Education leaders discuss troubling international test results; look to other systems for answers

Released in December, the 2022 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) scores plummeted overall. The 2022 exam showed an unprecedented drop in math scores from 2018 to 2022, which is three times worse than any other year. Around 690,000 students took the PISA in 2022, […]

New look at federal attendance data shows need for increased state support

Every state is experiencing a significant increase in high and extreme levels of chronic absenteeism across schools and districts, according to a nationwide analysis of 2021–22 federal data released Jan. 31 by Attendance Works and Johns Hopkins’ Everyone Graduates Center. About two-thirds of students attended […]

CDE covers the basics of Prop 28 as funding begins to reach schools

Ahead of Arts Education Month in March, the California Department of Education hosted a webinar on how local educational agencies can put Proposition 28 funds into practice. Referred to as the Arts and Music in Schools (AMS) Funding Guarantee and Accountability Act, the legislation was […]

CCEE meeting highlights Statewide System of Support Resource Hub, other tools

During the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence’s first board meeting of the year on Feb. 29, staff presented the Statewide System of Support Resource Hub, which provides information on state-funded initiatives meant to boost student outcomes and support educators, and other tools available to local […]

President’s message: Advocating at the state and federal level to improve California public education

By CSBA President Albert Gonzalez Serving as a board of education member is a process of constant learning. Even in my 16 years as a trustee, I am still refining my practice and expanding the toolkit I use in this job. One area where I’ve […]

Los Angeles USD’s Black Student Achievement Plan aims to narrow gaps in access, support

Aiming to address a persistent achievement gap experienced by Black students and other student groups, the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education adopted the Black Student Achievement Plan (BSAP) in February 2021. The initiative provides additional funding to identified schools to provide social-emotional […]

California’s school finance spending is a mixed bag, researchers find

Hundreds of billions of dollars are distributed annually to more than 13,000 school districts across the country. But do states’ school finance systems, which are largely in charge of K-12 funding, provide adequate and equitable monetary resources? Rutgers University, the University of Miami and the […]

U.S. student-to-school counselor ratio improves but still misses recommended rate

The student-to-school counselor ratio improved 5.6 percent nationally between 2021–22 and 2022–23, but there is still work to be done to reach the recommended rate of 250:1, according to data released by the American School Counselor Association (ASCA) in February. In 2022–23, the student-to-counselor ratio […]