September 28, 2009 by caprie |
A new PACE policy brief presents an overview of the current state of school leadership in California. Susanna Loeb and Jon Valant from Stanford University examine the challenges that California must overcome to recruit, hire, train, and retain strong and talented principals, with a particular focus on the limitations of current state and district policies. Loeb and Valant note that California principals are underpaid relative to their colleagues nationwide, and many report feeling overworked, constrained by state policies, and doubtful that they will remain in the principalship until retirement. The authors propose a set of actions that policymakers can take in order to ensure that great principals are providing leadership in all of California’s schools.
September 8, 2009 by pace |
A new PACE policy brief summarizes the findings from a study investigating the impact of the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) on California’s lowest performing students. Utilizing longitudinal data from four large urban school districts, Sean Reardon from Stanford and Michal Kurlaender from UC-Davis compare students scheduled to graduate just before (2005) and after (2006-07) the exit exam became a requirement for graduation from California high schools. They find that the CAHSEE requirement had no positive effects on students’ academic skills, and a large negative impact on graduation rates that fell disproportionally on minority students and on female students. The authors conclude that policymakers should reevaluate the utility of the high school exit exam in California’s accountability system.
This policy brief reviews the recent experience of the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) with the development and approval of Proposition A. Proposition A (also known as the Quality Teacher and Education Act, or QTEA) included a parcel tax mainly dedicated to increasing teachers’ salaries, along with a variety of measures introducing flexibility to the current salary schedule and strengthening accountability for teacher performance. Based on interviews with key stakeholders in the district, Hough describes how the district and union worked together in SFUSD both to increase general compensation and also to introduce new compensation strategies that support closer alignment between school district goals and expenditures for teacher salaries.
In June 2008 San Francisco voters approved Proposition A, a parcel tax initiative dedicated to improving teachers’ salaries in the San Francisco Unified School District. Proposition A also provided funding for a number of innovative teacher compensation programs, including extra pay for teachers in difficult-to-staff schools and difficult-to-fill subject areas. In this policy report, Heather Hough presents a comprehensive review of Proposition A, including the process of consultation, negotiation and compromise that led to its approval and an assessment of the programs that will be funded with parcel tax revenues. Her report is based on interviews with key participants in the development and passage of Proposition A, along with a review of public documents.
A new PACE Working Paper has been released in conjunction with our Learning About New Forms of Teacher Compensation Conference on March 30 and 31, 2009. Written by Julie Koppich and Jessica Rigby, this policy primer is designed to provide baseline information about new forms of teacher pay that are emerging around the country, to support the local conversations and negotiations that will lead to the development of innovative compensation systems. It identifies reasons why teacher compensation is high on local, state, and federal policy agendas, describes some of the new pay programs that have been implemented, and offers an initial analysis of what we are learning from these various and diverse pay experiments.
February 10, 2009 by pace |
In a new PACE Policy Brief, Katharine Strunk from the University of California-Davis analyzes the Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs) negotiated between school districts and local teachers’ unions in 464 California school districts. She shows that CBAs vary widely across districts, which suggests that school boards and unions are taking advantage of the flexibility inherent in contract negotiations to develop creative solutions to specific local problems. She also shows that CBAs in school districts educating high-need students are the least likely to include provisions that depart from conventional policies. She concludes by identifying three policy levers that the state can use to ensure that increased local flexibility is used to advance the interests of students: dissemination of information about ‘best practices,’ incentives for innovation on matters covered by CBAs, and sanctions for districts that abuse increased flexibility.
December 10, 2008 by pace |
Working paper series – California Builds Better Schools by PACE and the Center for Cities and Schools,
at the University of California, Berkeley.
California is midway through one of the grandest public infrastructure projects ever attempted.
Over the coming decade school officials will complete an $82 billion effort, building new
schools and renovating old facilities, supported by taxpayers and private investors. But are state
officials and local planners building schools mindfully to advance educational quality and lift
local communities?
October 2, 2008 by pace |
As the Year of Education draws to a close, PACE is reviving its signature publication, Conditions of Education in California, in order to sustain focus on the long-term comprehensive educational reforms that California needs. In this edition of Conditions of Education in California six of California’s leading policy scholars provide analysis of the urgent educational challenges facing our state. The six authors provide baseline data on the current performance of California’s schools and students, and make specific recommendations for policy changes that will support long-term improvement. PACE plans to resume regular publication of Conditions of Education in California in order to track California’s progress toward a more efficient and effective educational system.
