Improving Alternative Education in California
The California Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) has just issued a report that addresses how well alternative education programs serve the 10-15% of high school students who enroll each year (Elizabeth Hill & Paul Warren, CA Legislative Analyst’s Office. Improving Alternative Education in California, February 2007. Available at www.lao.ca.gov.) The three state authorized alternative education programs include continuation schools, community schools, and community day schools. Also, it is common for many districts to use independent study as an option to educate students at-risk of dropping out of school.
Currently, the state accountability system does not include most alternative education students in its assessment of an entire district’s measurement of adequate yearly progress. The API and AYP only assigns student accountability data (i.e. test scores, graduation) for students enrolled in the same school in October, and during STAR testing in the spring. Placement in alternative education often means a change in placement during the school year. The LAO concludes that there is inadequate data available to determine whether the current system of alternative programs is meeting its designed goal of creating a safety net for students who require education outside of the regular comprehensive high school setting. In particular, the LAO expressed concern about reported dropout rates and that the available data is likely not accurate.
The LAO also deems the current funding structure for the support of alternative education programs as contributing to the lack of accountability and actually creating incentives that result in fewer services to these students. The report proposes a block grant financing scheme that would give districts maximum flexibility to support those alternatives that best meet the needs of its students.
Finally, the LAO report expresses concern regarding a paucity of research on effective alternative education programs in California or other states. They conclude that the design and operation of effective alternative education programs appears to require an unusual degree of local commitment, particularly at the superintendent level, and especially given the limits placed on districts by the requirement to follow the state-specified models.
To access the LAO report, please visit:
http://www.lao.ca.gov/2007/
alternative_educ/alt_ed_020707.pdf
Key Study on California Public Education Funding Released
California School Finance and Governance Studies, “Getting Down to Facts,” led by the Institute for Research on Education Policy & Practice at Stanford University were recently released. The studies are believed to be the most comprehensive evaluation ever of California's education system.
The omnibus document, a collection of nearly two-dozen reports, is all but certain to set off a new policy debate in the education community and yet another political battle in the Legislature over education funding.
The collection of nearly two-dozen reports are not simply designed to place a dollar figure on what is needed in the schools. They take a much deeper look at California's maze of education funding, and how the state might make better use of the dollars it is already spending on public schools.
The work is the result of 23 separate studies conducted by four separate foundations, and requested by Democratic legislative leaders, state superintendent Jack O'Connell and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Key findings indicate that:
• California spends, on average, 35% less than other states for K-12 education
• All students don’t cost the same to educate, based on a variety of factors
• Different regions of the state have different costs for education
• Even the most successful schools with a high proportion of students in poverty rarely meet the state’s achievement goals
• A specific cost estimate now does not translate into an amount that would be needed after reforms are introduced and tried
• Simply increasing funding without fundamental systemic changes is unlikely to make significant progress in student achievement – both are required.
Discussion among the researchers of necessary funding is in the range of 40% more than current General Fund spending – on the scale of $20-25 billion. Researchers noted that average per pupil spending is not a good measure of effective spending. The number that will eventually be right depends on how you allocate the money.
With the Governor making the declaration that 2008 will be the “Year of Education Reform”, many further discussions will take place over the coming months.
The full set of studies may be viewed at: http://irepp.stanford.edu/.
"Multiple Perspectives on Multiple Pathways Series
UCLA link & description
http://www.idea.gseis.ucl a.edu/publications/mp/index.html
According to the website, “Multiple Perspectives on Multiple Pathways” consist of a collection of fifteen essays written by distinguished California scholars. The papers in this collection provide multiple perspectives in their reviews, synthesis and interpretations of existing research on Multiple Pathways. They report research examines the intersection between California 's changing economy, its population diversity, its widening social and economic inequality, and its patterns of school failure across racial and ethnic communities. The Scholars explore the link between current structures (structures that maintain a divide between Career and Technical Education and academic education) and inequity. They also provide analyses of alternatives that can provide multiple pathways to high school graduation and postsecondary options that include both college and career.
The Multiple Perspectives on Multiple Pathways Series includes:
1. Overview: College Prep for All? Reinvigorated Career and Technical Education? Or Multiple Pathways to Both?
Jeannie Oakes and Marisa Saunders
University of California , Los Angeles
2. Multiple Pathways: High School Reform that Promises to Prepare All Students for College, Career, and Civic Responsibility
Jeannie Oakes and Marisa Saunders
University of California, Los Angeles
3. Multiple Pathways for Immigrant and English Learner Students
Patricia Gándara
University of California , Los Angeles
4. What Educational Resources Do Students Need to Meet California's Educational Content Standards?
W. Norton Grubb
University of California , Berkeley
5. Constructing Multiple Pathways to College and Career in an Effectively Maintained Inequality Regime: Paradigmatic Questions and Provisional Replies
Samuel R. Lucas
University of California , Berkeley
6. Restructuring and Reculturing Schools to Provide Students with Multiple Pathways to College and Career
Hugh Mehan
University of California , San Diego
7. High School Student Employment and the Urban Spatial Structure
Paul Ong and Veronica Terriquez
University of California , Los Angeles
8. A State United or a State Divided: Can Multiple Pathways Bring Together Multiple Californias?
Manuel Pastor
University of California, Santa Cruz
9. Small Schools as Multiple Pathways to College, Career, and Civic Participation: Can they Balance the Individual and Collective Aims of Schooling?
Karen Hunter Quartz (UCLA) and Elliot Washor (The Big Picture Company)
10. Theme-Based, Small Learning Communities Increase Academic Achievement, Workforce Resiliency, and Lifelong Success for Students in a “Flat World”
David Rattray
President and Executive Director, UNITE-LA, Inc.
11. Multiple Pathways, Vocational Education and the “Future of Democracy”
John Rogers (UCLA) , Joseph Kahne ( Mills College ) , and Ellen Middaugh (UC Berkeley)
12. A Reflection on Career and Technical Education, Multiple Pathways, and the Academic-Vocational Divide
Mike Rose
University of California , Los Angeles
13. Combining Academic and Career-Technical Courses to Make College an Option for More Students: Evidence and Challenges
David Stern (UC Berkeley) and Roman Stearns (ConnectEd: The California Center for College and Career)
14. Pipelines, Pathways, and Payoffs: Economic Challenges and Returns to Changing Demographics in California
Jon Stiles and Henry Brady
University of California , Berkeley
15. The Changing Workplace and Schooling: Implications for High School Reform
Michael A. Stoll
University of California , Los Angeles
16. Developing Multiple Curricular Pathways in California's High Schools: Possible Opportunities for Postsecondary Involvement
Andrea Venezia
West Ed.
Harvard Study on Living Conditions of Children
The report Says Black and Hispanic Children fare poorly in Largest U.S. Cities. An analysis of the living conditions of children in the 100 largest U.S. metropolitan areas by the Harvard School of Public Health shows ³a consistently bleak picture for black and Hispanic children, compared to white and Asian children.²
Check out the stats on this webpage: http://diversitydata.sph.harvard.edu/profiles.jsp?ma=7400
