Absenteeism and Truancy in California Schools

I haven’t had a chance to review the report that is mentioned at the top of this newsletter, but I suspect that it will be relevant to readers of this space.

View this email in your browser March 21, 2023

Featured

A new PACE commentary calls for urgent action to address the spike in school absenteeism following the COVID-19 pandemic. Authors Kevin Gee, Heather Hough, and Belen Chavez show that students of color experienced some of the largest increases, presenting troubling equity implications for our state’s most vulnerable youth populations. The commentary reflects findings from a new PACE report that used data from the California Department of Education to identify disparities in labeling school absences unexcused. Report authors Clea McNeely, Hedy Chang, and Kevin Gee analyzed data from the 2017–18, 2018–19, and 2021–22 school years and found that the statewide percentage of absences labeled unexcused held constant at around 38 percent yet varied significantly by school. Socioeconomically disadvantaged students and students of color were more likely to have their absences labeled unexcused, with Black students experiencing the largest disparity. This is particularly problematic since accumulating too many unexcused absences places students at risk of becoming classified as “truant.” This can lead to involvement with the court system as well as still greater risk of not being able to engage academically and nonacademically—missing opportunities to complete make-up work and exclusion from extracurricular activities are penalties for unexcused absences. The report makes several recommendations, including using attendance data to identify disparities and bright spots; strengthening monitoring of reasons for absences; updating policies related to unexcused absences; improving communication of attendance policies to students and families; and investing in professional development to improve attendance practices. Read the PACE Report | Read the PACE Commentary

PACE in the News On proposed Assembly Constitutional Amendment 9, PACE Executive Director Heather Hough—in Los Angeles Times article “After COVID-19 school chaos, California lawmakers debate role of superintendent”—states: “I think the pandemic really brought it into view for the public in a way that it wasn’t before: Why do we have an elected official if that position doesn’t have the ability to lead associated with it?” EdSource article “Newsom proposes ‘literacy road map’ based on ‘science of reading’; will districts follow or ignore it?” quotes PACE Executive Director Heather Hough: “A road map can set a vision, but structures must be in place to ensure it is implemented by collecting data and holding people accountable.” In the EdSource article “Proposed constitutional amendment would make state superintendent of public instruction an appointed position,” PACE Executive Director Heather Hough cites the 2022 PACE/USC Rossier poll, which found that voters don’t know much about the position of superintendent of public instruction or how to evaluate those who hold it.

In Case You Missed It Released on March 14, 2023, a new analysis by researchers at UCLA and UC Riverside shows that even in Blue state California, political attacks on public schools are pervasive and growing, hindering learning and the role schools play in a diverse democracy. The research brief “Educating for a Diverse Democracy in California” draws upon a representative survey of 150 California high school principals conducted in 2022 examining the chilling effect of political conflict in the nation’s schools. Key findings include: Political conflict is pervasive and growing, particularly in communities where the 2020 presidential vote for Donald Trump was between 45% and 54.9%. Political division and community-level conflict is shaping student interactions, with more than two thirds of California principals reporting that students made demeaning or hateful remarks to liberal or conservative classmates. Many California students—especially Black, Latinx, and LGBTQ+ students—experience hostility and intolerance in school, with nearly half of principals reporting that incidents of intolerance have increased in number since the pandemic. ~~~ On March 6, 2023, PACE held a webinar to present new research on 12th-grade math and course-taking in California indicating that nearly half of high school graduates do not meet the math requirements of state universities or are ill-prepared for college math. The webinar also presented research on how partnerships between university faculty and high school math specialists can lead to the development of new, innovative math courses that increase equitable access to advanced math and improve student outcomes. Panelists included: Michal Kurlaender, Professor of Education Policy, University of California, Davis Sherrie Reed, Executive Director, California Education Lab, University of California, Davis Osvaldo Soto, Director, Discrete Math Project Collaborative, University of California, San Diego Slides from and a video recording of the webinar are now available.

Copyright © 2023 Policy Analysis for California Education, All rights reserved. .Our mailing address is: Policy Analysis for California Education 520 Galvez Mall Stanford, CA 94305-3001

Voter and Parent Perspectives on Current Threats to Public Education

This report may be of interest to some folks.  The only times that K-12 distance, online, and/or blended learning are mentioned include:

Most students returned to school after a year and a half of online learning, missed milestones, and fewer opportunities for social engagement and development. Some students— disproportionately low-income students of color (Fortuna et al., 2020)—were grappling with the toll that illness and death in their families and communities had taken on them. And despite district efforts to close the digital divide, student access to resources and support for learning remotely was uneven, with gaps persisting by income and ethnicity (Gao et al., 2021). Many students, particularly low-income students and those learning English, started this school year academically and socially behind where they would have been during more typical periods (Hamilton & Gross, 2021; Pier et al., 2021). And those were the students who did return to school. Far fewer students than expected enrolled in public schools for the 2021–22 school year, sparking concerns about declining enrollment statewide (Fensterwald & Willis, 2022).

[On page 5 in the “Introduction” section]

A great deal of attention has been paid to education funding in the media and research in recent years. Heading into the COVID-19 pandemic, education funding in California was well below the national average, with fewer teachers, nurses, social workers, and other school-site staff than in most other states (Hahnel, 2020). As a result, when the pandemic hit in March 2020, California’s schools were already underfunded and understaffed, and thus were less well equipped to make the massive shifts required to respond to student need, provide high-quality virtual and hybrid instruction, or (more ambitiously) reimagine our education system in the wake of the pandemic (Myung et al., 2021).

[On page 40 in the “Long-term Funding Inadequacy and Instability’ section]

Anyway, check it out for yourself.

View this email in your browser August 23, 2022

Featured

Assessing Voters’ and Parents’ Perspectives on Current Threats to Public Education Heather Hough and Jeannie Myung | PACE Julie A. Marsh and Morgan Polikoff | USC Rossier School of Education Jeimee Estrada-Miller | USC Sol Price School of Public Policy The PACE/USC Rossier School of Education annual poll of California voters was fielded in July 2022, following an academic year that proved profoundly challenging for California schools, educators, and families. A new PACE report highlights voter and parent perspectives on eight critical issues that emerged this year as serious threats to student learning, the operation of schools, and even the very institution of public education: (1) gun violence, (2) politicization of and support for public education, (3) controversy over what is taught in schools, (4) student learning and well-being, (5) declining enrollment, (6) teacher shortages, (7) college affordability, and (8) long-term funding inadequacy and instability. These issues disproportionately affect the most marginalized communities, exposing long-standing systemic inequities in education and creating new gaps in opportunity and access. Read the PACE report and summary

PACE in the News

Charter Schools Favored by Many Parents Who Switched Their Children During Pandemic, Survey Finds via EdSource This article synthesizes results from the 2022 PACE/USC Rossier annual poll, which found that over a quarter of parents in California moved their children to a new school during the pandemic, with charter schools seeing the biggest increase in number of students. An additional 28 percent of parents who are now considering switching their child’s school are more likely to cite dissatisfaction with quality of instruction. Nevertheless, California voters surveyed still gave public education high marks, and 85 percent of respondents were in agreement that the country “cannot have an effective democracy without good public education.” Find more analysis of results from the poll here. Read the article    Read related PACE content

Increased Government Funding Recognizes the Need for Strong Community School Technical Assistance via Brookings Federal and state investment in community schools has increased exponentially. PACE senior policy and research fellow Hayin Kimner and co-authors write that this alone will not directly result in effective partnerships and strategies, however: community schools also require high-quality technical assistance. A recent national study published by the Brookings Institution recommends best practices for technical assistance providers supporting community schools initiatives: (a) model clarity for all stakeholders, (b) structures and systems for community voices, (c) structures and systems for collaborative leadership, (d) asset-based thinking, (e) sustainability, (f) reimagining systems for equity, (g) data systems, and (h) data culture and continuous improvement. Read the article    Read related PACE content

New Study Explored How Districts Responded to Unfolding Health Crisis and Growing Structural Racism via USC Rossier School of Education This article provides an overview of a recent PACE report along with nuanced perspectives from Julie Marsh, lead author and PACE faculty director, and Rudolph Crew, USC Rossier professor of clinical education and former chancellor of New York City Public Schools. The study examined the first 14 months of the pandemic, offering insights into the challenges districts faced in 2020–21 in their effort to provide students access to education and other necessities during the pandemic. Navigating the pandemic is “a very, very, very delicate, intricate piece of work,” says Crew. “Julie’s report [has] captured that extraordinarily well.” Read the article    Read related PACE content

Copyright © 2022 Policy Analysis for California Education, All rights reserved. .Our mailing address is: Policy Analysis for California Education 520 Galvez Mall Stanford, CA 94305-3001

Four Practical Challenges for High School Computer Science

Note the COVID response item at the bottom.

View this email in your browser July 14, 2022

Featured

by Paul Bruno, Mariam Saffar Pérez, and Colleen M. Lewis | University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign In recent years, California high schools have rapidly expanded computer science (CS) education, and many would like to increase offerings further. Although CS courses are perceived as providing many benefits to students, expanding them in K–12 schools presents several challenges for school administrators and education policymakers. In a new PACE brief, authors Paul Bruno, Mariam Saffar Pérez, and Colleen M. Lewis consider four of the most pressing challenges: staffing issues, curricular capacity, school accountability pressure, and equitable access to CS courses. The brief discusses current research on these issues and offers potential solutions to the challenges they may raise. Read the PACE Policy Brief

New PACE Publications

Generating Traction with Continuous Improvement: Lessons from Two Learning Networks by H. Alix Gallagher, Benjamin W. Cottingham, and Kiley O’Meara | PACE Continuous improvement holds a prominent place in California’s approach to educational accountability, but most efforts do not actually lead to sustainable improvements. A new report from PACE analyzes the progress of two improvement networks seeking to increase the proportion of California high school students who are on track for college. Authors H. Alix Gallagher, Benjamin W. Cottingham, and Kiley O’Meara analyzed data to determine how much traction—momentum towards improving student outcomes at scale—each participating school or district gained. Most sites had an increase in students failing one or more classes due to changes in grading policies during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, some sites made genuine progress during the year with support from the “hub” organizations of the networks. These hubs took a partnering stance to build relationships with site teams, elevate team members’ expertise, and align change ideas with local context. Based on their analysis, the authors recommend seven strategies for external support providers, county offices of education, or districts working with their schools to improve student outcomes at scale via continuous improvement: Prompt participant ownership of the work early and often. Approach continuous improvement principles as practical and common sense. Flexibly integrate tools, structures, frameworks, and data so that teams can more easily digest and ultimately sustain them. Value the existing expertise and the assets and constraints in participating local educational agencies and take on a stance as a partner in the work. Center improvement work on teacher knowledge. Focus on the few actions that will lead to the greatest impact (that is, the Pareto principle). Transform student outcomes by testing changes that improve instruction. Read the PACE Report and Summary

In Case You Missed It

Relationships Among the Most Valuable Tools in Districts’ Early COVID Response via CSBA Blog This article summarizes recent PACE research, led by PACE faculty director Julie Marsh, finding that institutional and community relationships contributed positively to districts’ ability to stay nimble in their decision-making as the pandemic progressed. Strong relationships across leadership and stakeholders helped districts navigate challenges caused by COVID-19, by the politicization of the pandemic, and by divided political beliefs. The report highlights several conditions that appeared to help build and sustain such relationships during this time of crisis and disruption, including local context, external funding and partners, and leadership practices. Read the article    Read related PACE content

Copyright © 2022 Policy Analysis for California Education, All rights reserved. . Our mailing address is: Policy Analysis for California Education 520 Galvez Mall Stanford, CA 94305-3001

Crisis Response in California School Districts: Leadership, Partnership, and Community

I haven’t had a chance to review the report that is mentioned at the top of this newsletter, but I suspect that it will be relevant to readers of this space.

View this email in your browser June 30, 2022

Featured

Julie A. Marsh, Julia E. Koppich, Daniel C. Humphrey, Hayin Kimner, Laura S. Mulfinger, Taylor N. Allbright, Jacob Alonso, James Bridgeforth, Eupha Jeanne Daramola, Taylor Enoch-Stevens, Kate E. Kennedy, Akua Nkansah-Amankra A new PACE brief summarizes findings from a study of how seven California school districts navigated crisis leadership from the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 through the end of the 2020–21 school year. The brief presents key insights from a full report into how these districts responded not only to the unprecedented health crisis but also to the national reckoning about structural racism that occurred during the same time. Districts initially responded in similar ways, striving to meet students’ needs by ensuring their physical safety, distributing meals to families, and investing in technology. The mental health of students and staff soon became a priority as well. Specific case studies showed that strong relationships with labor, the community, and leadership helped districts meet the tremendous challenges they have been facing—challenges compounded by the politicization of the pandemic and divided political beliefs. The authors recommend state policies that better support schools and focus on helping districts counter disinformation during this polarized time. Read the PACE policy brief and report

New PACE Publications

English Learners’ Pathways in California’s Community Colleges Under AB 705 Craig Hayward | Bakersfield College Yasuko Kanno | Boston University Cecilia Rios-Aguilar and Davis Vo | UCLA A new PACE brief analyzes the effect of California’s Assembly Bill 705 on English learners (ELs) accessing English and English as a second language (ESL) coursework in community college. The bill, which took effect in 2018, required community colleges to maximize students’ completion of transfer-level English and math. Craig Hayward, Yasuko Kanno, Cecilia Rios-Aguilar, and Davis Vo found that ELs who graduated from US high schools were more likely to complete their degree or transfer to a four-year college when allowed to enroll directly in college-level English composition in community college. The authors recommend that all ELs who graduate high school be placed directly into college-level English courses rather than ESL courses, regardless of students’ prior academic preparation or English language proficiency. The brief also suggests ways that community colleges can integrate English support into all college-level courses and better track ELs’ academic pathways from high school to college. Read the PACE policy brief

New PACE Commentaries

Supporting Principals Kiley O’Meara | PACE Tomika Romant | Richard D. Browning High School When the pandemic hit in 2020, school principals had to pivot, navigating the virtual world of engagement and instruction as well as the physical and mental toll of COVID-19 on students and staff. What was already a difficult job—juggling budgeting, hiring, and supervision of teachers and staff; student discipline issues; campus maintenance; plus family and community engagement—may now be becoming untenable. We need to ask: What helps principals do their jobs well, in a manner that improves the quality of teaching and learning at their schools? This commentary highlights three key lessons that have emerged from the authors’ collective research and experience: (1) surround schools with supports; (2) help principals focus on instruction; and (3) support principals in collaborating and learning together. Read the PACE commentary

PACE in the News

Social Construction Is Racial Construction: Examining the Target Populations in School-Choice Policies via American Journal of Education Forum A recent study of school choice policy revealed that policy actors can hold contradictory views of racially minoritized families that can become embedded in policy designs. When policy actors adopt a culture-of-poverty-influenced argument, drawing on both pity and contempt, they conceive of parents as agents of change but also as the reason choice was needed in specific communities in the first place. These contradictory views may allow choice policies to claim to serve those viewed as “deserving” of policy intervention while simultaneously limiting their access in a manner that benefits already privileged families. This AJE Forum post summarizes a full-length American Journal of Education article by authors Huriya Jabbar, Eupha Jeanne Daramola, PACE faculty director Julie A. Marsh, Taylor Enoch-Stevens, Jacob Alonso, and Taylor N. Allbright, which can be found here. Read the article    Read related PACE content

What Has Tony Thurmond Done As California Schools Chief? via CalMatters As neither Incumbent State Superintendent Tony Thurmond nor any of his competitors won a majority in the June 2022 primary ballot, there will be a runoff election for state superintendent of public instruction in November. The responsibilities of the position are twofold: (1) to oversee the California Department of Education and (2) to use the office’s bully pulpit to bring attention to key issues in education. “The California Department of Education in my view is an administrative body that carries out policy,” explains Michael Kirst, PACE cofounder and advisory board member. Numerous educators, lawmakers, and experts who have worked with Thurmond during his first term say that much of his work happens behind the scenes—launching task forces and working groups that have generated sets of recommendations for legislation—though multiple experts remain skeptical about these indirect means of affecting policy. Read the article    Read related PACE content

California Prop. 13’s ‘Unjust Legacy’ Detailed in Critical Study: Wider Wealth Gaps, Unstable Education Funding, Housing Shortages 4 Decades Later via EdSource The Opportunity Institute has released a new report on the enduring impact of Proposition 13, the 1978 initiative that voters passed as a backlash against rising property taxes. The study’s conclusions? Prop 13 has contributed to a widening wealth gap, a severe housing shortage, and inadequate funding for public schools over decades. It has also made school funding highly volatile, since a state tax structure dependent on revenue from capital gains follows stock market gyrations. “Proposition 13 will continue to prevent us from having more equitable resources for housing and local government; it relates to how well we support families and children,” said Carrie Hahnel, senior director of policy and strategy with the Opportunity Institute, and senior policy and research fellow with PACE. “That’s why we are calling for another look at the effects of Prop 13.” Read the article    Read related PACE content

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT New Report & Webinar on How California’s Proposition 13 Contributes to Inequities Last week, the Opportunity Institute and Pivot Learning released Unjust Legacy: How Proposition 13 Has Contributed to Intergenerational, Economic, and Racial Inequities in Schools and Communities. Coauthored by PACE senior policy and research fellow Carrie Hahnel, the report looks at how Proposition 13 has harmed generations of Californians, especially Black and Latino Californians, those with lower incomes, and those with less property wealth. A related webinar on June 22 featured California thought leaders reflecting on the report’s findings and how California can repair the harm done by Proposition 13. Read the report and access the webinar recording

Copyright © 2022 Policy Analysis for California Education, All rights reserved. . Our mailing address is: Policy Analysis for California Education 520 Galvez Mall Stanford, CA 94305-3001

Supporting students during COVID-19; building systems for the future

The brief described at the top, and the first commissioned paper, may be of interest to readers.

View this email in your browser June 08, 2022

Featured

From Policy to Plans: Supporting Students During COVID-19 Alexandria Hurtt, Sherrie Reed, Kramer Dykeman, Justin Luu, Jacob Hibel, and David Garrett | California Education Lab, University of California, Davis A new PACE policy brief presents the findings of a comprehensive review of California school districts’ Learning Continuity and Attendance Plans for the 2020–21 academic year, following unprecedented school disruptions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The brief summarizes a working paper on the full results of the analysis as well as a research report focusing on the specific needs of English learners. Authors Alexandria Hurtt, Sherrie Reed, Kramer Dykeman, Justin Luu, Jacob Hibel, and David Garrett offer a unique snapshot of school districts’ intentions during a time of crisis. Overall, districts planned to provide technology, assess student learning, employ tiered levels of support, and prioritize services for special student populations, meeting state policymakers’ objectives for ensuring learning continuity. However, district plans did not always convey how strategies were implemented, and the state did not monitor outcomes, exposing opportunities for broader reform in both education policymaking and implementation accountability. Read the PACE policy brief    Read the PACE report

New PACE Publications

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Students and Educational Systems, Critical Actions for Recovery, and the Role of Research in the Years Ahead Heather Hough, Jeannie Myung, Benjamin W. Domingue, Christopher Edley, Jr., Michal Kurlaender, Julie A. Marsh, Cecilia Rios-Aguilar | Policy Analysis for California Education SARS-CoV-2 has infected 84 million people, killed over 1 million, and continues to cause turbulent conditions across the US education system. Health and economic effects have been disproportionately borne by low-income, Black, and Latinx communities. Returning school operations “to normal” is not sufficient to meet student needs or to close equity gaps. The focus going forward should be on a whole-child response that further expands and promotes learning—and education research can help. To this end, The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) recently issued a report that featured a commissioned paper by PACE (available via IES and PACE) that seeks to address the impact of the pandemic on students’ academic learning and personal well-being alongside evidence-based guidance for reimagining and rebuilding public education over the long term. Read the PACE commissioned paper

New PACE Commentaries

The Importance of Formative Evaluation in California’s Universal Pre-K Rollout Anna J. Markowitz | University of California, Los Angeles Jade V. Marcus Jenkins | University of California, Irvine California’s plan to expand the existing Transitional Kindergarten program as part of a universal pre-K program (CA UPK) for all four-year-olds marks a substantial investment in the state’s children and families. In order to ensure a successful rollout and effective implementation at scale, California should learn from recent research on other states’ pre-K programs and fund research infrastructure for formative evaluation that will help identify and address implementation challenges, drive continuous quality improvement, and ultimately ensure the provision of rich, developmentally appropriate classrooms for all California children. Investing in systematic data collection and formative evaluation up front would provide essential information on the implementation of CA UPK in its early years and would set targets for improvement that ensure the ongoing learning needed to create a high-quality system for California children and families. Read the PACE commentary

PACE in the News

California Public School Enrollment Spirals, Dropping by 110,000 Students This Year via The Los Angeles Times This school year, California’s public schools have seen the largest drop in enrollment in 20 years. After five consecutive years of enrollment declines, enrollment was 5,892,240 in the fall of 2021; this was the first time since 2000 that the state’s K–12 population has dipped below 6 million. Increases in private school enrollment, home schooling, and moves out of state are factors, but these increases do not fully account for the drop. “One of the questions that we have to come back to is: Just where are those kids?” says PACE executive director Heather Hough. “We don’t have satisfying data to answer that question.” Read the article    Read related PACE content

California’s Schools Chief Could Cruise to a Second Term, Despite Criticism via The Los Angeles Times Even amid the chaos brought about in public education due to the pandemic, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond may end up with an easy re-election victory in the June 7 primary. None of the other six candidates appear to have the recognition, funding, or endorsements to overcome the political advantages of the incumbent. PACE faculty director Julie Marsh points out that California is unusual among US states because most state education superintendents are appointed rather than elected by voters. “The position doesn’t have a lot of power or hold a lot of influence,” Marsh says. Read the article    Read related PACE content

California Expanding Community College Baccalaureate Programs via EdSource The sticker shock of attaining a bachelor’s degree in California can be substantial, making  community college baccalaureate programs a more accessible and affordable alternative. These programs are set to expand in California thanks to Assembly Bill 927, a law signed by Governor Gavin Newsom in October 2021 that allows the state’s community college system to expand by 30 new bachelor’s degree programs annually. These degree programs are an important tool for centering racial equity in higher education, according to PACE faculty director Cecilia Rios-Aguilar, who says that “we have to advocate for the most underserved students in our system.” Her research shows that students are embracing community college baccalaureate programs and are getting jobs with good wages when they graduate. Read the article    Read related PACE content

OUSD Has Had Success With Small Schools, So Why Are They on the Chopping Block? via Oakland North Based on research findings that smaller schools could better serve students and provide individualized attention, two decades ago Oakland Unified School District carved up campuses to reduce enrollment to fewer than 500 students in many of its schools. Seven of those schools, which serve mostly Black and Latinx students, are set to close to save the district money. “Because of economies of scale, it matters a lot how big your schools are,” says PACE senior policy and research fellow Carrie Hahnel. Given OUSD’s current budget situation, Hahnel says, “it’s necessary for the district to figure out how to be financially sustainable into the future, and it’s hard to see a path forward that doesn’t include school closure.” Read the article    Read related PACE content

Copyright © 2022 Policy Analysis for California Education, All rights reserved. . Our mailing address is: Policy Analysis for California Education 520 Galvez Mall Stanford, CA 94305-3001