This report from the California State Legislature's Joint Committee for Review of the Master Plan for Higher Education presents proposals and recommendations regarding the future of the state's community colleges. Section I introduces the major demographic, social, and economic challenges facing the California community colleges over the next two…

The authors contend that a solution to the problems raised by the "Serrano" decision is impossible without an understanding of the basic facts of public education in California. Size, cost, discrepancies, and ranking in relationship to other states and the nation are advanced to place California's public school system in clearer focus.…

This report is a series on the Program of Special Directed Studies for Transition to College (PSDS), which is a five-year experimental education project aimed at providing a full four-year high-quality college education for disadvantaged youths who would probably not otherwise have been eligible for admission to most four-year colleges. A research…

This collection of articles revolves around the struggle for full racial equality through community control of schools by the black and Puerto Rican people of New York City. The opening chapter describes the city Board of Education's deliberate policy of intensifying and consolidating segregation during the very years when it was most volubly…

Describes a California project which encourages educators to follow best practices for staff development and school improvement. The project helps them evaluate their staff-development plans by examining five essential questions about staff development and its connections to student success, professional climate, standards, and assessment. The…

Reducing K-3 class size is highly recommended and broadly supported, though there are challenges with finding enough qualified teachers and providing enough classroom space. Research indicates that K-3 students in smaller classes do better academically, with minority and low-income students showing the greatest gains. The paper examines…

This volume brings together a broad range of academics, school-based educators, and policymakers to address research, policy, and practice issues related to improving the education of English language learners in U.S. schools today. It emphasizes throughout that instructional improvements cannot be achieved via curriculum alone--teachers are key…

By 2025, 22 percent of the U.S. college-age population will be Latino, a level already reached in four states: California, Florida, New York, and Texas. Meeting the country's future human capital and workforce needs make it imperative to improve outcomes for Latino students today. As public attention is focused on current achievement gaps,…

Focusing on one aspect of a study examining the child-staff ratio in California state-subsidized day care centers, this paper explores the relationship between indicators of quality and the behavior of children in day care centers. In fall 1990, trained observers spent a week in 122 day care classrooms throughout California. During this time they…

This manual is designed to assist California school personnel to respond to the increasing diversity in student populations, with a change process based on principles of shared leadership through a decentralized site-based management method. The organization change model utilized by the pilot schools is the California Local Education Reform…

Proceedings of a symposium called by the California State university system and the State Department of Education to assist in creation of a Center for Applied Cultural Studies and Educational Achievement are presented. The Center would focus on ensuring African American educational excellence. More than 100 African American educators were invited…

In 1991, a study was conducted to determine the extent to which the stringency of state regulations ensures high quality in child care settings and the extent to which California's child care staffing crisis can be addressed through regulatory changes. To compare child care quality under different licensing standards, the study examined findings…

This report on California's higher education system and its Master Plan for Higher Education focuses on making California a fully multicultural democracy in which all are empowered to participate as equal citizens. The report is organized in nine sections the first of which is an introductory essay reviewing the background of the state's higher…

To be used in conjunction with a document providing evaluation criteria for quality elementary school programs, this guide is designed to help members of a program review team conduct a program review. The first chapter describes the methodology and procedures of program review, the application of quality criteria to the school's curricular and…

A resolution is presented that was approved in the 1978-79 school year by six California professional associations in education, and which has been referred to the state education department and relevant accreditation associations. The issue is the accreditation and quality control of external degree programs. It is resolved that: (1)…