finalized later this year. The 2022 California School Dashboard, released in December following a two-year pause prompted by the COVID-19 […]

California schools still have work to do to address lead in drinking water

A 2020 analysis by the California Public Interest Research Group (CALPIRG) Education Fund of more than 2,100 drinking fountains found that 1,300 California schools tested positive for lead during the prior three years, with the health problem encompassing more than half (53 percent) of the […]