The Local Control Funding Formula gives local education leaders more power to allocate resources, but requires strategic budgeting practices to prioritize goals and make necessary tradeoffs. Three recommendations include integrating budgeting with strategic planning, focusing on critical questions, and developing internal structures to sustain strategic budgeting. These practices improve district policies and performance of local schools and students.

California's Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) aims to improve educational equity by providing additional funds to districts with disadvantaged students. Districts are required to engage with their communities and develop Local Control Accountability Plans (LCAPs) to identify priorities and allocate funds. However, there are concerns about the quality of LCAPs, lack of stakeholder involvement, and limited transparency. To improve the effectiveness of LCFF, districts must ensure meaningful stakeholder engagement and use data to guide decision-making.

California's education system is fragmented, with separate governance structures and funding sources for K-12, community colleges, and universities. To address educational issues, intersegmental partnerships are needed to promote collaboration among the different segments. Local partnerships can strengthen alignment in standards and expectations between K-12 and post-secondary education and help students progress through the system more efficiently.

California's Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) requires districts to report student performance measures and use state and local data to monitor progress towards preparing students for college, career, and citizenship. Fresno Unified School District (FUSD) utilized principles of Improvement Science and a data dashboard to increase college access for students, in partnership with the University of California, Merced.

California is implementing four new policy initiatives for education, including the Common Core State Standards and a new accountability system. PACE provides research-based information to help drive continuous improvement in schools. Alternative schools are available for vulnerable students, but the current accountability system does not adequately address their needs. The California Department of Education is considering the development of a new accountability system for alternative schools that aligns with Local Control Accountability Plans.

California and the US are undergoing a cultural shift in school accountability policies towards locally-determined measures of school performance. Lessons can be learned from the CORE districts, which developed an innovative accountability system, emphasizing support over sanctions, and utilizing multiple measures of school quality. The CORE districts' measurement system and collaboration hold promise for improving local systems, but efforts to build capacity remain a work in progress.

ESSA allows states to design accountability systems and measures to meet new college and career readiness goals. With the lack of adequate measures, states will need to develop new measures and structures. The CORE Districts in CA, with its innovative accountability system and waivers from No Child Left Behind, is a model for other states. Reports from CORE-PACE highlight the impact of decisions such as subgroup sizes and test score growth on identifying low-performing schools. States can use the district waiver provision to help develop and refine their accountability systems under ESSA.

This report examines the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and how schools can be identified for support and improvement using a multiple measures framework. The authors find that different academic indicators measure different aspects of school performance and suggest that states should be allowed to use multiple measures instead of a summative rating. They also find that non-academic indicators are not given enough weight and suggest a clarification in federal policy.

Policy changes in California create an opportunity to improve education for 1.4 million English learner students. Research suggests improving classification and alignment between services, systematic data collection and improving opportunities in schools. This could benefit large numbers of students without requiring large investments.

California's new accountability system aims to provide meaningful learning for students, allocate resources to schools and districts based on student needs, and offer professional development for educators. The system holds schools and districts accountable through Local Control Accountability Plans (LCAPs), professional accountability, and performance accountability across eight priority areas. This system is a departure from the state's previous policy of setting performance targets based on standardized test scores.

California adopted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in 2010 to provide clear learning standards for math and English from kindergarten to Grade 12. CCSS requires a change in teaching approaches, moving away from memorization and towards problem-solving and evidence-based arguments. The Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) coincides with CCSS implementation, and local actors must decide on strategies and resource allocation. The state still has key roles to play, but most decisions are made locally in consultation with parents and the community.

California has adopted new Common Core State Standards (CCSS), English Language Development (ELD) standards, and Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). The state has provided funding to support CCSS implementation, and new curriculum frameworks are nearing completion. The report focuses on early implementers of CCSS to identify lessons learned and potential pitfalls, aiming to inform practitioners and policymakers about the variety of CCSS implementation strategies California school districts are choosing.

The Common Core presents challenges for school districts in teaching and learning. This guidebook provides evidence-based solutions to build teacher capacity, address curriculum gaps, design assessments, leverage technology, engage stakeholders, and manage change. It emphasizes the importance of design thinking, focusing on essential change management practices, and connecting the initiative to a broader vision for improved teaching and learning. The goal is to promote innovation, build reciprocal accountability, and effectively address both technical and human dimensions of change.

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) aim to improve public education by increasing expectations, deepening subjects, and providing an active curriculum. These goals include addressing disparities in U.S. student performance, reducing remediation rates, improving workplace readiness, and promoting civic participation. Equitable CCSS implementation can help close opportunity and achievement gaps affecting low-income, minority, and English learner students, with all standards expected of all students. California has a unique chance to improve education by implementing the CCSS effectively.

Preparing every high school graduate for postsecondary education and fulfilling work is the goal of common core standards. Career readiness and college readiness share many of the same skills, knowledge, and dispositions. Being ready for professional life requires additional transferable skills to support success throughout a lifetime of changing circumstances. The importance of transferable skills is emphasized by many groups and observers.

The California Academic Performance Index (API) is limited by demographics, instability, and narrow focus on test scores. Experts recommend tracking individual students' progress, measuring achievement growth over multiple years, and using alternative performance measures. Improving API could enhance accountability systems and target educational improvements.

This report commemorates the fifth anniversary of the Getting Down to Facts project, which sought to provide a thorough and reliable analysis of the critical challenges facing California’s education system as the necessary basis for an informed discussion of policy changes aimed at improving the performance of California schools and students. The report focuses on the four key issues that received emphasis in the Getting Down to Facts studies: governance, finance, personnel, and data systems.

Education reform efforts in Los Angeles and the US have failed due to the focus on governance and rules. The solution is to invest in capacity building, creating incentives and agency for students and teachers, easing adoption through regulatory relief, and financing those working on new learning models. The goal is to update the century-old model of learning, called Learning 1.0, with a new model, Learning 2.0, that builds an education system around the learning system. This approach is based on research into unconventional learning models.

In 1996, CA launched a $1 billion class size reduction (CSR) initiative to improve early literacy. The initiative provides $800 per student to schools reducing class size to 20 or fewer in first, second, and/or third grade, and kindergarten. CSR was funded due to a state revenue surplus and the belief that smaller classes would enhance early literacy. CA ranked second to last in national reading tests in 1994, and class sizes averaged around 28.6 students per K-3 classroom. While educators and the public show enthusiasm, the success of CSR in enhancing academic achievement is yet to be seen.

The California Task Force on the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, consisting of educators, administrators, parents, and officials, deliberated for eight months on how a national voluntary certification system can impact California's education landscape. They explored questions on the standards, assessment methods, incentives, and potential benefits for teachers, students, and communities. The report aims to start a dialogue and encourage continued improvement in California's schools.

The US faces critical challenges in education, such as incorporating disadvantaged students and preparing them for a competitive, tech-driven work environment. To meet these challenges, reform efforts are underway. Despite claims that educational research has produced few applicable findings, it has contributed by changing how policymakers and practitioners think about problems. The National Academy of Education argues that implementing broad-based reforms without adequate research will fail. Research must play an important role in meeting these challenges.

This article highlights the changing nature of childhood, with increasing physical and mental health problems, substance abuse, child abuse, inadequate child care, and family disorganization. Furthermore, schools struggle to meet the needs of non-middle-class, nonwhite, non-English-speaking children, as more students from these backgrounds enter public schools. To improve educational prospects, school leaders must recognize how children's daily lives affect their education and adapt to these changes.