California's Education Systems: A Sum of the Moving Parts. A Primer for the California Education Policy Fellowship Program

California is home to more of the "super rich" than any other state (Pastor & Braun 2015), and yet Californians, on average, have become poorer since the turn of the century. With cost of living taken into account, California now claims the nation's highest rate of poverty (Fox 20...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inEducation Insights Center
Main Author Nodine, Thad R
Format Report
LanguageEnglish
Published Education Insights Center 01.03.2019
Subjects
African American Students
Asian American Students
Career Readiness
College Readiness
Common Core State Standards
Community Colleges
Educational Attainment
Educational Change
Educational Objectives
Educational Policy
Elementary Secondary Education
Ethnic Groups
Fellowships
Graduation Rate
High School Graduates
Higher Education
Hispanic American Students
Low Income Students
Outcomes of Education
Partnerships in Education
Postsecondary Education
Poverty
Two Year College Students
White Students
California
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Summary:California is home to more of the "super rich" than any other state (Pastor & Braun 2015), and yet Californians, on average, have become poorer since the turn of the century. With cost of living taken into account, California now claims the nation's highest rate of poverty (Fox 2017). California's disparities extend beyond economic factors. Based on health status, educational attainment, and income, California has been called the "most unequal state." California is also the most diverse state, and its poverty levels vary widely by ethnic group. Latinx represent about 39 percent of the state population generally, and 54 percent of its K-12 school population. Non-Latinx whites make up 37 percent of the state population (U.S. Census 2017). About 44 percent of California's households speak a language other than English at home, which is more than twice the national average (21%). Latinx in California are about twice as likely as non-Latinx whites to be below the federal poverty threshold (14% vs. 7%), and about 17 percent of blacks are living in poverty (Kaiser 2017). If its educational institutions are to assist in addressing the state's significant disparities and advancing economic growth and civic stability, then schools, colleges, and universities will need to help all students reach their educational goals. Chapter 1 examines key indicators of student progress and completion in California's schools, colleges, and universities. Chapter 2 provides a brief overview of the governance structure of California's education systems and the challenges that this structure presents. Chapter 3 explores California's options to understand and improve all students' opportunities to reach their educational goals across education systems.