New resources designed to make Common Core-aligned tests more useful California is providing a range of new resources to teachers, parents and the public to make Smarter Balanced tests and student scores easier to understand — and more useful in actually guiding instruction. The State Board of Education on Wednesday will discuss new parent and teacher resources that are available...

Meet the new LA Unified student board member The newest Los Angeles Unified School District student board member — elected by other high school student leaders in the district — will have a voice at school board meetings. At 16, she will be able to put items on the agenda up for discussion at meetings,...

Los Angeles conflict escalates as charter schools thrive Throughout the 1990s and well into the new millennium, the massive Los Angeles Unified School District barely noticed the many charter schools that were springing up around the metropolis. But Los Angeles parents certainly took notice and started enrolling their children. In 2008, five charter-management organizations announced...

Like Yelp for school: How a charter network uses student reviews to change how they teach A focus group-style exit interview has become part of the year-end ritual at PUC Schools. Over five weeks this year, co-founder Jacqueline Elliott spoke with all of the roughly 260 seniors graduating from the charter network’s high schools in...

Los Angeles Unified has most to gain from upcoming income tax initiative Already facing an uncertain budget future, Los Angeles Unified has the most to gain of any district in the state from passage of a ballot measure in November that would extend income taxes on the state’s highest earners. By Michael Janofsky, EdSource Cloning...

Urban schools test for grit, but will it improve test scores? Something new is happening at a batch of California urban schools. Students are being asked if they are happy at school. The recent focus on the social and emotional well-being of students as a way to improve test scores is gaining statewide traction. Civil...

Education secretary takes heat for pushing single rating of schools California is moving toward establishing a new accountability system made up of multiple measures, in place of the state’s previous Academic Performance Index, which assigned schools a single “summative” number based on test scores. This new approach has been championed by Gov. Jerry Brown and is...

Lawyer: LAUSD playing ‘dirty’ in drowning lawsuit The family of a Los Angeles Unified School District special needs student who drowned while on a school field trip said the district is playing dirty and trying to move the upcoming trial out of LA County. If the judge decides to allow the case to be heard somewhere...

Activists reveal more dark-money donors to campaigns against unions and schools-funding tax The campaign for extending a schools tax on high-income Californians kicked off this week with the release of undisclosed donors involved in fighting against the levy when it last appeared on the ballot. The new group, California Hedge Clippers, released the names Tuesday as part of a...

Leg up or catch up? Wealthier students use summer school to get a step ahead Summer school is no longer only for students who want to erase an “F” grade. It’s increasingly becoming, for those who can afford it, the time when high school students stack their transcripts with classes for college admission. By Adolfo...