Education Trust—West

Statement by Ed Trust—West on California’s Losing Bid for Race to the Top

(OAKLAND, CA) – Today, Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced the second round Race to the Top winners.  California was not on the list of recipients.  It is estimated that the state lost $700 million for much-needed education reforms. 

“We are deeply disappointed by California’s loss," said Arun Ramanathan, Executive Director of The Education Trust—West, a leading statewide education advocacy organization.  "Although our second round showing was much stronger, the early indication is that strong legislative support for teacher effectiveness reforms separated the winners from the losers."

Put in a larger national context, California has 6.2 million students— roughly half of whom qualify for free or reduced lunch.  There are more students of color in California schools than most other states have students.  If our nation is serious about closing achievement gaps and enhancing our global competitiveness, then California must become a leader in education reform.

“In order to win Race to the Top, our state Legislature should have done more to reform our antiquated and counter-productive teacher evaluation system," continued Ramanathan.  "I leave it to the opponents of reform in Sacramento to explain why they left a $700 million check for our schools on the table."

EQUITY ALERT: Ed Trust-West Analyzes Latest Results from 2010 California Standards Test

Today’s Equity Alert shines a spotlight on the latest results from the 2010 Standardized Testing and Reporting Program (STAR). With state leaders and school district officials touting improved proficiency rates, this alert looks beyond the spin to reveal what the data really shows about student performance in California.  While there have been measured gains, the slow and incremental progress is not sufficient to close the opportunity and achievement gaps plaguing low-income students and students of color. The Equity Alert shows how unacceptably slow achievement gaps are narrowing and provides recommendations for moving the state beyond rhetoric to real concrete solutions.

Publication date: 
August 19 2010

Student Achievement in California: Ed Trust—West Statement on 2010 STAR Data

OAKLAND, CA (August 16, 2010) – Results from the 2010 Standardized Testing and Reporting Program (STAR) released today by the California Department of Education (CDE) show marginal statewide improvement across most grade levels and content areas.  Since last year, the percentage of students at or above the proficient level increased by two points in English-language arts (ELA) and two points in mathematics.  While there have been measured gains over the last eight years, we still have much work to do.

Data Reveals Alarming Disparities in Achievement Among Asian American and Pacific Islander Students in California Schools

OAKLAND, CA (August 12, 2010) – In advance of the upcoming California Standards Tests (CST) results, The Education Trust—West is releasing Overlooked and Underserved: Debunking the Asian ‘Model Minority’ Myth in California Schools, a new policy brief detailing alarming disparities in achievement that exist among subgroups of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) students.  Issued jointly with the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus and the California Asian Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus, the brief finds the state is under-serving students by not recognizing the full diversity of its AAPI communities.  Most disturbing, opportunity gaps are being exacerbated by the state’s failure to collect and report comprehensive, critical student achievement data.

Statement by The Education Trust-West on California State Board of Education's Adoption of the Common Core Standards

OAKLAND, CA (August 2, 2010) The Education Trust—West applauds the unanimous vote of the California State Board of Education and the decision to adopt the Common Core Standards.

California has long been a national leader in both standards and assessments.  We, at the Education Trust-West, have long been advocates for increasing the rigor of our standards and graduation requirements with the goal of ensuring that all of our high school graduates have a true choice between college and career.  We have consistently highlighted the opportunity and achievement gaps that prevent so many students of color and students in poverty in our state from achieving the goal of college and career readiness. Over the past eight years, we have relentlessly pressed on our state’s leaders to close those opportunity and achievement gaps and live up to the promise of our rigorous standards.

While we understand that the adoption of the Common Core will not by itself close those opportunity and achievement gaps, we do believe that adoption of the Common Core is an important step in the right direction.

No Time to Delay: Delivering the Statewide Data Systems California's Students Deserve

California’s efforts to implement a statewide longitudinal data system are at serious risk. More than ever before, educators and policymakers need reliable, robust data to inform decisions and address achievement gaps.

Publication date: 
June 18 2010