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This report focuses on three crucial questions about resources in California's K-12 schools: how resources (i.e., class size, curriculum, and teachers' education, credentials, and experiences) vary among schools; whether schools serving relatively disadvantaged populations tend to receive fewer resources; and whether existing inequalities in school resources contribute to unequal student outcomes. The authors conclude that schools with larger populations of economically disadvantaged students have fewer teaching resources as measured by teacher education, experience, and credentials, as well as the availability of advanced placement courses. Results also suggest that differences in the socioeconomic background of students explain most of the variation in academic achievement. Nine chapters discuss: (1) "Inequality in School Resources and Student Achievement: Overview of the Central Issues"; (2) "A Portrait of Average Resources in California Schools";(3) "The Distribution of Students and Resources"; (4) "Do California's Disadvantaged Students Receive Equal Resources?"; (5) "Geographic Disparities in School Resources"; (6) "Multivariate Regression Estimates of the Distribution of Resources Across and Within School Districts"; (7) "How Much Inequality Is There in California?"; (8) "Do Student Socioeconomic Status and School Resources Affect Student Achievement?"; and (9) "Policy Implications and Conclusions." Five appendixes present data on: data sources and distributions of school and student characteristics; resource distribution across student socioeconomic status: methodology and data; geographic data; resource distribution: regression results across and within districts; and STAR Test scores: data tables and regression results. (Contains 45 bibliographic references.) (SM)