Children Now | Tag Archive

July 10, 2018

Pressure builds to change how California measures student progress on state tests

Student advocacy groups and academics are seeking to adopt a model other states use to calculate the impact of students’ test score growth, but state staff urge patience.

John Fensterwald and Mikhail Zinshteyn

July 3, 2018

San Francisco school finds key to raising math scores: Teacher training

Intensive teacher training led to John Muir Elementary seeing a spike in math scores

June 27, 2018

State budget has nearly $400 million for science, math education — but not teacher training

After-school coding classes, high school tech internships and STEM teacher residencies are among the programs funded in the new state budget.

June 4, 2018

Will state budget deal include expanded ban on 'willful defiance' suspensions?

Tucked inside Gov. Jerry Brown’s May Revision of the state budget is a proposal to extend California's ban on suspensions for “willful defiance” in early elementary grades.

March 29, 2018

Districts must do more to reduce low-income schools' share of inexperienced, ineffective teachers under new federal law

Effectiveness has nothing to do with teachers' impact or performance, as California defines it under the new federal law.

September 12, 2017

California's education plan must be more transparent about student performance

State can support schools and districts without shame and blame while also showing clearly how students are doing.

July 17, 2017

State board, advocacy groups fundamentally disagree over plan for complying with federal education law

Is the state's bare-bones response to the Every Student Succeeds Act a shrewd tactic or a missed opportunity?

July 9, 2017

Author strips key parts of bill requiring more transparency in school spending

Proponents said public needs to know where money from Local Control Formula goes.

May 16, 2017

Gov. Brown's revised budget plan draws mixed response from early education advocates

While early education advocates say they appreciate Gov. Jerry Brown keeping last year’s promise to increase preschool funding, they lamented that the May budget revision didn’t include additional money and changes that would allow more low-income families to qualify for subsidized child care.

Ashley Hopkinson

May 4, 2017

State board inscribes 'California Way' on state plan for new federal law

The Every Student Succeeds Act gives states more latitude to spend federal dollars and fix low-achieving schools.

John Fensterwald

March 2, 2017

California policymakers must pay more attention to infants and toddlers, advocates say

Children Now, a child care advocacy organization based in Oakland, released a new report outlining policy guidelines for state and local leaders to improve outcomes for California's infants and toddlers, particularly those born to low-income families.