Over the last quarter century, California youth affiliated with community-based organizations have participated in a variety of local and state campaigns to influence educational policy and practice. But, until recently, youth have had limited say in school budgets. Dramatic changes to this historic trend have emerged in the last few years. In…

Value added measures (VAM) uses changes in student test scores to determine how much "value" an individual teacher has "added" to student growth during the school year. Some policymakers, school districts, and educational advocates have applauded VAM as a straightforward measure of teacher effectiveness: the better a teacher,…

This white paper explores how influential Californians conceive of the purpose of public education. The authors' intention was to learn how the purposes converge and to uncover potential building blocks for a consensus that puts students at the center and rises above disparate beliefs and alliances. The paper draws on 50 interviews they conducted…