Public higher educational institutions, where about 80 percent of all college students and 65 percent of all four-year college students are educated, appear to be in serious trouble. In order to delve more deeply into this topic, the author invited a wide-ranging team of experts to examine changes in public higher education over the last quarter…

The study summarized in this report investigated the current nature of California's high school curriculum, how it is determined, and how it differs for different groups of students. Data were gathered from 26 representative high schools. Chapter 1 describes the six levels of curricular policy and decision making in California and the decisions…

The statement of state policy toward independent degree-granting colleges and universities in California addresses these issues: independent institutions as a public resource (enrollment, degrees awarded, levels of support, tuition and fees, government revenues, program diversity, and geographic location); state policy toward independent…

These papers come from a 2001 conference that explored language policy issues at the global, U.S. national, and California regional levels. There are 15 papers in five sections. Section 1, "National Language Policy," includes (1) "Language and Globalization: Why National Policies Matter" (Chester D. Haskell) and (2) "Real…

This article argues that California's reexamination of affirmative action policy represents a national trend that could result in fundamental changes in college admissions and employment policy, scholarship programs, and the diversity of college and university student bodies and faculty. The evolution of this situation and points in the debate are…

This document presents the findings of a review of federal and state job training programs and governance structures in California that was commissioned to identify options for restructuring California's work force preparation policy and governance of the state's system of work force preparation programs through vocational education, job training,…

In response to data indicating that states having fewer post-secondary enrollees in two-year colleges had higher baccalaureate attainment, a study was undertaken to examine the possibility that a major state commitment to community colleges in response to demands for access means lower baccalaureate completion rates. The study compared Florida and…

The Outreach and Technical Assistance Network (OTAN) was developed to disseminate resources to California adult educators. During the project's third year, staff development and information services were provided to 321 funded agencies. In collaboration with the Educational Telecommunications Network, OTAN staff organized the Adult Learning…

The recommendations presented in this document concern which instructional materials should be adopted in the bilingual language arts and visual and performing arts in the State of California. Each of the instructional programs, both those recommended for adoption and those not recommended, are described at length with the rationale for the…

Eleventh- and twelfth-grade students in California comprehensive high schools and Regional Occupational Centers/Programs spend about one million hours a day on vocational education. California students who took a concentrated sequence of high school vocational subjects during 1981 had a 26 percent unemployment rate in the spring of 1982, compared…

The effects of Chapter 2 block grants on fund distribution, programs, and school district spending, and the role played in Chapter 2 implementation by parents and citizens were investigated. Interim findings include the following: (1) there has been a massive redistribution of Federal funds away from States serving large numbers of poor nonwhite…

Investigated in this study are the school sorting process (how students are matched with schools, courses, and teachers) and the possible positive effects of mandating that schools disclose how this process occurs. After an introduction, chapters 2 and 3 present findings about the sorting practices in seven California school districts. It was…

A variety of viewpoints were represented in this symposium for chief state school officials and senior staff of state departments of education. Russell Vlaanderen, Education Commission of the States, opened with a national overview: "The Policy Implications of Minimum Competency Testing: The Case of the Standardized Student." Attorney…

This second annual year-end report summarizes the efforts of administrators, teachers, and students in the Los Angeles Unified School District on behalf of children whose primary language is not English. It documents the district's response to the January 1974 Supreme Court decision in Lau v. Nichols. The response is embodied in programs for…

When the Academic Senate for California Community Colleges compiled best practices for serving basic skills students in 2002-2003, assessment practices were notably absent. In this paper, problems with current assessment and placement practices with regards to basic skills are explored. The paper begins with a review of the matriculation process…