Quality Counts 2002: California's Data

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California

This page shows scores for the state California in six major areas:

Summary of Grades
Student Achievement
Standards and Accountability
Improving Teacher Quality
School Climate
Resources: Adequacy
Resources: Equity

To compare data from one or more states, go to Search the Data.

Summary of Grades
For more information about these measures, see our 50-state Summary of Grades by State data table.

NOTE: ? Indicates state did not participate in the national assessment.
¹School climate was not graded this year.
²Because the District of Columbia does not have a state revenue source, it did not receive a grade for adequacy or equity.
3Hawaii has a single statewide district.

California
STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT (Percent scoring at or above "proficient")
4th grade NAEP math (2000)	15
8th grade NAEP math (2000)	18
4th grade NAEP science (2000)	14
8th grade NAEP science (2000)	15
4th grade NAEP reading (1998)	20
8th grade NAEP reading (1998)	22
8th grade NAEP writing (1998)	20
STANDARDS AND ACCOUNTABILITY	B
IMPROVING TEACHER QUALITY	C
SCHOOL CLIMATE¹	76
RESOURCES: Adequacy	F
RESOURCES: Equity	C+

Student Achievement
For more information about these measures, see our 50-state Student Achievement data table.

NOTE: States are ranked by percent at or above proficient, then by percent basic; ties are ranked alphabetically.
? Indicates state did not participate in national assessment.
¹Statistically significant gain in the percent scoring at or above proficient since the last administration of the test. Data were not available for the 4th grade science.

California
MATH (all figures in percents) 4th grade performance on the 2000 NAEP mathematics exam
At or above proficient		15
Basic		38
Below basic		48
MATH (all figures in percents) 8th grade performance on the 2000 NAEP mathematics exam
At or above proficient		18
Basic		34
Below basic		48
SCIENCE(all figures in percents) 4th grade performance on the 2000 NAEP science exam
At or above proficient		14
Basic		33
Below basic		53
SCIENCE (all figures in percents) 8th grade performance on the 2000 NAEP science exam
At or above proficient		15
Basic		25
Below basic		60
UNGRADED: ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Percent of public high schools offering Advanced Placement courses (2001)		84
Percent of 8th graders taking Algebra I, Algebra II, or geometry (2000)		37
Percent of high school students taking upper-level ...	mathematics courses (2000)	34
	science courses (2000)	18
Percent of 16- to 19-year-olds not in school who had not graduated (1998)		9
Percent of 9th to 12th graders who dropped out of school (1999)		?

Standards and Accountability
For more information about these measures, see our 50-state Standards and Accountability data table.

NOTE: States are ranked by number grade to the nearest whole number; ties are ranked alphabetically.
HS = High school level; MS = Middle school level; ES = Elementary school level.

California
Overall grade for standards and accountability		B	85
STANDARDS 40% of grade
State has adopted standards in core subjects (2001)
State has clear and specific standards (2001)	English/ language arts	ES MS HS
	Mathematics	ES MS HS
	Science	ES MS HS
	Social studies/ history	ES MS HS
State has a regular timeline for revising standards (2001)
ASSESSMENTS 30% of grade
Types of test items state uses to measure student or school performance (2001-02)
Multiple-choice		ES MS HS
Short-answer
Extended response in English		ES MS
Extended response in other subject(s)
Portfolio
Subjects in which state uses criterion-referenced assessments aligned to state standards (2001-02)
English/language arts		ES MS HS
Mathematics		ES MS HS
Science		HS
Social studies/history		HS
State participated in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (2000)
State criterion-referenced tests have undergone an external alignment review (2001)
SCHOOL ACCOUNTABILITY 30% of grade
State holds schools accountable for performance (2001)
Report cards
Report cards include disaggregated data
State provides public with data on similar schools
State requires that school report cards be sent home
State holds schools accountable for performance (2001-02)
Ratings
Information state uses to evaluate schools		Student test scores only	²
		Student test scores and other information³
		Site visits or interviews
Assistance
Sanctions
Sanctions the state has the authority to use for persistently low-performing schools		Closure	2002-03
		Reconstitution	2002-03
		Permit student transfers	2002-03
		Withhold funds
Rewards
UNGRADED: STUDENT ACCOUNTABILITY
Promotion contingent upon performance on statewide exams (2001)
Graduation contingent upon statewide exit or end-of-course exams (2001)			Class of 2004
Exit or end-of-course exams are based on state 10th grade standards or higher (2001)			Class of 2004
State requires remediation for students failing ...		promotion exams (2001)
		end-of-course or exit exams (2001)
State finances remediation for students failing ...		promotion exams (2001)
		end-of-course or exit exams (2001)

Improving Teacher Quality
For more information about these measures, see our 50-state Improving Teacher Quality data table.

NOTE: States are ranked by number grade to the nearest whole number; ties are ranked alphabetically.
¹State requires test, but not for beginning license. These states do not receive credit or count in the U.S. total.
²State holds teacher-training programs accountable instead of requiring specific coursework.
³State requires a noneducation major, but not in the subject taught.
⁴State requires a noneducation minor, but not in the subject taught.
⁵State requires subject concentration on elementary certificate if used in middle school.

California
Overall grade for teacher quality		C	74
TEACHER ASSESSMENT - 35% of grade
State requires written tests in basic skills for beginning-teacher license (2001)
State requires written tests in subject knowledge for beginning-teacher license (2001)
State requires written tests in subject- specific pedagogy for beginning-teacher license (2001)
State requires performance assessment for second stage of certification by local team evaluation (2001)
State requires state performance assessment for second stage of certification by classroom observation (2001)
State requires state performance assessment for second stage of certification by videotaped lesson (2001)
State requires state performance assessment for second stage of certification with portfolio (2001)
State provides incentives to earn National Board certification (2001)
State provides financial incentives to earn National Board certification (2001)
Number teachers certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (2001)		1,303
TEACHING IN FIELD 30% of grade
Percent of secondary teachers who hold degrees in the subjects they teach (1994)		51
Minimum degree/coursework required for initial secondary license for all high school teachers (2001)		major
Minimum degree/coursework required for initial secondary license for all middle school teachers (2001)		(major)³
State discourages out-of-field teaching and requires secondary subject-area license for middle school (2001)
State discourages out-of-field teaching and provides parent notification or data on school report card (2001)
¹State provides professional-development funds for all local education agencies/districts. ²Education Week converted semester-hour requirements into weeks. ³Colorado requires 800 hours of student teaching and other kinds of clinical experiences. Education Week converted 400 of these hours to estimate the minimum number of weeks required for student teaching.
PROFESSIONAL SUPPORT & TRAINING 20% of grade
State requires and finances induction for beginning teachers (2001)
State supports ongoing professional development for all teachers (2001)	Time for professional development
	State funds professional development	¹
TEACHER EDUCATION 15% of grade
Teacher-training programs held accountable for graduates' assessment scores (2001)
State requires clinical experiences during teacher training (2001)	Minimum weeks for student teaching
	Other kinds of clinical experiences
UNGRADED: ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Average teacher salaries, adjusted for the cost of living (2000)		Average starting salary	$26,226
		Average salary (all teachers)	$38,845
State has policies encouraging pay for performance (2001)
State offers incentives for teachers in low-performing schools (2001)

School Climate
For more information about these measures, see our 50-state School Climate data table.

?Indicates state did not participate in national assessment or survey.
¹Education Week could not verify information for the District of Columbia on school-crisis-management plans, class-size reduction, school construction capital outlay, or the assessment of school facilities.

California
STUDENT ENGAGEMENT
Percent of 8th graders where a school-level official reports that ...		absenteeism is not a problem or is a minor problem (2000)	76
		tardiness is not a problem or is a minor problem (2000)	72
		classroom misbehavior is not a problem or is a minor problem (2000)	68
PARENT INVOLVEMENT
Percent of students in schools where a school-level official reports that ...	lack of parent involvement is not a problem or is a minor problem (2000)	4th grade	57
		8th grade	38
	more than half of parents participate in parent-teacher conferences (2000)	4th grade	95
		8th grade	59
SCHOOL SAFETY
State requires that school safety information be included on school report cards (2001)
State requires all schools to have crisis plans coordinated with local authorities (2001)
Percent of students reporting that they feel very or moderately safe in school (2000)		4th graders	92
		8th graders	90
Percent of students in schools where a school-level official reports that physical conflicts are a serious or a moderate problem (2000)		4th grade	14
		8th grade	17
Percent of high school students who...		felt too unsafe to go to school during the past 30 days (1999)	?
		carried a weapon on school property during the past 30 days (1999)	?
		were threatened or injured with a weapon on school property in the past year (1999)	?
		were in a physical fight on school property in the past year (1999)	?
CHOICE AND AUTONOMY
State has a public school open-enrollment program (2001)		limited
State law allows charter schools (2001)
Strength of charter school law (2001)		3.0
Number of charter schools (2001)		350
CLASS SIZE
State has implemented a class-size-reduction program and/or limits class size by statute (2001)
Average number of students per teacher in the state (2001)		20.8
SCHOOL FACILITIES
State provides grants/debt service for capital outlay or construction (2001)
State funding dedicated to capital outlay or construction for FY 2002 (2001)		$2,000,000,000
State tracks condition of all school facilities (2001)

Resources: Adequacy
For more information about these measures, see our 50-state Resources: Adequacy data table.

NOTE: States are ranked by number grade to the nearest decimal.
¹Because the District of Columbia does not have a state revenue source, it did not receive a grade for adequacy.
^{2Figures a}djusted to reflect regional cost differences and weighted for student needs. Students in poverty equal 1.2, and students in special education equal 2.3.
³Data on special education used to adjust spending figures were missing for nearly 30 percent of the districts analyzed in Vermont.

California
Overall grade for adequacy	F	59
40% of grade
Education spending per student, adjusted for regional cost differences (2001)	State average	$5,603
	Percent of U.S. Average	79.1
	Percent change from 2000	1.8
40% of grade
Percent of students in districts with per-pupil expenditures at or above the U.S. average² ($5,281)	1.7
Adequacy index² (1999)	078.66%
15% of grade
Percent of total taxable resources spent on education (1999)	3.0
5% of grade
Average annual rate of change in expenditures per pupil, adjusted for inflation (1990-2000)	0.3%
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Percent of students in districts with per-pupil expenditures² at or above ... (1999)	National median ($5,083)	2.4
	$6,000	0 0.5
	$7,000	0 0.1
Unadjusted education spending per student (2001)	$6,255
Percent of annual education expenditure spent on instruction (1999)	61.0
Instructional dollars per student (1999)	$3,539
Teachers as a percentage of total staff (1999)	53.9
Percent of education expenditures devoted to teachers (2000)	39.2

Resources: Equity
For more information about these measures, see our 50-state Resources: Equity data table.

NOTE: States are ranked by number grade to the nearest decimal.
¹Because the District of Columbia does not have a revenue source, it did not receive a grade for equity.
²The targeting score is derived using multiple regression techniques to determine the extent to which district property wealth influences state aid, controlling for other factors that influence state funding, including student enrollment, physical size of districts, and the number of students in low-income families or in special education.
³Hawaii has a single statewide district.
⁴Data on property wealth used to compute state equalization effort, wealth-neutrality score and implicit foundation level were missing for about 20 percent of the districts analyzed in California.
⁵Data on special education used to adjust spending figures were missing for nearly 30 percent of the districts analyzed in Vermont.
⁶Figures adjusted to reflect regional cost differences and weighted for student needs. Students in poverty equal 1.2 and students in special education equal 2.3.
⁷The District of Columbia is a single district.

California
OVERALL GRADE FOR EQUITY		C+	78
50% of grade
State equilization effort (1999)	Overall score		71.3%
	Targeting score		-0.122⁴
	State share of funding		63.5%
25% of grade
Wealth-neutrality score⁶ (1999)	0.032 ⁴
12.5% of grade
McLoone Index⁶(1999)	094.27%
12.5% of grade
Coefficient of variation⁶(1999)	10.7%
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Restricted range⁶ (1999)	$1,227
Restricted range ratio⁶ (1999)	30.3%
Average state funding per pupil⁶ (1999)	$3,293
Average state and local funding per pupil⁶ (1999)	$5,183
Implicit foundation level⁶	$3,694

� 2002 Editorial Projects in Education Vol. 21, number 17, Page Web- only