Explore funded research, reports, and evaluations addressing some of education's most pressing issues. This special collection of literature is made possible through IssueLab, a service of Foundation Center. Sign up for updates to find out about new publications added to the collection.
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Showing 245 reports filtered by "California" sorted by date added . Show All Reports
Education and Literacy
Outlines the Strengthening Pre-collegiate Education in Community Colleges project's activities, results, and lessons learned, including five principles for teaching underprepared students. Recommends an institution-wide focus and faculty collaboration.
August 1970
Geographic Focus: North America / United States (Western) / California
Education and Literacy
A report on teacher evaluations recently released by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has been refuted by one of the nation's leading economists, who found the widely published report to be seriously flawed. The Gates Foundation last month released the first report of its "Measures of Effective Teaching" (MET) project, which aims to develop a reliable method for evaluating teachers. The report was thoroughly reviewed for the Think Twice think tank review project by University of California at Berkeley economist Jesse Rothstein, former chief economist at the U.S. Department of Labor. Rothstein, who is also former senior economist for the Council of Economic Advisers, found the Gates Foundation's MET report to be based on flawed research and predetermined conclusions.
The review was produced by the National Education Policy Center (NEPC), housed at the University of Colorado at Boulder School of Education, with funding from the Great Lakes Center for Education Research and Practice.
Rothstein's analysis found the MET report draws conclusions that are not supported by its own facts, with some data in the report pointing "in the opposite direction" from what is indicated in its "poorly-supported conclusions."
Rothstein found several instances of conclusions not supported by data. One striking example: The MET report's data suggest that many teachers whose students have low math scores rank among the best at teaching "deeper" concepts. Yet the MET report draws the conclusion that teachers whose students score highly on standardized math tests "tend to promote deeper conceptual understanding as well."
Rothstein also found that the MET report relies heavily on standardized test scores and student surveys, which are insufficient measurements of teacher effectiveness, as teachers facing high-stakes testing will emphasize skills and topics geared toward raising test scores, while de-emphasizing those that aren't on the test. High-stakes student surveys, meanwhile, can be distorted by mischievous adolescents who may not answer honestly if they know their responses can affect teachers' compensation and careers, while teachers may be compelled to alter their practice to cater to student demands, Rothstein reported.
August 1970
Geographic Focus: North America / United States (Western) / California
Arts and Culture, Children and Youth, Education and Literacy
This is the third of three performance reports from the Performing Arts Workshop to the U.S. Department of Education about Project ARISE (Arts Residency Interventions in Special Education). The report includes performance measure data for the Arts in Education Model Development and Dissemination (AEMDD) grants program.
The ARISE Project offers public schools weekly artist residencies lasting between 25 and 30 weeks in theater arts and creative movement for third to fifth grade students. Classrooms participating in ARISE are identified as Special Day Classes or general education classes with special education inclusion (or mainstreamed) students. The ARISE residences emphasize critical-thinking while engaging in the creative process. In the 2009-2010 school year, the Workshop provided ARISE residencies to 18 classrooms from four schools within the San Francisco Unified School District.
August 1970
Geographic Focus: North America-United States (Western)-California-San Francisco County-San Francisco
Arts and Culture, Children and Youth, Education and Literacy
This is the final performance reports from the Performing Arts Workshop to the U.S. Department of Education about Project ARISE (Arts Residency Interventions in Special Education). The report includes performance measure data for the Arts in Education Model Development and Dissemination (AEMDD) grants program.
The ARISE Project offers public schools weekly artist residencies lasting between 25 and 30 weeks in theater arts and creative movement for third to fifth grade students. Classrooms participating in ARISE are identified as Special Day Classes or general education classes with special education inclusion (or mainstreamed) students. The ARISE residencies emphasize critical-thinking while engaging in the creative process. Over three years from 2008 to 2010, the Workshop provided ARISE residencies to 63 classrooms from five schools within the San Francisco Unified School District.
August 1970
Geographic Focus: North America-United States (Western)-California-San Francisco County-San Francisco
Children and Youth;Education and Literacy
This publication examines how the Chafee educational and training vouchers and other state-based supports for higher education have been working for these young adults. The National Foster Care Coalition (NFCC) has worked closely with six states to examine the implementation of the Chafee ETV Program since its inception in 2003: California, Maine, Montana, New York, North Carolina, and Wyoming. These states were selected to provide a diverse view of ETV program implementation, including state- and county-administered child welfare programs, urban and rural programs, and programs serving either very large or very small populations of youth. This publication documents a select number of young people's experiences with the ETV program and also shares recommendations from constituents and other stakeholders on how to improve this unique and important postsecondary education and training program.
August 1970
Geographic Focus: North America / United States (Northeastern) / Maine;North America / United States (Northeastern) / New York;North America / United States (Western) / California;North America / United States (Southern) / North Carolina;North America / United States (Western) / Wyoming;North America / United States (Western) / Montana
Children and Youth;Education and Literacy
Campus support programs provide financial, academic, and other types of supports to help former foster youth succeed in college. However, relatively little is known about the impact of these programs on college retention or graduation rates. This study lays the groundwork for an impact evaluation by examining program implementation from two different perspectives. Researchers conducted telephone interviews with the directors of 10 campus support programs in California and Washington State. The interviews covered a variety of domains, including the population served, referral sources and recruitment, the application process, the provision of services and supports, program staff, relationships with stakeholders, and data collection. In addition, participants from 8 of the 10 programs completed a web-based survey that asked about their perceptions of and experiences with the program. The survey included questions about students' demographic characteristics, referral and recruitment, the application process, reasons for participating in the program, services and supports received, unmet needs, contact with staff, and recommendations for improvement. The report concludes with several recommendations for moving forward with a methodologically sound impact evaluation of campus support programs for former foster youth.
August 1970
Geographic Focus: North America / United States (Western) / California;North America / United States (Northwestern) / Washington
Children and Youth;Education and Literacy
Education is important to former foster youth. However, while a majority of foster youth want to attend college, only a tiny minority earn any type of degree or certificate after high school. The experience of being in foster care, multiple disruptions in placements and relationships and lack of opportunities as a child continue to affect youth after they emancipate. Once emancipated, youth experience hardships that affect their ability to succeed in school, such as lack of affordable housing, difficulty maintaining permanent supportive relationships and obtaining jobs in a rough economy. While many obstacles exist, California currently has several programs that support youth with their education, and advocates are working diligently towards providing even more practical opportunities.
August 1970
Geographic Focus: North America / United States (Western) / California (San Francisco Bay Area)
Arts and Culture, Children and Youth, Education and Literacy
This is the second of three annual performance reports from the Performing Arts Workshop to the U.S. Department of Education about Project ARISE (Arts Residency Interventions in Special Education). The report includes performance measure data for the Arts in Education Model Development and Dissemination (AEMDD) grants program. The ARISE Project offers public schools weekly artist residencies lasting between 25 and 30 weeks in theater arts and creative movement for third to fifth grade students. Classrooms participating in ARISE are identified as Special Day Classes or general education classes with special education inclusion (or mainstreamed) students. The ARISE residencies emphasize critical-thinking while engaging in the creative process. In the 2008-09 school year, the Workshop provided ARISE residencies to 22 classrooms from five schools within the San Francisco Unified School District
August 1970
Geographic Focus: North America-United States (Western)-California-San Francisco County-San Francisco
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