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The new call for a universal preschool system is prompting an important policy debate across California. How preschooling is expanded and improved with limited public resources depends on several key issues. The hopeful ideals of "preschool for all"--with children beginning school ready to learn--spark enthusiasm and broaden public will. But tough policy questions must be addressed by early educators, parents, and policy makers: (1) Should California build and run a "universal system" of preschool, or should public support be targeted on these children who reap the greatest benefits and families who face the highest barriers to access? In other words, who will benefit and who should pay? (2) Who should operate universal preschool--local "schools" or the current "mixed market" of providers, including nonprofit centers and licensed family child-care homes? (3) How can the quality of preschool be improved? Does raising the credential levels of teachers yield discernible gains for children? Would other policy options more cost-effectively boost quality and children's development? (4) How should preschool be structured for diverse families? Does clearer specification of learning standards and the formalization of instruction inside preschools benefit children? Does more regimented instruction imply a single language and with what effects on non-English speaking children? This review considers evidence on these pivotal questions from around the nation, applying these findings to current debates in California. An appendix delineates specific questions that county and state agencies might consider as they attempt to assess the effects of their preschool initiatives. (Contains 104 endnotes, 3 tables, and 2 figures.)

This seventh annual report examines the status of the teaching profession in California. These reports are meant to provide California policymakers with objective and timely data on the state's teacher workforce. Chapter 1 reviews student achievement trends in the state and then provides an overview of federal and state policies, including highlights from this year's budget and legislation. Chapter 2 examines current trends in the supply, demand, and distribution of teachers. Chapter 3 provides details on the impact of recent policy changes on the teacher development system, and Chapter 4 highlights themes that emerge from the new policies and programs and assesses the adequacy of the state's efforts. Chapter 5 provides recommendations for next steps to ensure that the state continues to build on the efforts begun this year. Appended are: (1) Source and Technical Information for Selected Exhibits; and (2) NCLB Compliant and Noncompliant California Credentials. [For the 2004 edition of this report, see ED483256.] (Contains 49 exhibits and 23 footnotes.)

During the past two years, three independent studies--conducted by Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE), American Institutes for Research (AIR), and the Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE)--have examined the accomplishments, shortcomings, and continuing challenges of California's Public Schools Accountability Act (PSAA). This brief outlines common findings in the experiences of teachers, principals, and district administrators in implementing PSAA and recommendations across the three independent studies. Some of the key findings include: (1) Educators reported a renewed and unparalleled focus on improving student achievement and low-performing schools, also evidenced by rising test scores; (2) Effective use of data to inform practice was sporadic--Many educators lacked the skills, capacity, or time to analyze, understand, and respond to data on achievement gaps; and (3) District policy and context significantly influenced PSAA implementation, instructional improvement, and student achievement. [This report also funded by the Noyce Foundation.]

Since the approval of the No Child Left Behind Act, there have been new ways of evaluating student success. Evaluation is based on progress or improvement, not only on achievement. This report describes a study that examined student progress, or sustained improvement, in California over a 2-year period (1999-2000). In analyzing sustained improvement, the study looked at California Academic Performance Index scores in low-performing schools. The study took into account demographic and school-level variables known to relate strongly to student achievement. The report explores three issues: (1) how to conceptualize and measure sustained improvement in California public schools; (2) how the way sustained improvement is conceptualized affects schools that exhibit sustained improvement; and (3) how well predictors of student achievement relate to sustained improvement measures. The study found that the variables most commonly associated with achievement test scores were not particularly helpful in explaining sustained improvement. Social and demographic measures were not predictive of sustained improvement. Also, a potential influence on sustained improvement could be school-district support. Finally, conceptualizing and measuring sustained improvement can be approached in a variety of ways, and further research is warranted. (Contains 9 tables and 11 references.) (WFA)

Early proponents of charter schools argued that these human-scale organizations would help close the achievement gap. This paper examines survey data from principals of 1,010 charter schools nationwide during the 1999-2000 school year, along with 2,847 teachers in the same schools. Issues considered include how local activists and charter-school movement leaders define fairness in public education; how schools vary in basic resource levels, teacher quality, and support for low-achieving or disabled students; disparities linked to charter-school type; disparities linked to the ethnic makeup of schools; and gaps between charter and regular public schools. Sadly, charter schools suffer from inequities in basic resources, teacher quality, and student support that mirror disparate realities of regular public schools. The vast majority of charter schools fail to identify children with special learning needs, or prove not to be inviting places for these students. Policymakers should think carefully about how to distribute basic resources and qualified teachers more fairly. States should consider regulating charter schools against more careful quality standards. Two appendices contain relevant statistics and a discussion about which school attributes explain the variation seen in equity measures. (RT)

This progress report highlights findings from the first year of a 3-year evaluation of the Matching Funds for Retention program, a child-care retention incentive (CRI) program. It includes initial rates of professional development, training, and retention of 677 program participants in four California counties (Napa, San Luis Obispo, Siskiyou, and Ventura). Specifically, the report provides preliminary information on the following: the types of CRI programs designed by the counties; the characteristics of program participants and how the program design is associated with these characteristics; the number of children the CRI services; the number of participants who work with infants and toddlers, children with special needs, or children whose primary language is not English; the types of training activities the programs are engaging; and whether CRI programs encourage retention with the early-care and education work force. Data for the evaluation were gathered through telephone surveys of project participants and information on program costs in the four target counties. Additionally, demographic and work-characteristics data on program participants in 14 other counties were analyzed. Thus both quantitative and qualitative studies were completed. (Contains 3 tables, 2 figures, and 17 endnotes, some of which contain references.) (WFA)

Over half of this nation's children 5 years and under are in nonparental care while their parents work. Research indicates that children benefit from being with well-trained, consistent early care and education staff. Staff retention is crucial because frequent turnover impedes the formation of positive nurturing relationships between caregivers and children and the benefits that accompany such relationships. This study examined the relationship between wage and turnover rate in two California counties that have child-care retention incentive (CRI) programs that award stipends to caregivers. A San Mateo County non-CRI program was used as a control program. This progress report focuses on the first year of data collection (2001). Telephone surveys were used to collect data, which were subsequently analyzed statistically. Results show that CRI recipients generally had higher levels of education, were more likely to participate in training and professional development than the control group, and were more likely to be retained in their child-care centers. Providing accessible, affordable, and high-quality training for CRI recipients is essential. Areas for future research include investigating how CRI programs affect training and retention, and whether and how these programs improve the quality of care. (RT)

Research shows that children benefit when they are served by stable and highly trained center-based staff and caregivers. Responding to the unequal distribution of child-care supply across the state and a need for well-trained caregivers, First 5 California approved an initiative to train early care and education (ECE) staff using different project models. This brief evaluates six demonstration projects. The aims of these projects include recruiting staff, reducing barriers to progress or completion of training, increasing retention in the ECE field, and building local capacity and infrastructure for coordinated training and retention efforts. PACE is evaluating the models between January 2001 and July 2003. Respondents participate in telephone interviews, data from which are analyzed using descriptive methods. Results show that participants are ethnically diverse. Overall, the majority of participants live with a partner or spouse and have children. Many new trainees require extensive counseling and informal support. Lack of financial aid is a crucial barrier. Each project addresses these challenges differently. Innovative practices for recruiting, supporting, and retaining participants; policy implications; and areas for future research are discussed. (RT)

In this report on California's teaching force, the authors make two main points: (1) The state needs but does not yet have a system of teacher development that ensures that all who enter the classroom have the knowledge and skills they need to get their students to reach the academic standards the state has set; and (2) The existing distribution of teachers is unfair: the students who live in California's poorest communities, who are in need of the best teachers, are assigned to teachers who are the least prepared to meet their needs. The report is a brief summary of a longer report of substantial new research that examines the size, distribution, preparation, induction, and professional training of California teachers. [This report was produced in part by the Office of the Chancellor of California State University and by the Office of the President of the University of California. It is based on "The Status of the Teaching Profession 2003: Research Findings and Policy Recommendations." Additional funding provided by Washington Mutual. For full report, see ED499333.]

This policy brief examines programs from California and elsewhere in the United States for attracting and retaining quality preschool and child-care staff and places these programs within the broader context of K-12 reforms. While this brief is specifically aimed at early-childhood-education planners and policymakers, it contains information for educators at all levels about experimental efforts and lessons on systemwide reform. The brief reviews the evidence on the scope and effectiveness of existing K-12 recruitment and retention policy strategies in the United States to determine those that may be transferable to early education. It begins with a broad review of what is known about these state initiatives. It then provides detailed examples and analyses for each program area from education nonprofit and research centers. It then reviews the evidence to determine the variety and effectiveness of existing programs. Few of the programs highlighted have been formally evaluated, and fewer still have collected data on cost-effectiveness. Finally, the brief returns to the question of how these program models may or may not fit the problem of teacher and staff turnover in the early-care and education arenas. (Contains 7 endnotes, 7 tables, and 62 references.) (WFA)

This report examines how state welfare-to-work programs have affected young children since the 1996 welfare reform act, which moved millions of women into low-wage jobs. Researchers followed a sample of 948 mothers and young children for 2-4 years after the women entered new welfare programs in California, Connecticut, and Florida. After interviews with these mothers, assessments of their children's development, and visits to homes and child care settings, several findings emerged. Many women had moved into low-wage jobs. Though their total income had risen significantly, most still lived below the poverty line. Related measures of economic wellbeing showed little improvement. For example, almost one-fifth of mothers had recently cut the size of meals because they did not have enough money to buy more food. The magnitude of income gains was too weak to improve home environments or allow women to move to better neighborhoods. Mothers were spending less time with their children as they went out to work. They displayed twice the national rate of clinical depression. Many children had moved into new child care centers and preschools. Those who move to center-based programs displayed significantly stronger cognitive and school readiness skills than children who remained in home-based programs. Measures and national norms are appended. (Contains 150 endnotes.) (SM)

Against the backdrop of evolving welfare policies in California following the approval of federal welfare reforms in 1996, the Growing Up in Poverty Project is examining how single mothers and their children fare as they move from cash aid to jobs, the types and quality of child care arrangements selected, and if mothers' access to child care subsidies bolsters their employability. This paper reports on wave 1 data, collected in 1998 from the 410 participating mothers residing in San Francisco or Santa Clara county. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and observations of each child's child care or preschool setting. Comparative quality data were obtained from 176 centers and family child care homes in the Bay Area and in Connecticut during 1997. Findings indicate that child care centers and preschools were of moderate to high quality. The array of child activities and educational content of home-based settings was not impressive. Areas of quality weakness include the provision of ample language and reading materials, and time to read and exercise communication skills with young children. Mothers reported that kith and kin were more respectful of their own parenting practices than were child care centers or preschools and were more flexible in terms of when the caregiver was available. They also believed that the child received more individual attention, compared to those using centers. Women who selected child care centers or preschools often received subsidies to cover the cost. Only a small fraction of women selecting home-based arrangements took advantage of available subsidies. Several risk factors were associated with this pattern: (1) having an infant or young toddler rather than a child over age 3; (2) coming from a Latino or Vietnamese-American community; (3) having spent less time on welfare; and (4) living in a neighborhood with fewer center-based enrollment slots. Appended are descriptive statistics for quality data for both counties. (Author/KB)

Noting that the quality of child care and early education available to lower-income families has received considerable attention over the past decade, this study explored variability in the quality of California day care centers and preschools. Participating in the study were 170 centers and preschools situated among 20 California zip codes, clustered in three counties: Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Santa Clara. All the zip codes selected contained significant concentrations of lower-income families. Findings indicated that the majority of centers displayed high levels of quality along structural measures, such as class size, the ratio of children per adult, and staff education levels. About one in six failed to meet recommended quality standards. Some quality indicators were slightly lower for centers located in communities with less supply, possibly due to directors' attempts to accommodate greater family demand for enrollment slots. Center quality was not consistently influenced by community conditions such as poverty levels, ethnic composition, or maternal employment rates. Quality was higher among centers receiving stronger flows of public subsidies. Analysis of findings centered around the success of state agencies in building high quality among centers in lower-income communities as well as the policy challenges that remain. Maps indicating the sampled communities by zip code are appended. (Contains 14 references.) (KB)

With family demand for child care outpacing supply, California state and local policymakers want to learn how best to target resources on those neighborhoods most in need. Using the findings from two recent studies in Los Angeles County, this policy brief provides an overview of some of the options facing policymakers as they address issues of child care supply and demand. The brief discusses factors contributing to puzzling conclusions for those tracking the child care market, including licensed providers who do not want to care for as many children as they are licensed to have, parents who do not want to use licensed providers, conflicting information from different databases, and changing demographics. The brief notes that over 50 percent of the centers in Los Angeles County have waiting lists, suggesting that the openings that do exist are not meeting parents' needs. Parents who work nontraditional schedules are more likely to find care in child care homes than in centers. Only 28 percent of centers are able to accept children with severe special needs, and many providers are not serving children in their native languages. A lack of transportation is also a barrier to using available child care slots. The brief concludes by asserting that additional study is needed to examine why families needing child care do not use available spaces in licensed facilities, why many do not use subsidies to which they are entitled, and the extent of organized programs that are exempt from licensing regulations but serve a child care function, such as parks and recreation activities. (KB)

This policy analysis presents the "new-school" finance, one that, in contrast to most discussions about funding that have concentrated on spending patterns only, asks how resources are used within schools and classrooms, and whether they are used in ways that can enhance educational outcomes. The analysis, directed toward policymakers and educators in California, reviews a variety of literatures from different areas of education to clarify the implications of this new-school perspective for policymakers, administrators, and researchers. The first section details the political and organizational features of schools that lead to resources being spent with no potential effects on outcome. The second section reviews literature that reports on efforts to move beyond discussions of spending to more detailed analyses of resource use, including educational production functions, school-effectiveness research, and identifying effective teaching conditions. The next three sections detail the implications of the research for researchers, educators, administrators, and policymakers. The analysis concludes that without the kind of political changes necessary for the new-school finance to emerge, spending for education will keep escalating without much improvement to show for it. (Contains 2 tables, 29 endnotes, and 121 references.) (WFA)

Because many parents who are eligible for child care subsidies do not use them, many state and local leaders are trying to determine why families are not more eager to participate and how their agencies can become more accommodating. This policy brief, drawn from data obtained through the Growing Up in Poverty Project and interviews with county welfare and child care administrators and advocates, examines variations in the use of child care subsidies and provides examples of effective programs and policy strategies. The brief provides background information about the nature and importance of child care assistance under welfare reform. Next, the brief discusses possible reasons for low levels of parents' use of subsidies, including the equation of subsidy use with center care, parents' unwillingness to become entangled with the welfare bureaucracy, and lack of information on the program. Finally, the brief presents an array of novel strategies devised by local agencies to increase subsidy utilization: (1) creation of a state child care guarantee; (2) expansion of local child care organizations; (3) creation of adequate payment rates and affordable parent fees; (4) frequent review of family caseloads; (5) co-location of child care staff at welfare offices; (6) effective child care orientations; (7) cross training of welfare and child care staff; and (8) parent outreach and engagement. (KB)

This report details a study that sought to answer whether welfare reform was meeting its goals of reducing mothers' dependency and boosting children's futures, and whether these reforms were having discernable effects on young children. During the second half of 1998, the study randomly selected 948 single mothers with young children from 5 cities: San Francisco or San Jose, California; Manchester or New Haven, Connecticut; and Tampa, Florida. Participating women in California and Florida had been enrolled for 6 months in new welfare programs. In Connecticut, experimental and control groups were compared 18 months after they had entered the new or old program. Findings from the first wave of data collection stem from interviews of the mothers; visits to their child care providers, both centers and individual caregivers; and assessments of children's early language and social development. Findings on how children are faring under welfare reform include the following: (1) young children are moving into low-quality child care settings as their mothers move from welfare to work; (2) child care subsidies reach unequal fractions of poor families and encourage the use of unlicensed care; and (3) young children's early learning and development is limited by uneven parenting practices and high rates of maternal depression. Findings on how mothers are faring under welfare reform include the following: (1) a sizable share of women are moving into jobs; (2) wages are low and household economies remain impoverished; and (3) levels of economic and social support gained by the women are uneven. Following an executive summary, contents of this report are: (1) "Project Aims," answering, "How are children and mothers faring under welfare reform?" (2) "Mothers' Attributes," answering, "Who are the women entering new welfare programs?" (3) "States and Neighborhoods," answering, "How do job markets, welfare rules, and child care contexts differ?" (4) "Homes and Parenting," answering, "How well do families function?" (5) "Family Economy," answering, "How do women get by economically?" (6) "Maternal and Child Health," answering, "What gaps exist in access to insurance and clinical services?" (7) "Welfare to Work," answering "How do women engage new welfare rules and jobs?" (8) "Child Care," answering, "Where do young children now spend their days?" and (9) "Early Learning," answering, "How well are children growing and developing?" Two articles are appended: (1) "Evaluating Connecticut Welfare Reform: MDRC and Yale-Berkeley Studies"; and (2) "Comparing GUP Children, Mothers, and Child Care Quality to National Norms." (EV)

This study examined three important aspects of student mobility (incidence, consequences, and causes) as they apply to students and schools in California, especially at the secondary level. The study drew on an extensive set of data on California students, parents, and schools that included surveys of 1,114 8th graders followed over 6 years as part of the National Education Longitudinal Study, surveys of 10th graders in 56 schools (part of the High School Effectiveness Study), interviews with 19 mobile high school students and their parents, and interviews with 32 educators. Mobility rates of California students are generally higher than elsewhere in the United States. Almost 75% of California students made unscheduled school changes between grades 1 and 12, compared to 60% of the rest of the United States. Student mobility is prevalent among all ethnic and immigrant groups in California. Overall, only half of high school changes result from changes in family residence. In fact, students themselves often initiate changes at the high school level. Findings indicate that students suffer psychologically, socially, and academically from mobility. Mobility also has effects on classrooms and schools that must deal with mobile students. Some suggestions are made for reducing student mobility and coping with it when it does occur. An appendix contains tables of study data. (Contains 12 tables, 13 figures, and 67 references.) (SLD)

School choice, as one avenue toward educational reform, must be placed in context, according to this brief policy analysis. Prepared mainly for policymakers in California and stressing implications for public education in California, the report briefly discusses five samples of school choice: (1) magnet schools; (2) charter schools; (3) open enrollment; (4) voucher experiments; and (5) tax credits for private-school enrollment. The report describes how these choice mechanisms are intended to work and what is known about their actual effects on students, parents, and local educators. One key finding is that the claims made by advocates of choice programs far exceed the hard evidence required to judge actual results. The report also touches on accountability as a reform strategy and urges policymakers and local interest groups to consider accountability reforms alongside the desire to spawn more diverse forms of schooling. (WFA)

This report provides findings from a study that aimed to identity: (1) the impact of charter schools on school districts; (2) the ways school districts had responded; and (3) whether districts had experienced systemic change as a result of charter laws and the opening of charter schools. The study was conducted in 1997, six years into the nation's experiment with charter schools. It focused on eight states and the District of Columbia and included case studies of 25 school districts affected by charter schools. The study revealed the following primary impacts: (1) the loss of students and often an accompanying loss of financing; (2) the loss of a particular kind of student to niche-focused charter schools; (3) the departure of significant numbers of disgruntled parents; (4) shifts in staff morale; (5) the redistribution of some central office administrators' time and increased challenges predicting student enrollment and planning grade-level placement. Of the 25 case-study districts in this research study, almost half (12 or 48%) had experienced either strong (five or 20%) or moderate (seven or 28%) impact from charter schools and slightly more than half (13 or 52%) had experienced either no impact (nine or 36%) or mild impact (four or 16%). Large urban districts had experienced significantly less impact from charters than rural, suburban, and small urban districts. (AA)

In July 1996, California began its Class Size Reduction (CSR) Initiative. To gauge the effectiveness of this initiative, an analysis of its objectives and an overview of proposed strategies for evaluating CSR are presented here. An outline of the major challenges that stand between CSR and its mission are provided. These include logistical challenges, financial challenges, the impact on teaching and learning, unanswered questions in the literature, and the value of a systematic evaluation of the program. The text outlines the design and key research questions that must be addressed by any evaluation plan and recommends six principles that call for a single, integrated evaluation; a comprehensive review; and a summative evaluation. A conceptual model of the evaluation plan is also provided. Overviews of how CSR will affect the following areas are included: state, district, and school policymaking; resource allocation; integration with other reforms; teacher quality, assignment, and training; classroom practices; parental involvement; and student outcomes. It is claimed that students' engagement with schooling, as measured by attendance, promotion/retention, homework completion, and frequency of disciplinary actions, may also change with the introduction of reduced class size and therefore should be assessed as part of the evaluation of student outcomes. A methodology section discusses evaluating the implementation of the class size reduction initiative with discussion on overall design, data collection, sampling, data analyses, an advisory board, and deliverables. Contains 29 references. An appendix discusses the importance of evaluating class size reduction to California educational policy. (RJM)

When California implemented its class-size reduction (CSR) program in 1996, a number of questions regarding financial burdens, teacher shortages, scarcity of facilities, and collective bargaining were raised. This first-year implementation study aims to provide some contextual information as background for answering questions, to clarify these issues and to provide a more comprehensive, long-term evaluation of CSR, contextual information. In section 1, the introduction examines the status of the class-size reduction initiative and discusses what the research says. Section 2 provides the study design and then describes the major findings, focusing on the effects on special populations, on staff development, on classroom practices, on parent involvement, and on implementation challenges. Section 3 contains detailed coverage of findings in these same areas of focus. Section 4 provides an overview of policy and research implications of CSR. The emphasis throughout the report is on the perceptions of school-level educators, so as to provide evidence of how CSR unfolded in particular schools across California in its first year of implementation. Findings show that district officials, teachers, principals, and coordinators generally believe that CSR will lead to high student achievement. Some specific areas of CSR that warrant more careful evaluation are provided. (Contains 36 endnotes and 51 references.) (RJM)

This case study describes the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) Intern Program, which utilizes an alternative route to teacher certification in order to meet the teacher recruitment and training needs of a large urban multicultural school district. Findings suggest that between 1984 and 1990 the program recruited 1,100 new teachers to the district in subject shortage areas; the percentage of teachers participating in the intern program was increased and the percentage of emergency credential teachers was reduced; a significant proportion of intern teachers are predisposed to teach in an urban setting in schools with high percentages of low-income and minority students; minority teachers are recruited at a much higher rate than the percentage recruited through traditional university routes; and alternative route interns hold higher expectations for low-income and minority students than do traditional university program recruits. Though not considered a replacement for college-based teacher education, the program provides comprehensive, on-the-job professional training which is context-specific and focuses on preparing teachers to work in the Los Angeles public schools, teaching according to the practices and procedures advanced by that district. (LL)

Since 1987, 12 California school districts and their teachers' unions have experimented with a new form of labor accord called an Educational Policy Trust Agreement. The project helps teachers, as represented by their unions, and school management to reach agreements on issues that are not included within the scope of traditional collective bargaining. Agreements cover topics such as teacher evaluation, staff development, site-based management, and curriculum development. The pilot trust agreement study tests the proposition that labor relations and school reform can be linked effectively. The initial results are encouraging. Trust agreements involve long-term, comprehensive changes in the school district decision-making process and facilitate collective responsibility for educational processes and outcomes. Appendices contain explanations and proposals of eight trust agreement projects. (LMI)

California's Partnership Academies, which are conducted under the sponsorship of the state and aimed at dropout prevention for at-risk high school students, combine a modified curriculum and structure with the following elements: (1) a student selection process designed to enroll students with potential, but whose past performance places them at risk of dropping out; (2) a school-within-a-school administrative structure; (3) job training in a high-demand labor market field; (4) strong support from local business; and (5) both school and district program support. The academies are supported by three-way partnerships between the local school, local business, and the State of California. Evaluation information was gathered from a telephone survey of June 1988 graduates of 8 of the 12 academies operating from 1985 through 1988. The following findings are reported: (1) fewer academy students dropped out in their senior year than students in a comparison group of regular high school students; (2) most graduates of both the academies and the regular schools are continuing their education and somewhat more academy graduates are enrolled in degree programs; (3) about two-thirds of both academy and regular school graduates are working about 30 hours per week but, among those graduates who both work and attend school, the academy graduates began with higher wages than the regular graduates and the wage difference between the two groups increased over time; and (4) both groups reported being "fairly well" satisfied with their high school preparation and achievements since graduation. Statistical data are presented in 10 tables. The survey questionnaire and a list of six related reports are appended. (FMW)

Results of this study will be used to assess the possibilities and limitations of staff development as an instrument of state and local policy for improving educational quality in the public schools in California. Four basic questions were addressed: (1) What is the total California taxpayer investment in staff development and what forms do the investments take? (2) How are staff development activities administered, organized, delivered and evaluated; and by what approaches do these activities achieve their goals? (3) How do teachers and administrators judge the quality and effectiveness of the staff development activities in which they participate? and (4) What policy and program options might the state pursue in order to improve the classroom benefit associated with staff development? Four main data sources form the basis of this report: (1) descriptions of local patterns of staff development; (2) teacher and administrator surveys; (3) survey of districts and counties; and (4) state-level program descriptions and evaluations. This report provides an overview of the main conclusions and the policy issues and alternatives related to the established state obligations for continuing education for teachers. (JD)

This staff delivery policy study was initiated by the legislature and governor in response to a steady escalation in the number and costs of staff development programs in the California public schools. The report is based on four main data sources: (1) descriptions of local patterns of staff development; (2) teacher and administrator surveys; (3) survey of districts and counties; and (4) state-level program descriptions and evaluations. Detailed information on the year-long study is contained in six chapters: (1) summary of findings and overview of the study; (2) summary of staff development investment by taxpayers; (3) the organization and delivery of staff development; (4) teachers participation in and appraisal of staff development; (5) staff development for administrators; and (6) policy issues and alternatives. More specific data are presented on appended tables, and references are included. (JD)

This study presents California's recent history of public revenue funding for elementary and secondary education and projects the state's educational and fiscal needs for the next five years. California has experienced a roller-coaster pattern in funding support since 1978, the year of Proposition 13. School financing declined from a position of national leadership in the 1960s to below the national average--a level inadequate for the increasingly high-technology economy. The state began working toward improved educational quality in 1983 by demanding more of teachers and students and by providing new funding, achieving a constant funding level during 1983-85. The second section analyzes educational issues for the next five years: implementation of reform, changing student demographics, high school dropout rate, decline in quantity and quality of people entering and remaining in teaching, and capital construction. The final section summarizes revenue needs for these issues, including growth projections and strategies for raising revenue. In spite of the beneficial effects of the reform, the present challenge is to maintain a high priority for education, and to continue additional funding. (CJH)

This technical report is the second edition of "Conditions of Education in California," and contains 53 figures and tables of data that range from student test performances to state revenue projections. Following a summary of state education highlights, the section "The Evolving Context of California Education" presents past, present and future issues. Despite improvements resulting from recent major educational reform, school financing is returning to 1979-80 levels; the researchers argue that taxpayer sacrifices may be necessary. This section gives an overview of factors affecting the state's educational future. including teacher shortages and economic conditions. The next section, "Student Enrollment, Ethnicity, and Language" discusses enrollment projections and the roles of state ethnic populations and their languages. "Student Performance" analyzes test scores as reflections of achievement and minority student test performance. Measures include the California Assessment Program and the Scholastic Aptitude Test. Test scores are supplemented by such data as student absenteeism rates and admissions to postsecondary institutions. The section "Curriculum and School Reform" includes descriptions of teacher programs and salaries and the School Based Program Coordination Act. "Human Resources" evaluates teachers' salaries relative to workloads. The final section, "Fiscal Resources," offers national comparisons of funding, enrollment projections, and fiscal needs. Four pages of references are included. (CJH)

Eleventh- and twelfth-grade students in California comprehensive high schools and Regional Occupational Centers/Programs spend about one million hours a day on vocational education. California students who took a concentrated sequence of high school vocational subjects during 1981 had a 26 percent unemployment rate in the spring of 1982, compared to a 23 percent unemployment rate among all 16- to 19-year-olds and 27 percent unemployment rate among high school dropouts. Evidently, high school vocational training did not give students any relative advantage in finding jobs after they graduated, nor was it effective in dropout prevention. Furthermore, there is no evident way in which reallocating resources among existing high school vocational programs would bring about much improvement in labor market outcomes for graduates. Instead, fundamental changes should be made in vocational education at the secondary level. Comprehensive high schools should stop trying to provide skill training for entry-level jobs and instead should use vocational education to prepare young people for a working life of continual learning, problem solving, and communicating. To accomplish this broader purpose, vocational education should include all students at some point in their high school career. The success of vocational education in high schools should be measured by improved performance in academic subjects, lower dropout rates, and lifelong gains in productivity at work. (KC)

The purposes of the Trust Agreement Project are to develop new forms of school organization and new patterns of relationships among teachers and school administrators, and to expand the range of labor-management discussions in education. Six California school districts participated in this experiment by selecting an area of educational policy in which each would attempt to craft a trust agreement. Lompoc, Poway, and Santa Cruz designated the area of peer assistance and review. Newport-Mesa chose staff development, and Petaluma selected the general area of staff evaluation. San Francisco chose to develop two trust agreements: a career development program for teachers' aides, and an elementary school level interdisciplinary literature-based reading program involving a single elementary school. Trust agreements developed have begun to alter the ways in which organizational decisions are made. Adversarial relationships have begun to give way to collaboration. Teachers are being included as partners in decisions about the structure and method of operation of school districts. The work of each trust agreement district is described. Subsequent sections of the report provide additional analysis of lessons learned this year and plans for the future. The appendix lists project participants by district. (15 references). (MLF)

This report details inequities in how preschool and child care opportunities are distributed among 4 California counties, across communities situated within these counties, and among the state's 200 localities with the most families receiving welfare benefits. Analysis of uniform data on the state's 8,831 licensed preschools and 30,730 family child care homes reveals: (1) a family's opportunity to enroll a youngster in a preschool or child care program depends largely on the family's income and location--in some counties, most notably Los Angeles, affluent parents are twice as likely to find a preschool or child care slot in their community than those residing in poor areas; (2) counties vary enormously in their supply of early education and child care programs; (3) only San Francisco has been able to de-link family income from local availability of preschool and child care programs--other counties with high average supply, such as Santa Clara County, display unequal availability of supply between affluent and poor communities; (4) Latino children are hit hardest by this disparity in early education opportunities, even after taking into account indicators of need or demand--among the state's poorest communities, preschool supply in predominantly Latino areas is half the average supply observed in low-income black or Anglo communities. (Contains several tables and graphs and 35 references.) (Author/EV)

To maintain the current level of educational services for pregnant and parenting adolescents in California, 800 more openings will be needed by 1992. The increase will be necessary to accommodate the state's youngest mothers' (those from 14 to 15 years old) increasing birth rate. A telephone survey, conducted in December 1986 and January 1987, of 144 head teachers or program managers of California's 247 teen mother education programs was undertaken to identify the types of existing programs, to solicit suggestions for program improvement, and to assess the implementation costs of a comprehensive program. An additional mail survey of junior and senior high schools was conducted to estimate the numbers of pregnant or mothering teens and the associated dropout rates. Enrollment in classroom-oriented programs accounted for 61 percent of the teen mothers, while 30 percent attended pullout programs that mainstreamed the students but provided an additional special class or classes for one or more periods a day. Recommendations to improve teen mother educational programs include enhanced provision of childcare, additional support for transportation services, and expanding onsite counseling and health care. An appendix and nine tables are provided. (KM)

In the fall of 1985, 10 academy programs were established by the State of California as replications of the Peninsula Academies already operating in a local school district for four years. An academy is a modified high school program with the following specific elements, among others: (1) students with academic potential who are at risk of dropping out; (2) a school-within-a-school administrative structure for grades 10-12; (3) technical courses to provide students with job skills; and (4) support from local businesses. This report evaluates the academies' 1986-87 school year. Among the conclusions were the following: (1) the academy program model is capable of producing substantial positive effects on participating students, but developing an effective program is difficult; (2) attitude improvements among students were registered at most sites; (3) at three sites, program students registered significant improvements on objective measures of school performance; (4) the ability of the academy model to accomplish these outcomes is not limited to socially and economically congenial settings; (5) overall, the academies have been successful in helping students compile better academic records, but appear to have no significant effect on attendance and dropout rates; and (6) these findings are generally consistent with those determined in the 1985-86 evaluation of the programs. Recommendations are offered for program improvement and future evaluation. Tables illustrate the data. Appendices provide student outcomes by site, the text of the Academies Bill SB 605, and a multivariate analysis of program effects. (BJV)

The Peninsula Academies is a three-year high school program for at-risk students, designed to provide them with incentives both to graduate and to acquire labor market-relevant skills. An academy combines academic and technical training in a school-within-a-school setting, and is based on school-business partnerships. In the fall of 1985, 10 academy programs were established by the State of California as replications of the Peninsula Academies that had been in operation in a local school district for four years. This report evaluates the statewide academies' first operational year. Among the conclusions are the following: (1) the Academy concept can produce important gains in the attendance, grades, earned credits, and reduced dropouts of at-risk high school students; (2) Academy students improved their attendance by 5 to 18 percent, their retention by 5 to 15 percent, and their grade point averages by more than a full point; (3) Academy students' attitudes towards school and their self-esteem improved significantly; (4) students liked the Academies significantly better than their regular high school program; (5) students did not have more precise post-graduate plans as a result of the academies; and (6) substantial improvements are needed in both program operations and evaluation procedures. Recommendations are offered for program improvement and future evaluation. Tables illustrate the data. A short list of references is included. An appendix provides technical notes. (BJV)

This study's investigator concludes that expenditures for elementary and secondary education in California must rise by 59 percent by the end of the decade to maintain the present level of per student spending and to meet forecasted educational improvement needs. Revenue funding and demographic projections presented indicate inadequate revenues for improvements. Key factors discussed and presented in tables are population, student enrollments, personal income, and inflation. The report evaluates all governmental revenue sources, noting that real revenues per student have increased only 12.7 percent during the last decade and that the purchasing power of K-12 revenues has declined. State revenues supply a majority of K-12 dollars, but revenues derived from personal income have dropped 29.1 percent, reflecting a national trend. Public school enrollments are projected to grow yearly through 1990. The report argues that this larger student population will require a significant increase in number of teachers to maintain the national average pupil-teacher ratio of 17.1 to 1. Alternative funding scenarios are considered and rejected as unlikely. The conclusion is that a demand for educational improvements in the form of real tax revenues per capita will not occur, nor will competing revenue demands from other state programs diminish. (CJH)

This report explores issues surrounding the present governance structure of teacher credentialing in California and considers alternative structures to improve governance in the teaching profession. The study discusses the present credentialing structure, credentialing problems, and criticisms of the Commission on Teacher Credentialing, a body independent from the California State Department of Education (CSDE) and superintendent of public instruction. Standards for teacher preparation and credentialing are the commission's responsibility, but it has demonstrated an inability to set goals, address major policy issues, and provide leadership. Since credentialing is a burdensome process, it primarily verifies a candidate's minimum specified requirements. The researcher argues that the only current assurance of teaching quality--completion of an approved teacher training program--is inadequate to meet projected educational demands. Alternative governance structures considered include returning credentialing to the CSDE and placing the commission within the department as a semiautonomous agency. Following the conclusion are five appendixes, including a history of the development of credentialing in California and a response to this report by the Commission on Teacher Credentialing. A biblography with 41 references is appended. (CJH)

This paper contends that the state of California is not currently fulfilling its obligation to facilitate the preparation of sufficient numbers of able school administrators. The first section addresses administrator supply and demand. The number of individuals holding administrative services credentials (ASC) far outnumbers available administrative positions because of the low costs of training, the high payoff in lifetime earning (relative to teaching), and the lack of rigorous admission requirements to administrator training programs in schools of education. The second major section accordingly addresses administrator preparation. Admission standards are evaluated, along with administrative services credential training, and a comparison is drawn between preparation of business and school leaders. Finally, institutional costs are assessed. Three major conclusions are offered: (1) there is an oversupply of trained administrators; (2) from the state's perspective, this oversupply wastes money; and (3) ASC training has been inappropriate for many of the actual job requirements of school administrators. The paper concludes with nine recommendations for policy change, which include making ASC programs more academically rigorous, licensing school administrators individually, and discontinuing some publicly supported training institutions. Two appendixes are included: (1) estimating supply and demand for administrators and (2) estimating rates of return on investment in ASC training. (TE)

Students have needs for counseling assistance in the areas of understanding themselves, relating to others, getting through school, and planning for college or work. Guidance programs often react to student problems rather than prevent them. California Senate Bill 813 provided $20 per tenth grade student to assure that each student would receive a review of academic progress and counseling related to educational options in the hope that students would be better prepared for the next step after high school. Typically, each student and his or her parent had 30 minutes of counseling. Counseling priority was given to students at risk of dropping out. Students with college potential but who were not college bound were often identified and were in need of concerted guidance efforts. Although tenth grade is a valid check point to find out who will graduate and who will not, dropout-prone youth could be identified as early as sixth grade. Counseling measures need to be reinforced to maximize student potential. Schools did an admirable job of seeing the majority of students and available parents. Follow-up interviews of students may yield data supporting the effectiveness of the program. (Appendices include a statistical report on a survey of the results of the counseling services provided by SB 813 and the text of the bill itself.) (ABL)

This monograph presents analyses of some of the factors that impinge upon the quality of schooling in California. The first section addresses teacher certification and professional standards; it touches briefly upon the matter of raising teacher salaries and improving teacher career structures. The teacher's role in classroom quality control is considered in section two. Findings are presented from studies on teacher behavior and pupil progress and students' involvement with the learning process. In the third section, the selection of teachers is discussed within the framework of the decline of teacher quality and state approval of teacher education programs. The state's role in assuring teacher academic competence is considered with recommendations on examinations for teacher candidates and entrance requirements for teacher education programs. The fourth section examines state policy in the preparation of teachers with recommendations on restructuring schools of education and facilitating the entry of first year teachers. The final section explores how to retain good teachers in the classroom. Five recommendations for improving teacher preparation programs and the teaching profession are offered. A four-page bibliography concludes the document. (JD)

Findings are presented of the responses of over 800 teachers to a questionnaire seeking opinions on (1) working conditions; (2) support and assistance from peers, administrators, and parents; (3) participation in decision making; and (4) reform proposals. Responses to the survey indicated that the majority of teachers (1) support many reform proposals, including professional career ladders and preservice examinations; (2) feel they do not have sufficient decision-making authority; (3) say they could improve their teaching by working more closely with their colleagues; (4) report they must often do without needed books, materials, and supplies; and (5) display a remarkable commonality about what teaching ought to be. Findings are displayed in tables that offer comparisons between the opinions of rural, urban, and suburban teachers, and experienced and beginning teachers. A copy of the survey quesionnaire is appended. (JD)