Academic recovery remains uneven, with gains higher in math than ELA

Evidence of academic recovery among students following COVID-19 pandemic disruptions has been mixed. According to a report released in September by the Brookings Institution, most data sources indicate small but promising signs of recovery in math and no widespread evidence of recovery in English language […]

Progress report on California’s universal prekindergarten initiative

California has committed to providing universal prekindergarten (UPK) for all 4-year-olds and expanding access for income-eligible 3-year-olds by the 2025–26 school year. California UPK includes transitional kindergarten (TK), the California State Preschool Program (CSPP), Head Start and locally funded early learning programs. Since 2021, this […]

State assessment results show little progress, raising concern for big picture

The 2023–24 scores for statewide English language arts (ELA), math and science assessments published by the California Department of Education (CDE) on Oct. 10 show little improvement or decline in most student groups compared to the previous year. Read a statement from CSBA CEO & […]

Study finds Black girls face disproportionately high discipline rates

Black girls face higher rates of discipline and more severe punishments than girls from other racial backgrounds for the same infractions, according to a report released Sept. 19 by the federal Government Accountability Office (GAO). A first-of-its-kind snapshot of the disciplinary disparities that Black girls […]

Placing English learners in dual language immersion courses should be priority for state

California schools are making significant progress in providing dual language immersion pathways for students, chipping away at a lapse in programs from 1998–2016, when voters approved Proposition 227, requiring English-only instruction for all students in the state. This served to shut down most bilingual programs, […]

College savings accounts lead to boost in enrollment among underserved youth, study shows

San Francisco’s Kindergarten to College (K2C) program, which provides every child entering kindergarten with a Children’s Savings Account (CSA) seeded with $50 toward their future education, led to significantly more young people enrolling in college with underrepresented students seeing the greatest benefit, according to new […]

Learning recovery is slow and more significant for some student groups, report says

The Center on Reinventing Public Education’s (CRPE) new report, The State of the American Student: Fall 2024, documents how pandemic disruptions impacted and continue to affect vulnerable student populations and offers an overview of overall recovery.

New research emphasizes balancing enrollment, performance and equity in school closure decisions

As schools nationwide continue to face declining enrollment, the likelihood of school closures is increasing across communities. A Sept. 25 report from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute identified almost 500 schools throughout the country that could be potential candidates based on enrollment and achievement factors. […]

Research network provides first look at lessons learned in school discipline

Negative trends related to disproportionate disciplinary rates have crept back into schools following pandemic closures, according to first-year findings of the UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools and UC Berkeley Center for Research on Expanding Educational Opportunity’s Race, Education, and Community Healing (REACH) Network. […]