Closing the Achievement Gap
In recognition of Black History Month, observed in February, CSBA Principal Research Manager Jeremy Anderson highlighted how the initiative, with proper implementation, will allow local educational agencies to better support African American students.
Livingston Union School District (LUSD), a small, high-need district in California’s Central Valley, invested in a collaborative, equity-driven counseling model that has helped to boost student outcomes across several crucial metrics, according to a case study from the UCLA Center for the Transformation of Schools. Through sustained funding, strong leadership and clearly defined counselor roles, researchers found that the district can serve as a model for how comprehensive, equity-centered school counseling can drive meaningful outcomes for diverse student populations.
Proposal correctly diagnoses lack of state-level coherence as major issue and opens door to more comprehensive solution that supports local school districts in driving student performance and closing achievement gaps The logic behind Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposal to unite the State Board of Education with […]
CSBA’s 2026 budget advocacy strategy: Protect core funding, strengthen local control and drive overall student success As the 2026 State Budget cycle begins, CSBA is advancing a comprehensive advocacy strategy that defends public education’s fiscal foundation while urging Sacramento to do more — at the […]
A September report from the University of California, Los Angeles’ Civil Rights Project, Extreme Segregation and Policy Inaction in California Schools, found that the state’s school remain deeply segregated by race and class, contributing to educational inequities. The report begins by explaining its methodology is […]
The Golden State Pathways Program (GSPP) was a $500 million investment established by Assembly Bill 181 after California set a 70-percent postsecondary attainment goal in the 2022–23 State Budget. Program funds are provided to support expanded pathways and smoother transitions into high-wage, high-skill and high-growth […]
The California Department of Education released the latest edition of the California School Dashboard on Nov. 13, touting a “continued increase in academic achievement and graduation rates” and a “reduction in chronic absenteeism.” While some growth was evident, a look at the underlying data reveals a more complicated picture of student performance — one that demands greater scrutiny of the status quo, increased investment in public schools, and a commitment to reducing achievement gaps by accelerating achievement, particularly for the state’s most vulnerable students.
Since 2021, California has invested $4.1 billion in the California Community Schools Partnership Program (CCSPP), establishing the nation’s largest state-level community schools initiative. According to new research from the Learning Policy Institute (LPI), these schools are already having positive impacts on students and families. The […]
An Oct. 9 webinar hosted by CSBA featured initial analysis of results from the 2025 California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) and CSBA issuing a challenge to the state to create a state-level plan focused on what state agencies and policymakers will do differently to better support local educational agencies in closing the achievement gap.
The Northwest Evaluation Association’s (NWEA) recent brief, “Policy recommendations for addressing the middle school reading crisis,” provides insights on how state and local educational agency leaders can improve literacy outcomes.
