Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/1060790
C A L I F O R N I A ' S E D U C A T I O N S Y S T E M has been moving in the right direction over the past decade, but additional resources are needed to provide "adequate education" for all students, according to a report released in September. "Getting Down to Facts II" found that an additional $25.6 billion in public education funding — 38 percent above actual spending — is needed to provide all students equal opportunity to meet State Board of Education goals. e report, coordinated by Stanford University and Policy Analysis for California Education, is an in-depth analysis of the state education system that examines cur- rent conditions in California schools. Encompassing 36 separate studies by more than 100 leading researchers, the report provides insight on the issues impacting the nation's largest public school system and how the state can better support California's 6.2 million K-12 students. It builds upon a similar report a decade earlier. While researchers found that California students are performing better and improving at a faster rate than the rest of the nation, the system is in dire need of capaci- ty-building to ensure that schools and educators have the skills, information and materials they need to pro- vide all students with equal opportunity to succeed. And while there's evidence that the equity-based approach of the Local Control Funding Formula is working, Cali- fornia public education is still chronically underfunded, stemming the progress. " The 'Getting Down to Facts' report provides evi- dence-based research to support what we've been saying all along — our schools need more funding and support to provide the quality of education that our students deserve," said CTA President Eric Heins. Ev e n a f t e r v o t e r - a p p r o v e d e d u c a t i o n f u n d i n g increases, California per-pupil spending lags way behind other states — frontrunner District of Columbia invests nearly $15,000 more per student, followed by New York ($14,000 more), Alaska ($13,000 more), Connecticut ($12,000 more) and New Jersey ($12,000 more) — despite larger numbers here of English learners and high-needs students. e report found that greater investment in public education leads directly to positive results, with estimates that a $1,000 increase in per-student spend- ing in grades 10-12 led to a 5.9 percent increase in high A Case for More Resources Report shows 38 percent more school funding needed to accomplish state goals BY JULIAN PEEPLES Actual Spending and Adequate Cost Per Pupil Source: American Institutes for Research calculations from professional judgment panels resource specifications; California Dept. of Education (CDE) student and school data; California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress; Standardized Account Code Structure; and CDE. 12 cta.org In the Know N E W S & N O T E S