California has begun moving toward a "cradle to career" approach that connects early childhood, K-12, and higher education more closely. But COVID-19 has disrupted learning, funding, and progress toward improving student outcomes and has exacerbated racial and economic equity gaps. This publication is part of a briefing kit that focuses…

Federal law requires all public school students in grades three to eight to take an annual assessment in reading and math at the end of the year and requires students to take an assessment once during high school. The goal of this assessment is to measure the extent to which all students are meeting the state's academic standards. These standards…

The future of California will be defined by ensuring better educational opportunity for Latinx Californians. While historic numbers of Latinx students are graduating from high school prepared for college and are enrolling in higher education, these numbers are still too low. Inequitable access to college opportunity and success in graduating with…

California educates more than 6 million children in its K-12 public schools. More than half of these students are economically disadvantaged. About one in five are English Learners (ELs), compared with one in ten nationwide. In 2013, the state created the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) to simplify school funding and significantly increase…

This study addresses missing links in "college for all" debates by investigating gaps between actual and desirable math achievement trajectories for students' college readiness. Linking multiple national data sets across P-16 education levels, the study estimates college readiness benchmarks separately for two-year and four-year college…

Today's economy demands that "all" young people develop high-level literacy, quantitative reasoning, problem solving, communication and collaboration skills, all grounded in a rigorous, content-rich K-12 curriculum. Acquiring this knowledge and these skills ensures that high school graduates are academically prepared to pursue the…

Personalized learning models can give each student differentiated learning experiences based on their needs, interests, and strengths, including students with disabilities. Personalized learning can pinpoint specific gaps in student learning, identify where a student is on his or her learning pathway, and provide the appropriate interventions to…

In this report, The Education Trust-West grades the 146 largest unified school districts in California on four key indicators of student performance to see how well they are serving their African-American, Latino, and low-income students. While most districts in California earn Cs and Ds on these indicators, some districts prove that more is…

This fifth annual update on America's high school dropout crisis shows that, for the first time in history, the nation has crossed the 80 percent high school graduation rate threshold and remains on pace, for the second year in a row, to meet the goal of a 90 percent high school graduation rate by the Class of 2020. This report highlights key…

Despite the importance of postsecondary education to the economic and social vitality of the U.S. and the individuals who pursue this academic goal, the educational pipeline to and through college is broken for communities of color, the fastest-growing segment of the population. This report offers a revealing glimpse of the American system of…

As states, districts, and schools work to improve academic rigor so that all students graduate prepared for college and careers, it has become clear that more learning time and building additional capacity within the public education system are essential. These issues have particular implications for Latino students, especially English language…

This report provides standard facts and figures about the Houston Independent School District's (HISD) finances, student populations, achievements, and more. HISD has humanized that data, as well, with vignettes and profiles that typify the remarkable programs and individuals in the district. One of the three drivers to achieve the vision of…

Purpose: The purpose of this directory was to identify, describe, and evaluate evidence that the education practices improve academic performance, close the achievement gap, and improve persistence towards graduation for low-income, first-generation, and historically-underrepresented 6th grade through college students. Method: The sample for the…

This 2016 directory identifies, describes, and contains evaluative data evidence-based practices that improve academic performance, close the achievement gap, and improve persistence towards graduation for low-income, first-generation, and historically-underrepresented 6th grade through college students. The directory was a production of the…

In 2009, Excelencia in Education launched the Ensuring America's Future initiative to inform, organize, and engage leaders in a tactical plan to increase Latino college completion. An executive summary of Latino College Completion in 50 states synthesizes information on 50 state factsheets and builds on the national benchmarking guide. Each…