This report addresses the technical and legal issues attendant to the implementation of a comprehensive student information system in California. It documents the legislative origins of the study and the conditions of state-level information systems within California and other states. It then describes the legal issues arising from the collection,…

Long-term needs of California for postsecondary education and the state's ability to meet the needs will be reassessed by the California Postsecondary Education Commission. Assumptions of the Commission's current long-range planning effort are briefly reviewed. The scope of postsecondary education will include public and private nonprofit and…

Using the District Review of Vocational Education (DROVE) process, information from 60 California district vocational education systems was collected and analyzed to determine important implications for State level management of vocational education. Some 257 visiting team members participated in writing recommendations and commendations from…

The California community colleges represent one of the few remaining tuition-free postsecondary systems, a position strengthened by recent legislation establishing a no-fee policy for all credit classes and removing the 21-year-old "defined adult" State funding limitation. Today's community college students average 25 years of age, most…

This final report describes the accomplishments and activities of a 5-year federally funded California systems change project supporting the development and replication of inclusive schools as part of the state's movement to provide the least restrictive educational environment for all students with severe disabilities. The project was a…

An introduction to five case studies of mathematics teachers and ancillary essays on implementation of instructional policy change at the classroom level is provided. The case studies and associated discussions focus on California's new Mathematics Framework, which features changes in textbooks, tests, and commonly held conceptions of subject…

A commentary on five case studies of implementation of instructional policy change at the classroom level by elementary school mathematics teachers is provided. The case studies focus on California's new Mathematics Framework. An organizational control perspective is taken in this commentary. (TJH)

This case study depicts a "traditional" fifth grade teacher's approach to implementing the California Mathematics Curriculum Framework. This teacher's beliefs and knowledge and their interplay with the state curriculum directives, his accountability to his students, and his commitment to their success are examined, with emphasis on the…

Maintains that educational reformers need to examine the past to understand why middle schools have not succeeded with Mexican Americans, and argues that current school reform does not depart radically from early 20th-century logic and practice. Presents current research and policy in a historical perspective. Describes Project Theme, a…

The nation's experience with ethnic and racial minorities is being radically redefined in California, where demographic shifts are being addressed more effectively by the business community than by higher education. The University of California and the state's public education system are gradually coming to terms with their responsibility for…

An ethnographic study in two California school districts examines how court cases, federal and state legislation, local and state school board decisions, election results, and national reports interacted to constrain students' confidence to function at a particular level in English and the learning opportunities that a bilingual teacher could…

In this article, major laws, regulations, court cases, policies and practices related to intelligence testing of African American students in California are reviewed. A California Department of Education (CDE) ban on intelligence testing of African American students for the purpose of determining special education eligibility is in effect and…

This report responds to some of the key questions raised by educators and legislators about ESL practices, programs and support services across the three California postsecondary systems: the California Community Colleges (CCC), the California State University (CSU), and the University of California (UC). While this report was produced to address…

This paper offers highlights from the final report of Stanford's School Leadership Study, which should be available in January 2007. It discusses various policy and resource factors that enhance or impede the implementation of exemplary programs that develop and support principals. Among the research questions that guided this study were a set…

This report examines factors that influenced low-income Mexican-Americans from homes with little formal education to achieve high academic status. Although over one third of students in California's public schools are Hispanic, only a small fraction of these students complete a university education. Fifty Mexican-Americans (30 men and 20 women)…