Video: Adithya Sambamurthy/CIR Read full transcript Update, July 27, 2012: News from the court hearing has been added. Four days after Christmas 2008, a 23-year-old research associate working in a UCLA laboratory accidentally pulled the plunger out of a syringe while conducting an experiment. The syringe contained a solution that combusts upon contact with air. […]
U.S. Education
New online tests hold promise, perils
A student at Townsend Elementary School in the Appoquinimink School District in Delaware takes a computer-based test. Sarah Garland/The Hechinger Report TOWNSEND, Del. – On a recent afternoon at Townsend Elementary School here, a little boy squinted at a computer screen and gripped his mouse. He was stuck. Half of the screen contained an article […]
Plastics industry edited environmental textbook
Under pressure from a lobbying group, schools officials edited environmental curriculum to include positive messages about plastic shopping bags, interviews and documents show.
Flexibility helps charter schools to thrive in down economy
Public charter schools in California are skirting the worst impact of the state’s budget crisis, even as traditional public schools shorten the school year, increase class sizes and lay off teachers and staff. READ FULL STORY | GRAPHIC: NEW SCHOOLS | GRAPHIC: GROWTH | FAQ
K-3 class sizes swell in large districts as reduction program falters
When school started this year, young children in Fontana crowded into classrooms with as many as 30 students, providing another potent signal that a popular and expensive education reform in California has unraveled. READ FULL STORY | GRAPHIC | TAKE ACTION
Despite state subsidies, class sizes begin to rise again in California schools
Most of California’s largest school districts are increasing class sizes in kindergarten through third grade, eroding the most expensive education reform in the state’s history. California Watch surveyed the 30 largest K-12 school districts in the state and found that many schools are pushing class sizes to 24 in some or all of the early […]
How do California student-teacher ratios compare?
Select any state on the left to see how it compares to California in terms of student-to-teacher ration for public, K-12 schools. Source: National Education Association (NEA) Rankings and Estimates 2006–07. Figures refer to the ratio between students and all full-time, credentialed teaching staff in a school during the 2006-2007 school year. This is the most recent […]
Are California class sizes increasing?
A California Watch survey of the state’s 30 largest, K-12 school districts found that class sizes in kindergarten through third grade are increasing beyond 20 in many districts. In general, the figures in this map refer to teacher-student ratios set by the district for the 2009-10 school year. Actual class size may vary at individual […]
Rising Class Sizes: Where the story appeared
California Watch’s report on class size appeared in various media, including several newspapers including the Los Angeles Daily News, Modesto Bee and the San Diego Union-Tribune. As a part of our collaboration with KQED Radio, the class size story also aired on KQED’s The California Report. The program was also heard on more than two […]
FAQ: How class-size reduction works in California
Get the answers to your questions about California’s class-size reduction program as well as who to contact How did the program start? The program was initiated in 1996, to reduce average class sizes in K-3 grades to 20 students to every teacher. At the time, K-3 class sizes in California averaged 28.6 students, among the […]