Advancing Education and Opportunity for All
Effective, equitable education systems are necessary to prepare California’s children for the economy and society of the future. California historically led the nation in the quality of elementary and secondary schools and in creating a world-class system of public higher education to serve all Californians who wanted to go to college. But both systems have fallen behind. There are large racial and economic gaps in both achievement and educational attainment.
Efforts to understand and improve educational outcomes are made more difficult in California by the lack of a longitudinal student-record data system that links students across elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education, such as exists in many other states. As a result, California has often flown “data-blind” when it comes to basic information about factors influencing student achievement or the effects of various reforms.
The California Policy Lab is partnering with school districts, colleges and universities, and state education agencies to assess the impact of programs that serve our state’s most valued asset, our children. We help these partners maximize the effectiveness of the state’s education systems by better understanding their pupils and the forces at play in their lives outside the classroom. CPL helps educators and policymakers access better information that informs better policies.
Focus Areas
Hosted education projects
Education-focused projects that CPL has hosted are listed below:
Project Number | Project Name | All Team Members |
---|---|---|
2020-011 | College choice and family finances | Rob Fairlie, Sandra Black, Jeff Denning, Steve Ramos, Oded Gurantz, William Sullivan, Michael Jensen |
2022-027 | Family Responses to College Financial Aid Incentives | Jesse Rothstein, Nick Gebbia |
2022-117 | Financial Conseq of Stud Loan Default and Servicer Quality | Meredith Welch,Benjamin Kaufman |
2022-233 | School Resources & Student Achievement Trajectories: From PreK-12 & Beyond | Rucker Johnson,Joaquin Fuenzalida |
2023-252 | Disparate Risk and Burden in the Student Loan System | Jonathan Glater,Raj Darolia,Ron Zimmer,Regina Lewis |
2023-277 | Effect of CA Dream Act Application (CADAA) on Student Success | Kassandra Hernandez, Teresita Cruz Vital, Patrick Kline, Jesse Rothstein |
2023-295 | The Impacts of Parent PLUS Access on Postsecondary Enrollment | William Sullivan, Sandra Black, Palaash Bhargava, Steve Ramos, Jeff Denning, Oded Gurantz, Sandra Black, Rob Fairlie, Michael Jensen |
2024-323 | Broadening the Safety Net: LPIE Expansion | Gaby Lohner, Jennifer Hogg |
2024-324 | Financial Literacy Education | Elaine Shen, Junru Lyu, Stefano DellaVigna |
2024-356 | Predictive Models for CC Student Outcomes | James Lee |
2024-375 | Understanding Student Loan Aversion | Elaine Shen, Tudor Schlanger, Dmitry Taubinsky |
2024-385 | Does New School Construction Impact Student Test Scores and Attendance? | Julien LaFortune |