In this report, the authors present some initial findings on the early implementation of Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in California. They report on their interviews with educators in all regions of the state, and on their views of how implementation is proceeding in their schools and districts. The authors then review some of the key…

California's implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), and its governing state role in one of the Race to the Top comprehensive academic assessment consortia, present a major opportunity to dig deeply into the challenges of fair and accurate assessment of the academic performance of its English Learners (ELs). Moreover, recent…

The Early Assessment Program (EAP) has emerged as a national model for states seeking to design policies that increase the number of students who leave high school ready for college and careers. In addition, the two national consortia designing new assessments aligned to the Common Core State Standards have recognized the EAP as a model for the…

This report includes three papers that address critical "next generation" issues in assessment policy that can help to guide the choices made about system design: computer adaptive assessments, assessment of English learners and assessing science. None of these topics has received the attention that it deserves in the current debate on assessment…

In this policy brief, the author explores the problems with attainment measures when it comes to evaluating performance at the school level, and explores the best uses of value-added measures. These value-added measures, the author writes, are useful for sorting out-of-school influences from school influences or from teacher performance, giving…

Big institutions, like public education, change slowly but often dramatically. The history of the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) over the past five decades reveals an organization pulled up from its early 20th Century Progressive Era roots. Decades of reform efforts have provided a lively audition for what a new institution of public…

In this edition of "Conditions of Education" six of the leading academic authorities on education policy in California address the key issues facing the state's education system, focusing their attention on critical indicators of current performance and on specific policy changes that would lead to sustained improvement. They identify…

There are significant signs of progress in California's schools, in spite of the tremendous challenges they face. Trends across multiple measures of student performance are fairly consistent: all students are doing better, or at least holding steady, during a time when the system is serving a larger and more diverse population of children. For…

Educators and policymakers have accomplished much over the past decade, aided by parents and taxpayers. California has set a high bar for what all children are expected to learn, from kindergarten forward. Instructional materials and tests are now closely aligned, so that teachers know how to gauge their students' progress. And achievement growth…