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California school districts A - L

The California school system (prekindergarten-grade 12) operates within districts governed by locally elected school boards members and superintendents.

The California state constitution requires that the state offer not only a free public school system but also to provide a "a general diffusion of knowledge and intelligence being essential to the preservation of the rights and liberties of the people."[1]

Transparency

See also: Evaluation of California school district websites

In 2008, the governor launched School Finder, a website that provides access to data reported by California’s schools to the California Department of Education. Data available on the website covers state elementary through high schools and includes traditional, alternative, adult education and charter schools. “This vital information, compiled in one easy-to-navigate site, will increase school accountability and transparency, and put power back into the hands of California parents. The facts of achievement for every school in California are now easily accessible – not buried in bureaucracy,” said Gov. Schwarzenegger about the launch.[2]

Academic performance

Public schools

Since 2006, high school students have been required to pass the high school exit exam. In June 2009, however, California lawmakers called for the suspension of the requirement. Proponents for the suspension argue that with the state's current budget crisis and budget cuts the state cannot expect students to perform as well before the budget cuts, said Assembly Speaker Karen Bass. Under the proposal students would still take the exam, once, but it would not be a graduation requirement. Opponents argue that the proposal will cause the program to lose momentum in the schools and students would lose the motivation to perform well in school in order to receive their high school diplomas.

For the Class of 2008, results showed that 90.2% passed the exam in time for graduation. Additionally results revealed that 80.1% of African-American students, 72.8% of English-language learners and 53.8% of special education students passed the exam.[3]

Charter schools

A report by the Stanford University Center for Research on Education Outcomes revealed in June 2009 that charter schools had mixed results.[4] Charter school surpass public schools in in reading but fall behind in math.[5] In light of low-performance reports, the California Charter Schools Association proposed establishing a new evaluation system for charter schools and closing the lowest-performing 1% of the state's charter schools in 2010. "We have, clearly, some of the most successful schools in the nation that are charter schools in Los Angeles and California," Jed Wallace, the associations chief executive officer, said, "but we also have some that are not measuring up."[6]

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L

See also

References

  1. ↑ California Constitution,"Article 9, Section 1," retrieved July 3, 2009
  2. ↑ State of California,"Governor Schwarzenegger Launches “School Finder” Web Site for California Parents and Children," July 16, 2008
  3. ↑ San Jose Mercury News,"Suspend California's high school exit exam, Democrats propose," June 19, 2009
  4. ↑ The Press-Enterprise,"Study: Charter school performance mixed," June 15, 2009
  5. ↑ Los Angeles Times,"California charter schools stronger in reading than math," June 15, 2009
  6. ↑ The Los Angeles Times,"Low-performing charter schools in California could close under plan," June 18, 2009


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