This phenomenological study investigated the impact of culturally proficient leadership behaviors on culturally diverse school populations and sought to identify culturally responsive practices used by culturally proficient school leaders. The research was conducted in a suburban Title I school district in California with a diverse student…

Advocates for marginalized students have worked to understand the equity implications of public policy and its application on educational performance gaps. This study investigated equity policies in a southern California community college intervention program: the Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS). EOPS is an equity program created…

We examine how funding for public school facilities varies with school district property wealth and household income. Using data on school facility (i.e., capital) funding in California from fiscal years 1986-87 to 2015-16, we find that funding for school construction and modernization varies widely across districts. Disparities in funding are…

While the COVID-19 pandemic has affected all families and communities, it is most deeply impacting students of color, students from low-income families, English learners, youth in foster care, unhoused students, students with disabilities, and other marginalized children and youth -- as well as their families. The pandemic has exposed and worsened…

For the past several years, the California State University (CSU) has been investigating a proposal to add one year of high school quantitative reasoning coursework to the current CSU first-year admissions requirements, often referred to as A-G courses. Qualifying quantitative reasoning courses would include courses in mathematics (area C),…

State education data systems help policymakers use data to evaluate the impact of their efforts to improve education. By disaggregating the data -- that is, breaking it out by different student subgroups -- policymakers can ensure that their efforts address the needs of students who have been traditionally underserved in educational settings. Yet…

This report presents key findings from "Learning in the Fast Lane: The Past, Present, and Future of Advanced Placement," by Chester E. Finn, Jr. and Andrew E. Scanlan, and published by Princeton University Press in 2019. American education has long been plagued by excellence gaps among the young people who make it into the highest levels…

As the population of Latinx students grows in U.S. public schools and our nation seeks to address systemic inequities, racism, and xenophobia, this counternarrative provides inspiration to those wishing to reinvigorate schools and build a more caring and just world. "Authentic Cariño" documents the innovative practices, successes, and…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand elementary school principals' perceptions about what teachers need to know and be able to do in the classroom in order to teach all students equitably. In addition, this study sought to understand what attitudes and belief systems are needed by teachers in order for them to effectively meet…

Despite California's great wealth, child poverty places a drag on the state's educational performance. Disadvantaged children--including English learners, foster children, and the poor--do not receive the educational attention and services that they require to be successful. Although California's Local Control Funding Formula recognizes this…

Background: Access to Advanced Placement (AP) courses is stratified by class and race. Researchers have identified how schools serving disadvantaged students suffer from various kinds of resource deprivations, concluding that interventions are needed to equalize access to AP courses. On the other hand, the theory of Effectively Maintained…

Broadening computer science learning to include more students is a crucial item on the United States' education agenda, these authors say. Although policymakers advocate more computer science expertise, computer science offerings in high schools are few--and actually shrinking. In addition, poorly resourced schools with a high percentage of…

The purpose of this study was two-fold. It was first to find out what the educational materials needs were for children living in poverty, and second, to learn of the challenges, obstacles, and strengths by the programs already in place that were supplying educational materials to these children. This study used interviews and surveys as data…

Low-income and minority students in the U.S. are disproportionately subjected to didactic, teacher-controlled instruction--a phenomenon called "the pedagogy of poverty" (Haberman, 1991). This study examined the role that curriculum-based interventions could play in addressing these equity issues in science education. Eight teachers from…

This paper examines school finance as a potential solution for inequity, identifying problems with the conventional solution of simply providing additional funding when inequities and inadequacies appear. The paper notes that states have developed a large roster of policy instruments, or state mechanisms of achieving educational policy.…