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Reports


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Collage of 3 photos of students in school settings.
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| From strengthening early learning systems and tackling teacher shortages to advancing equitable school finance, LPI staff harness the power of research, collaboration, and communication to build an education system that serves every learner and transforms the ideals of equity and excellence into enduring realities for all.
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Two high school students working together on a laptop.
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| California’s Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), enacted in 2013, created a simpler and more equitable K-12 education finance system. Research indicates it has helped to improve student outcomes and points to challenges in its fiscal design and opportunities to strengthen it.
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A teacher helping a student on a laptop.
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| Equitable funding is vital to meet the needs of all students including English learners and low-income students, enabling targeted supports like bilingual education and social services. Understanding funding approaches and the resources needed to ensure meaningful learning opportunities is key to assessing whether states provide adequate support for student success.
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A teacher holding a plant while students view it with a microscope.
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| Summer learning plays a vital role in supporting students year-round. Recognized by the federal government as a key strategy for recovering from pandemic-related learning disruptions, it was supported through ESSR funds, which have now been spent or committed. Moving forward, lessons can be learned from states that have sustained their efforts.
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A teacher helping students finger paint.
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| California's strategies to address teacher shortages and strengthen the teacher workforce include the Teacher Residency Grant Program, Golden State Teacher Grant Program, and National Board Certified Teacher Incentive Program. Data on these strategies show early signs of improvement, but consistent and reliable funding is needed to continue the momentum.
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A teacher speaking with a student in a classroom.
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| About 40% of California's K-12 students speak a language other than English at home. Half of them receive English learner (EL) services for 5–7 years, but some students retain EL status longer. California recently reconfigured its dashboard to better understand what additional supports these students will need to reach their educational potential.
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A collage of a conventional classroom with children seated quietly and a group of students dynamically working with a teacher.
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| This report analyzes the evolution and effectiveness of standards-based reforms in U.S. education beginning with increased federal involvement through the 1965 Elementary and Secondary Education Act to more recent reforms, and explores the role of state governments in implementing systemic reforms aimed at aligning educational issues to enhance student outcomes.
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A group of students working collaboratively on an assignment in a library.
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| Studies link positive school climate to teacher outcomes such as retention and student outcomes, including increased academic achievement and attendance, higher graduation rates, improved behavior. As a result, more schools and districts are collecting and using climate data to improve school environments and inform policy and practice.
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A middle school student looking through a microscope.
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| Since the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act, state assessments have prioritized easily generated, comparable scores, often at the expense of teaching and learning. States looking to improve assessments can draw from those that have redesigned systems to align with research on student learning and student-centered instruction.
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Two high school students work together in science class holding up a model skeleton
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| A number of schools have been effective at rejecting the factory model and redesigning their systems to create safe environments with opportunities for exciting and rigorous academic work. Their successes have ideas in common, offering 10 important lessons for other schools.