California educates more than six million children in its K-12 public schools. More than half of these children are economically disadvantaged, and almost a quarter are not native English speakers (compared to less than one in ten nationwide). California is working to address these challenges, in part by adopting a new, simplified school finance system, known as the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). This system will provide long-term funding increases for districts with more low-income, English Learner, and foster youth students. In the 2014-15 school year, the Common Core State Standards--adopted across 43 states and the District of Columbia--replaced California's old standards in mathematics and English. This same school year is also seeing the first statewide administration of new standardized tests. As these reforms take hold, school districts around the state face fundamental changes in the ways that K-12 education is delivered, assessed, and funded. This brief document reports on how these reforms are creating new challenges, student achievement has been improving but the switch to Common Core may affect test scores and achievement gaps are still significant, and an improved fiscal picture with more work to be done. It also recommends several steps policymakers can take to improve the state's economic well-being, ensure that California's children are equipped to succeed in the 21st century, and help the state's school systems maintain and build on recent improvements.