A Primer
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The report is a primer on alternative teacher compensation, which provides information about different models for teacher pay, and analyzes the benefits and challenges of each model. It highlights the reasons for the interest in alternative compensation, such as improving teacher quality, increasing teacher retention, and addressing teacher shortages. The report also examines the potential impact of alternative compensation on student outcomes, and offers recommendations for policymakers and practitioners considering implementing such programs.
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PACE is bringing back its publication, Conditions of Education in California, to keep the focus on the long-term education reforms required by California. Six policy scholars have contributed to this edition, providing baseline data on school performance and recommendations for policy changes to support long-term improvement. PACE plans to continue regular publication of this report to track progress towards a more effective educational system in California.
Understanding California's High School Dropouts
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The Partnership for Urban Education Research (PUER) comprises six of California's largest urban school districts working together to increase data availability, enhance internal research capacity, and promote collaboration and information sharing across district lines to benefit students. In a new report, PUER districts identified opportunities to improve the current dropout reporting system and reviewed district efforts to reduce dropout rates. PUER is working with PACE to review and publish their research.
Acquisition, Deployment, and Barriers
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This report examines the fiscal and labor resources of California principals and how they acquire and utilize them to improve student performance. The authors seek to understand the background characteristics and educational goals of California principals, as well as the types of monetary, human, and informational resources they acquire and how they allocate these resources within their schools. The report also explores the support and constraints that principals experience from various actors as they attempt to acquire and deploy resources to raise student performance.

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This report focuses on estimating the costs for California school districts to meet state-set achievement goals and how these costs differ across districts with different student characteristics. The study uses an econometric cost function approach to estimate base costs and marginal costs associated with poverty, English learners, and special education. The findings are compared with cost studies in other states and used to analyze whether the current school finance system appropriately accounts for cost differentials across districts.
What Are Their Effects, and What Are Their Implications for School Finance?
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The report explores the impact of teacher sorting, or the tendency for high-achieving students to be assigned to more effective teachers, on student achievement. It finds that teacher sorting has a significant positive effect on student achievement in both math and English language arts. The effects are particularly strong for students who start out low-achieving. The report argues that policies aimed at reducing teacher sorting, such as random assignment of students to teachers, may be counterproductive for student achievement.
Painting a Picture of Revenues and Expenditures in California’s School Districts
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The report explores the relationship between teacher experience, school characteristics, and student achievement. Teacher experience is positively associated with student achievement, particularly in schools with high concentrations of low-income students. Additionally, the authors find that school size, teacher turnover, and teacher qualifications also impact student achievement. The report concludes that policies aimed at improving teacher quality and experience can have positive effects on student outcomes, particularly in high-poverty schools.
Rekindling Reform
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This report discusses key education policy challenges in California, including funding, teacher quality, achievement gaps, and school accountability. The report highlights the need for equitable funding and effective teacher training and retention programs to address these issues. It also emphasizes the importance of holding schools accountable for student achievement and providing targeted support to struggling schools. The report concludes by calling for sustained attention to these critical education issues to ensure that all California students have access to a high-quality education.
California's High Priority School Grants Program
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The report examines the effectiveness of a large-scale performance-based incentive program in California schools. Results show that the program had a small but positive impact on student test scores in math and English, with larger effects in schools with high levels of poverty. However, the authors caution that incentive programs may have unintended consequences and should be implemented with care.

Full Report
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The Teaching and California's Future initiative provides policymakers with data on the teacher workforce and labor market. The initiative's annual report details teacher development policies and their impact on teacher quality and distribution. The goal is to help policymakers make informed decisions about strengthening the state's teacher workforce.
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The quality of teaching and the need to expand California's ranks of excellent teachers demand urgent public discussion. We must attract the best and brightest to teaching, prepare them effectively, and support and retain them. Solutions require bipartisan leadership, not spin. This report presents the latest research and projections, highlighting that while some numbers are improving, we're likely to face severe shortages again soon and the pipeline for recruiting, preparing, and training teachers has substantial problems.
The Influence of Preschool Centers on Children’s Development Nationwide
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This report examines the effects of preschool or childcare exposure on cognitive and social development before kindergarten, focusing on intensity and duration of attendance, and how this varies across different income and ethnic groups. The authors utilize data from a nationally representative sample of young children with rich family background information. Findings are important for debates over extending free preschool and which groups of children would most benefit.
A Survey of California Teachers’ Challenges, Experiences, and Professional Development Needs
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This report highlights the challenges faced by English learners in California schools and the need for better implementation of policies supporting them. The authors emphasize the importance of recognizing students' diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds and providing them with meaningful opportunities to develop their skills. They also call for more research in language assessment and bilingual education. Overall, improving outcomes for English learners is crucial for promoting equity and social justice in California's schools.
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This report examines the critical role played by California Community Colleges in extending college opportunity to all, as envisioned in the 1960 Master Plan for Higher Education. However, the foundation of this longstanding commitment has eroded, and renewed commitment to college opportunity is urgently needed in the knowledge-based, global economy. The report calls for action from educational, governmental, philanthropic, and civic leaders to renew and extend opportunities to shape California's future.
Educators Respond to Accountability
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The Educator Responses to Accountability Project (ERAP) explores the impact of public school accountability on California teachers' and administrators' classroom practices and professionalism. State and federal policymakers support accountability, but there has been little research on local educators' experiences with such reforms. PACE conducted in-depth interviews with educators in eight elementary schools across California to understand their knowledge, understanding, and efforts to address student achievement inequities within the context of accountability.
California’s Teaching Force, 2004—Key Issues and Trends
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California's aging teacher workforce will lead to a significant demand for teachers, with shortages particularly in special education and secondary education. The number of underprepared teachers in low-performing schools serving minority, poor, and ELL students is disproportionate. Budget cuts have reduced funding for recruitment and professional development programs, and California's induction system needs refinement. Curriculum-based professional development programs have mainly targeted elementary school teachers, neglecting the training needs of secondary teachers.
Year Two Progress Report, 2002–03—Executive Summary
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This report highlights findings from a 2002-03 progress report on First 5 California's childcare retention incentive programs, aimed at improving retention and increasing training among early care and education staff. Data were collected from ten counties through a phone survey of participants and site visits. Initial findings related to program design and implementation, program participation, training and professional development, and retention are summarized.
Summary Report
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This report argues that the state of California needs to prioritize better education for all children with a sustained long-term investment of resources and leadership. Despite political upheaval and fiscal problems, there is a consensus for better education. The authors suggest that the issue requires a response as intense and sustained as the state's response to natural disasters, and calls for a system of teacher development to ensure all teachers have the necessary knowledge and skills to meet academic standards.
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This report discusses the implementation and impact of class size reduction in California's K-3 classrooms. The initiative was prompted by concerns over falling standardized test scores in the mid-1990s. The report includes findings from a consortium of evaluators, including PACE, and provides policy recommendations and lessons learned.
Mothers and Young Children Move Through Welfare Reform
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This report discusses the lack of knowledge about the impact of welfare-to-work programs on young children since 1996, and how policy leaders are debating ways to aid jobless mothers and enrich their children's lives. The project team followed 948 mothers and preschool-age children for two to four years after the women entered new welfare programs in California, Connecticut, and Florida.
Mothers and Young Children Move Through Welfare Reform: Executive Summary
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This report examines how welfare-to-work programs have affected the lives of young children since 1996, and how they've impacted the home and childcare settings in which they are raised. The study followed 948 mothers and preschool-age children in California, Connecticut, and Florida for two to four years, using interviews, assessments, and visits to homes and childcare settings. The report highlights the major findings from the study.
Year 1—Qualitative Implementation Study
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This report on San Francisco County’s CARES program (SF CARES) provides guidance for policymakers, program administrators, and childcare advocates planning similar initiatives. PACE collected feedback from program planners, stipend recipients, and other childcare community members on aspects of the planning and implementation process. SF CARES successfully distributed over 400 stipends in the program’s first year, but challenges remain in reaching a broader array of childcare providers and communicating program goals.
Year 1—Qualitative Implementation Study
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This report provides guidance on implementing childcare retention initiatives based on Alameda County’s Child Development Corps program. PACE conducted focus groups with stakeholders to gather feedback on the planning and implementation process. The program saw increased commitment from providers to their profession and seeking training opportunities, but challenges remain with fitting permit requirements to family providers and relevance of courses.
Findings from 1999–2000 and 2000–01
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This report evaluates California's Class Size Reduction (CSR) program up to the 2000-01 school year, updating previous findings on teacher qualifications, curriculum, student achievement, and special populations. The report also discusses how districts and schools have allocated resources in support of CSR.
New Education Policies
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Senior slump is a phenomenon unique to American high schools, where students view senior year as a time for nonacademic pursuits. This report suggests curtailing senior slump to add valuable months to students' education at a critical point in their intellectual development. Policy directives are presented to help American high schools reclaim the senior year.