The education system in California today is unable to meet the needs of the state's economy or the expectations of its citizens. From school finance to ensuring the quality of teaching, from assessment and accountability to preparing students for college and careers, education policy today in California often works against the best interests of students, educators, parents, taxpayers and employers. If California is to meet its many social and economic challenges, it must begin with a comprehensive reform of its system of public education. There is no one silver bullet to fix California's public education problems, but there are a series of good policies and practices that can be implemented to spur fundamental reform of the system and improved outcomes for California's schools and students. This briefing book provides a package of recommendations that, if implemented, will improve the quality of education in California. Beyond the specific recommendations proposed, three major themes are interwoven throughout policy book that should be considered each time the state revises its education policies: resources must be targeted to students who need them most; local schools and districts need more flexibility to allocate resources where needed; policies should be designed to support continuous improvement. This briefing book has focused on four critical areas: the quality of teaching, assessment and accountability, college and career readiness, and education financing. The recommendations are unified by three basic principles: resources should be targeted towards the schools and students who need them the most, local educators should be given the flexibility they need to adapt policies to local circumstances and goals, and state policies should be designed to encourage innovation and promote continuous improvement in our education system. In the view, policies guided by these three principles can begin to move California's education system in the right direction. (Contains 4 tables and 6 footnotes.)