A socioeconomic status (SES)-related achievement gap in mathematics emerges prior to school entry, and increases in elementary school. This gap makes implementation of demanding mathematics standards (e.g., the Common Core State Standards) an ongoing challenge. Early educational intervention is a strategy for addressing this challenge. A…

A socioeconomic status- (SES-) related achievement gap in mathematics emerges prior to school entry, and increases as children move through elementary school. This gap makes implementation of demanding mathematics standards (e.g., the Common Core State Standards) an ongoing challenge. Early educational intervention is a strategy for addressing…

California is on the cusp of implementing universal preschool--a step that could help level the playing eld for young children. Over the next few years, all four-year-olds will become eligible for Transitional Kindergarten (TK), which has been part of the state's early learning programs since 2012. In this report, the authors examine the…

Over the past 20 years, both charter schools and pre-kindergarten education have taken on increasingly prominent roles in the schooling of America's children. Charter schools in 43 states now serve more than 2.6 million students--roughly six percent of all students attending public schools. More than two-thirds of four-year-olds attend some form…

Publicly funded pre-K is often touted as a means to narrow achievement gaps, but this goal is less likely to be achieved if poor and/or minority children do not, at a minimum, attend equal quality pre-K as their non-poor, non-minority peers. In this paper, I find large "quality gaps" in public pre-K between poor, minority students and…

In recent years, a new movement to raise awareness about early math learning has been growing in the U.S., driven by research showing that foundational math knowledge is more predictive of later success in school than nearly any other indicator, including literacy. This awareness of the importance of early math has led to an increasing focus among…

Simply put, children with poor English skills are less likely to succeed in school and beyond. What's the best way to teach English to young children who aren't native English speakers? In this article, Lisa Barrow and Lisa Markman-Pithers examine the state of English learner education in the United States and review the evidence behind different…

Since 2011, Grantmakers for Education has offered a series of investigative programs designed to examine the role grantmakers can play in creating more equitable systems of education. GFE's programming included place-based programs in El Paso, Texas, Newark, New Jersey, Oakland, California, and Minneapolis, Minnesota. During this time, Grantmakers…

This report examines how the nearly 1 million Black youth in California are faring from preschool through college and reveals the distressing disparities that newly released state and national data show persist at all levels of their educational journey. The report also highlights the groundbreaking efforts underway to reverse these trends in…

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…

Research Findings: The home literacy environment and other early learning settings such as preschool play a role in children's language and literacy outcomes, yet research suggests that Latino, Spanish-speaking families are less likely than other families to participate in family literacy activities. This study explored the relations among…

Educators are increasingly concerned about the low level of mathematics performance of U.S. students on the TIMSS and other international assessments of mathematics (National Mathematics Advisory Panel, 2008) as well as their insufficient preparation for mathematics standards, such as the Common Core State Standards. Students from low-income and…

California has fallen behind on many key indicators of education performance, prompting policymakers to look for strategies to improve student outcomes. This research brief summarizes the fourth and final report from the California Preschool Study, synthesizing findings from earlier reports, and recommending policies to improve preschool education…

Ensuring that students have a strong foundation in mathematics by the end of 7th grade is essential if they are to move successfully into an advanced math curriculum that begins with algebra. But student achievement at the end of 7th grade varies widely in California--and this has consequences. Some 7th graders are taking a full Algebra I course;…

This report on the state's early education system offers a dark assessment, but not a fatalistic one, especially if leaders can seize and build on reform efforts that have already started in patches throughout the state. There's much more that policymakers, advocates and the state can--and should--be doing to work toward a day when all California…