Character education has become one of the fastest growing reform movements in K-12 education today, partially in response to unacceptable levels of student misbehavior and inadequate endorsement of good character values (Williams 2000). Between 1993 and 2009, 36 states passed laws mandating or recommending some aspect of character education in…

This qualitative, longitudinal study examines the perspectives on professional development of a group of exemplary, new secondary teachers of English Language Arts and Spanish (n = 4). This study explores the teachers' development through the lens of the "embodied understanding of practice" (EUP), a novel theoretical framework of…

The purpose of this study is to describe the difference in the academic achievement of urban Hispanic high school students based on the small learning community theme. The study used a quantitative method of ex post facto research to examine how the academic achievement of Hispanic high school students differs across the themes of small…

This study focused on the effects of elementary students' participation in a mentored peer mediation program during a school year as it related to three variables, academic achievement, developmental disposition, and conflict orientation. "Phase I", academic achievement, focused on the relationship between participation in this…

CSI-USC continues to make sense of what the California statewide data system provides. This fourth annual report gauges multiple measures of academic and financial performance, probing well beyond mere test scores. Ratings in familiar green, yellow, and red cover four areas: financial resources and investment, school quality, student performance…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of per-pupil funding, the amount allocated to fund students in K-12 public education, and how this funding related to student achievement. This is one of the most contentious issues in education, especially in light of the current economy in California, where the state budget crisis has…

This mixed-methods study is an investigation into the relationship between culturally responsive teaching and fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade student performance on the California Standards Tests (CSTs). The significance of this research lies in its evaluation of the way that the self-perceived cultural proficiency level of the teacher and…

This study explores the degree of alignment between high school mathematics and language arts assessments and community college placement examinations in widespread use in California. The study was conducted in two stages. The first stage analyzed the variety of placement exams used to determine their core content. The second stage analyzed the…

This study reports Year 1 findings from a multisite cluster randomized controlled trial of a cognitive strategies approach to teaching text-based analytical writing for mainstreamed Latino English language learners (ELLs) in 9 middle schools and 6 high schools. There were 103 English teachers stratified by school and grade and then randomly…

In his 2011 State of the Union address, President Barack Obama declared that charter schools are a way to out-innovate and out-educate our competitors worldwide. The President believes that investment in education must be accompanied by reform, including the expansion of high-quality charter schools. President Obama has challenged states to lift…

The purpose of this study was to compare the academic proficiency levels on the California Standards Test (CST) in both English-Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics for English learners (EL) at the elementary schools in Daisyville Unified School District (DUSD) with that of ELs throughout California. DUSD is like many other districts in California,…

In 2005-2006, close to one million homeless children in our nation faced unprecedented challenges trying to access and succeed in public schools. Fortunately, legislation was enacted to support this special needs population. The types of support mentioned in the McKinney-Vento Act include: transportation to and from school, immediate enrollment in…

California is in the process of transitioning to new English language arts and mathematics standards that will better prepare students to be successful in college and their careers. Time, effort, and resources must be dedicated to effective implementation in order to realize the promise of these new common core state standards. This paper captures…

This report presents results from the second year of CRESST's three-year evaluation of the WebPlay program. WebPlay is an online-enhanced arts education program for K-12 students. The evaluation occurred during the three-year implementation of the program in Grades 3 and 5 in California schools; this report focused on results from the second year…

This "Informed Educator" draws content from several reports as well as a PowerPoint presentation that describe findings from a study conducted by EdSource and its research partners from Stanford University and the American Institutes for Research. The project--Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades: Why Some Schools Do Better--focused on…