School is about kids in classrooms and the teachers who educate them. But the typical school around the corner in California operates within a larger system of public education that affects who those children and teachers are, what they do every day, and how their progress is evaluated. In order to understand what is happening in California’s public schools, why it’s happening, and what changes could help schools do a better job, you need a sense of what that larger system looks like.

Vital Statistics

September 2008

This section of the EdSource website provides some basic background and facts. It also directs you to more detailed explanations and data located elsewhereon our website.

The students

• California is by far the largest state and educates one in eight public school students in the United States.

• About half of all California students are Latino and about a third are white.

• California’s students face particular academic challenges given that almost half of them are from low-income families and a quarter are identified as English learners.

The system

• The state contributes about $6 out of every $10 that goes to public education, and state leaders largely control how much funding each school district in California receives.

• The state has nearly 1,000 school districts that range in size from a few students to about 700,000.

• Each district has an elected school board that determines how to spend the money allocated by the state, but the board does so within the constraints of state and federal law and (with very few exceptions) collective bargaining commitments.

• In 2006–07, California had more than 600 charter schools, serving 3.6% of the state’s K–12 student population.

The resources available

• California’s expenditures per pupil began losing ground compared with the national average in the late 1970s and have remained below the national average since 1982.

• More than 80% of school expenditures are for salaries and benefits for certificated staff—including teachers, administrators, and other professionals—and classified staff, such as bus drivers, clerks, and cafeteria workers.

• California public schools have only about three-quarters as many staff members as do schools on average in the United States.

• Since 1998, California has invested more than $70 billion ($35.4 billion in state bonds plus $36.5 billion in local bond measures) in improving and expanding its school facilities.

The expectations for students

• California’s academic content standards, upon which the state bases its curriculum guidelines and assessments, rate high marks in national comparisons.

• Based on the state’s assessment and accountability systems, California’s students and schools are making steady achievement gains but still fall short of ambitious state and federal goals.

The achievement of California's students

• The academic progress of African American and Latino students lags far behind that of white and Asian students.

• Although improving slightly, California students’ performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) remains below the national average.

• Based on the most comparable estimates, California’s graduation rates are similar to the United States as a whole.