When then-Gov. Jerry Brown and the Legislature created the Local Control Funding Formula a decade ago, their professed goal was to close the achievement gap separating poor and English-learner K-12 students from their more privileged contemporaries by providing more targeted instructional money.
Education reform and civil rights groups applauded the effort but worried aloud about Brown’s unwillingness to provide accountability for whether the extra spending would, in fact, narrow the gap. He said he trusted local school officials to do the right thing.
The education establishment liked Brown’s hands-off attitude but the criticism continued. Several years later, the state school board responded with a “dashboard.” Schools and school districts would receive color-coded grades on a variety of factors, of which proficiency in language arts, math and other academic skills would have parity with other less important areas.
Critics remained skeptical — with good reason.
“Under this system, districts can escape notice or attention simply by shining in categories that are less than academic and whose outcomes they control,” said Chad Aldeman, whose Boston-based nonprofit Bellwether cited the dashboard’s shortcomings after the first one published six years ago.
CalMatters analyzed the results, and reported that “dozens of California school systems with some of the state’s worst test scores and biggest academic achievement gaps won’t get any extra help this year” because positive scores in nonacademic factors outweighed poor academic results.
“If extremely low, declining performance on math and reading exams alone were enough to trigger state support, the number of California districts that could expect it would almost double from 228 to more than 400,” then-K-12 reporter Jessica Calefati wrote at the time.
“The analysis also revealed that well over 100,000 students across the state belong to key demographic subgroups that scored poorly on the test but won’t get help. The disparity for students in the Latino subgroup with poor test results is especially stark: More than 95% are missing out on extra state support.”
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The dashboard postings were suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic, but last week a new version was released with upbeat comments from state education officials. They cited improved absenteeism and high school graduation rates but scarcely mentioned that overall academic scores remain subpar, and the achievement gap is fundamentally as wide as ever despite billions of dollars in extra aid.
“This is encouraging news — and our work is not complete,” state schools Superintendent Tony Thurmond said. “We have made an unprecedented investment in services that address the needs of the whole child. We can see that those efforts are paying off, but this is only the beginning. We need to continue providing students with the tools they need to excel, especially now that we are successfully reengaging our students and families, so we can close gaps in achievement in the same way that we have begun to close the equity gaps in attendance and absenteeism.”
Analysts outside the establishment were less sanguine.
Heather Hough, executive director of PACE, a Stanford-based education research organization, told EdSource that the dashboard’s emphasis on one year’s changes can be misleading.
“That can mask the concern that we should still be having: A lot of students are far behind where they have been, and large portions of students are not attending school,” Hough said.
A more useful dashboard would make academics at least 50% of overall scoring, since improving them is the declared goal of the many billions of dollars that have been spent over the last decade. If kids can’t read, write and do math, the other stuff means nothing.
Dan Walters has been a journalist for more than 60 years, spending all but a few of those years working for California newspapers. He began his professional career in 1960, at age 16, at the Humboldt Times. CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics. He can be reached at dan@calmatters.org.
"...proficiency in language arts, math and other academic skills would have parity with other less important areas."
"Other less important areas" is a value judgment put forth by the writer and doesn't reflect current knowledge in education. We now recognize the roles that student supports and socio-emotional learning play in student academic achievement. For example, children can't learn when they're hungry. And students must develop emotional regulation skills and growth mindsets to persist when faced with academic challenges. While education has developed as an holistic field, Dan Walters is stuck in the era of the 3 Rs.
" And students must develop emotional regulation skills and growth mindsets to persist when faced with academic challenges. " Isn't that the role of their parents? Why burden the school systems to substitute for clear parental negligence? Why are kids suddenly depressed and hungry? Social media, single mother households, overbearing welfare agencies?
Wealth inequality. It is even more highly concentrated than income inequality. The share of wealth held by the top 1 percent rose from 30 percent in 1989 to 39 percent in 2016, while the share held by the bottom 90 percent fell from 33 percent to 23 percent. Friend of mine said she recently noticed a young student was having trouble focusing and asked her what was wrong, she said she hadn't had breakfast. Because it wasn't her turn that day.
So yeah, if you are looking to understand why kids are more depressed and more hungry and having more mental health issues now than they were 20 years ago, that would totally be a good place to start.
The United States is wealthiest and most generous country in the world. They take care of other countries and more than provide for families that fall under poverty levels. There is no such thing as hunger in the U.S. unless families are intentionally withholding food from a child. Public education offers FREE breakfast and lunch to ALL children in California, a family is eligible to receive $973 per month in food stamps, all the while this family receives FREE or nearly free healthcare, subsidized PG&E, cable, internet, & water. Then the State is nice enough to pay for after school care for these same children and come tax filing time, these families can receive up to $7,430 from the Federal government as EITC (earned income tax credit)
So let's put the numbers per month together for a family with three children . $973 food stamps + $2,300 healthcare + $2,625 after school care ($875 per child) + $660 free school breakfast and lunch ($5.00 per meal, two meals a day for three children 22 days in a month) + $600 per month average for earned income tax credit = $7,158 PER MONTH in freebies. That's not even counting the families income and money that may have been received under the table. All this money comes from the responsible tax payers, those villains you named at the beginning of your comment. The obvious conclusion is that people in the USA are not poor and people are not hungry. However, the people that make poor decisions like bearing three children when a husband and wife earn little money are not held accountable or responsible but rather they are rewarded through income redistribution. BTW If a child goes to school hungry, then the parent should be reported to CPS.
Westy - another shot from the hip from you. Yes, there are cases like this but there is no excuse for it. My wife was a secretary at a local elementary school and came home with the most horrific stories of parents abusing and otherwise neglecting their kids. Please read Not-So-Common. I also volunteered with a youth organization and found similar stories. If it wasn't her turn, you could have asked whose turn it was and what they needed to get help. There is plenty out there for the asking, but parents need to take responsibility. Once I saw a bawling toddler on the street in Oakland clutching a Coke and a donut while her mom was yelling at her. For the price of that junk food, she could have provided the child a solid, healthy breakfast with eggs and sausage. Don't blame the rich or the wealthy, they pay more than their fair share, except if your last name is Biden of course.
Gee if it is that easy, NotSoCommon and Dirk, why are there 3 dozen kids attending one of my local middle schools who are living out of their car? And yeah Dirk, easy to criticize some random mother on the street, isnt it? The trash food thing is another pet peeve of mine. Why are our kids exponentially fatter than any other country? Hint: it's not because of individual parental decisions. I think you are very willing to blame individuals because it is easier on your brain, your conscious, and your sense of entitlement than examining the bigger picture.
Westy, your ignorance and your lack of solutions are bliss and the same can be said for three dozen children living in their cars. Please inform these real or make believe children and families how they can too can game the system so they too can acquire the benefits I outlined.
Westy - I am not sure what or who you are defending but if a guy like me who immigrates alone without parents, with a few hundred bucks in his pocket, never had to sleep in a car and managed to graduate from UC Berkeley after completing military service, you can't accuse me of being entitled or careless. You strike me as someone who grew up in a middle class, liberal household in which I presume you never had to worry about your next meal or your peaceful sleep. Who are you to presume that I never had to endure or worry about being a foreigner in this country? I was employed by several corporations and eventually in executive positions. Let me tell you, I truly got to know mankind and individuals. I never understood why some people consistently made the wrong decisions in their careers or in their relationships that ultimately affected their families. As once said, you can only lead a horse to water but you cannot make it drink. That is the bottom line for those unfortunate students whose parents neglected their responsibilities. There is assistance but don't sit there and whine. So, now I and others, who worked hard and toed the line, are to blame for that? Get real!
Oh Dirk, Are you being deliberately obtuse whe do you say "I am not sure what or who you are defending"?
You say you came to this country with only a few hundred bucks and therefore because you made it, people who are currently living out of their cars are negligent whiners.
And yes, I have been hungry and I have been homeless. Fortunately, I was not encumbered with pregnancy or children and fortunately I had an excellent and free public school education.
And so, to answer your question, that is what I am arguing for. We must meet school children's needs as they are and not as we think they should be if only their parents were not "negligent".
OK Westy - one more time. I feel for these children as well, don't get me wrong. But, there is no reason for them to sleep in cars or go hungry. They can be provided all kinds of care but somehow they fall unnecessarily through the cracks. Isn't that the responsibility of their guardians, sponsors or parents to bring it to the attention of the various social agencies? They can walk into any house of worship and they will be steered in the direction of available assistance. But, they need to take the initiative and not settle for basic survival.
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(11) comments
"...proficiency in language arts, math and other academic skills would have parity with other less important areas."
"Other less important areas" is a value judgment put forth by the writer and doesn't reflect current knowledge in education. We now recognize the roles that student supports and socio-emotional learning play in student academic achievement. For example, children can't learn when they're hungry. And students must develop emotional regulation skills and growth mindsets to persist when faced with academic challenges. While education has developed as an holistic field, Dan Walters is stuck in the era of the 3 Rs.
" And students must develop emotional regulation skills and growth mindsets to persist when faced with academic challenges. " Isn't that the role of their parents? Why burden the school systems to substitute for clear parental negligence? Why are kids suddenly depressed and hungry? Social media, single mother households, overbearing welfare agencies?
Wealth inequality. It is even more highly concentrated than income inequality. The share of wealth held by the top 1 percent rose from 30 percent in 1989 to 39 percent in 2016, while the share held by the bottom 90 percent fell from 33 percent to 23 percent. Friend of mine said she recently noticed a young student was having trouble focusing and asked her what was wrong, she said she hadn't had breakfast. Because it wasn't her turn that day.
So yeah, if you are looking to understand why kids are more depressed and more hungry and having more mental health issues now than they were 20 years ago, that would totally be a good place to start.
The United States is wealthiest and most generous country in the world. They take care of other countries and more than provide for families that fall under poverty levels. There is no such thing as hunger in the U.S. unless families are intentionally withholding food from a child. Public education offers FREE breakfast and lunch to ALL children in California, a family is eligible to receive $973 per month in food stamps, all the while this family receives FREE or nearly free healthcare, subsidized PG&E, cable, internet, & water. Then the State is nice enough to pay for after school care for these same children and come tax filing time, these families can receive up to $7,430 from the Federal government as EITC (earned income tax credit)
So let's put the numbers per month together for a family with three children . $973 food stamps + $2,300 healthcare + $2,625 after school care ($875 per child) + $660 free school breakfast and lunch ($5.00 per meal, two meals a day for three children 22 days in a month) + $600 per month average for earned income tax credit = $7,158 PER MONTH in freebies. That's not even counting the families income and money that may have been received under the table. All this money comes from the responsible tax payers, those villains you named at the beginning of your comment. The obvious conclusion is that people in the USA are not poor and people are not hungry. However, the people that make poor decisions like bearing three children when a husband and wife earn little money are not held accountable or responsible but rather they are rewarded through income redistribution. BTW If a child goes to school hungry, then the parent should be reported to CPS.
Westy - another shot from the hip from you. Yes, there are cases like this but there is no excuse for it. My wife was a secretary at a local elementary school and came home with the most horrific stories of parents abusing and otherwise neglecting their kids. Please read Not-So-Common. I also volunteered with a youth organization and found similar stories. If it wasn't her turn, you could have asked whose turn it was and what they needed to get help. There is plenty out there for the asking, but parents need to take responsibility. Once I saw a bawling toddler on the street in Oakland clutching a Coke and a donut while her mom was yelling at her. For the price of that junk food, she could have provided the child a solid, healthy breakfast with eggs and sausage. Don't blame the rich or the wealthy, they pay more than their fair share, except if your last name is Biden of course.
Gee if it is that easy, NotSoCommon and Dirk, why are there 3 dozen kids attending one of my local middle schools who are living out of their car? And yeah Dirk, easy to criticize some random mother on the street, isnt it? The trash food thing is another pet peeve of mine. Why are our kids exponentially fatter than any other country? Hint: it's not because of individual parental decisions. I think you are very willing to blame individuals because it is easier on your brain, your conscious, and your sense of entitlement than examining the bigger picture.
Westy, your ignorance and your lack of solutions are bliss and the same can be said for three dozen children living in their cars. Please inform these real or make believe children and families how they can too can game the system so they too can acquire the benefits I outlined.
Westy - I am not sure what or who you are defending but if a guy like me who immigrates alone without parents, with a few hundred bucks in his pocket, never had to sleep in a car and managed to graduate from UC Berkeley after completing military service, you can't accuse me of being entitled or careless. You strike me as someone who grew up in a middle class, liberal household in which I presume you never had to worry about your next meal or your peaceful sleep. Who are you to presume that I never had to endure or worry about being a foreigner in this country? I was employed by several corporations and eventually in executive positions. Let me tell you, I truly got to know mankind and individuals. I never understood why some people consistently made the wrong decisions in their careers or in their relationships that ultimately affected their families. As once said, you can only lead a horse to water but you cannot make it drink. That is the bottom line for those unfortunate students whose parents neglected their responsibilities. There is assistance but don't sit there and whine. So, now I and others, who worked hard and toed the line, are to blame for that? Get real!
Oh Dirk, Are you being deliberately obtuse whe do you say "I am not sure what or who you are defending"?
You say you came to this country with only a few hundred bucks and therefore because you made it, people who are currently living out of their cars are negligent whiners.
And yes, I have been hungry and I have been homeless. Fortunately, I was not encumbered with pregnancy or children and fortunately I had an excellent and free public school education.
And so, to answer your question, that is what I am arguing for. We must meet school children's needs as they are and not as we think they should be if only their parents were not "negligent".
OK Westy - one more time. I feel for these children as well, don't get me wrong. But, there is no reason for them to sleep in cars or go hungry. They can be provided all kinds of care but somehow they fall unnecessarily through the cracks. Isn't that the responsibility of their guardians, sponsors or parents to bring it to the attention of the various social agencies? They can walk into any house of worship and they will be steered in the direction of available assistance. But, they need to take the initiative and not settle for basic survival.
Their needs have been more than met, the children you fight for have more than a hundred times more than the average child living on planet earth.
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