Analysis of Education in California - Research Paper Example

Analysis of Education in California Abstract California is one of the states in the US with a high population composing of different people such as African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Latin Americans, Asians, and other smaller tribes. Education standards are quite low compared to the other states with many learners belonging to unemployed parents. The dropout rate is high and many of the schools do not have basic learning facilities such as science equipments for carrying out experiments. The teacher-student ratio is high with one teacher for every 21 students and teachers are not comfortable with their working conditions. The state plans to bring back some programs that were eliminated during the great recession denying many learners many high quality services enjoyed by learners in the other states. There are other reforms by the government and the education sector in the 2014-1015 budgets to aid the ailing education sector. The reforms will help reinstate confidence in the education system in California state and assist students acquire competitive skills like their colleagues in the other states. Education in California Introduction The education system in California has both public and private schools such as the University of California, California Community Colleges, public and private elementary schools, private colleges and universities, and, any high schools. California has the highest population in the US with many school students at all education levels. According to the 2005-2006, the state had around 6.2 million scholars in all school levels exerting pressure in public schools (McClanahan, 2011). The state lags behind in staffing and funding of education especially in the District of Colombia. The teacher-pupil ratio is also big with one teacher handling 21 students according to the 2005-2006 school year reports. Students from African America families are living below the poverty line and cannot fund their education fully. California public school's quality of education has declined in several dimensions since the 1970s with little intervention (Newfield &Lye, 2011). The state of education in California has declined greatly especially in public schools. The state and the local districts many very huge cuts in the budgets of various schools due to the hard economic times. The leaders mostly try to find short-term solutions to the problems hoping that the economy will recover and do not want to make the hard reform choices. According to reports, 54% of the science teachers lack the necessary equipment for and materials to enable them do experiments and other learning activities as Dorph, Shields, Tiffany-Morales, Hartry & McCaffrey (2011) note. Textbooks are not enough in many schools, and the classroom conditions are not conducive because they are either too hot or too cold. Many teachers are not comfortable with their working conditions and the overall teaching and learning conditions in California are not favorable. The state has several disadvantaged students especially from the minority groups such as Africa and Latin America because of the unfair distribution of educational opportunities. Problems facing Education in California One of the major challenges facing California education system is funding up to the US average level as the state rank 46th in the per capita spending when compared to other states in the US. There is a huge gap between the budget per student in California and the national average budget at approximately $691 in 2001-2002 to $2856 in 2010-2011 (Demographic Information, 2015). California children are subjected to substandard education compared to children in the other US states due to the low allocation for each learner. There are discrepancies in California among the school districts regarding the amount spent on education especially students from the disadvantaged backgrounds in higher levels of education such as the African American children (Chen, 2011). The weighted student formula that gives funding to students from the school district with high-needs students should be applied. The other problem is the diversion of funds to wealthier schools or the resistance offered by such schools.  The other problem with Californian schools concerns the implementation of new accountability and testing systems. There are some accountability systems such as one established by the No Child Left Behind Law did not bear fruits in the performance of schools due to poor leadership (Alphin , n.d). There is a lot to be done in the implementation of systems that will transform the education systems in California such as the Common Core State Standards, which is common to the 46 states. Students in colleges and public universities face financial challenges, as the funding does not meet all their necessities (Ziadie, 2011). Many of the schools might have challenges in the implementation of the systems especially with the short time frame provided. Until the systems are applied in California, the state will always lag behind other states in the US. Some programs were eliminated after the budget cuts, which will be difficult to restore due to insufficient funds. Since the great recession began five years ago, the state government has trimmed many education programs such as cuts in music, reduced counseling staff, and physical education programs. Some individuals in the government feel that some of the public learning institutions should be privatized to improve conditions (Amador, 2011). Summer and adult school programs were also eliminated, and it will be difficult to restore all the programs to have an equitable education systems. Before the great recession, the schools used to meet the need for individual students but things have changed. The other challenge is assisting students from economically challenged families and children with special needs to enable them complete their education according to Chen (2011). Many parents are unemployed and cannot afford the education costs for their children. The problems impact greatly on the struggling economy of California as many of the children require help for them to complete school. There are other needs such as counseling and individual help for children coming from low-income backgrounds especially neighborhoods facing violence and frequent household closures. Managing the costs of special education is also a challenge in California as the number of children with autism increases. The amount provided by the federal government is not enough to cater for their needs as it only provides 11 to 12 percent of the total cost of special education. Another challenge is offering education hat links learners to good careers in the colleges and the expansion of technology in the classroom by ensuring that all high school students have the necessary skills to succeed in college and universities as Ziadie (2011) reports. The high school curriculum is not relevant to the modern education system to enable individuals fit into the society after graduation. Technology incorporation in schools is a big challenge has many schools do not have the hardware or the software to initiate the program. Students in California have access to low education levels compared to children with the other states. There are several reforms in California for upgrading the education system especially the K-12 system. One of the systems adopted by the California State Board of Education is the Common Core State Standards for both mathematics and English languages in 2010 (Ed-data.k12.ca.us, 2015). The other one is the Next Generation Science Standards adopted in September 2012 to gauge students' learning in various schools and are now under implementation. The Assembly Bill 484 in 2012 came with new assessment criteria to replace the Standardized Testing and Reporting system in replacement of California Standards Tests, which were in use since the year 1997. The government has also implemented the Dropout Recovery and Prevention Act (SB 65) to deal with the high rate of dropout in California. Mathematics tests aligned to the new standards were replaced by the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium to upgrade the system. California began field-testing the new tests in English language arts and mathematics in the spring of 2014 (Ed-data.k12.ca.us, 2015). However, since the purpose of the field tests is to ensure the validity of the tests themselves, they cannot be used to measure student achievement this year. In November 2012, the State Board came up with ne standards for English Language Development for testing language proficiency in addition to the California English Language Development (CELDT). The accountability system for measuring school performance in each state (Academic Performance Index) was formed (Ed-data.k12.ca.us, 2015. The system will scrutinize the college and career to enable learners relate their class work to the career opportunities. The US Department of Education waived the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) determination for middle and elementary schools in in the 2014. However, high schools will receive AYP determinations. The state government introduced a new funding system called Per-student base grant paid per the student’s grade and an additional cost for the needy students. Schools with many students from unemployed parents, foster students, and English learners receive more funds in addition to the base funding. The new system is good because it does not give room for categorical programs, which give restrictions on the usage of funds. The LCFF has put new accountability measures for the district to demonstrate the usage of funds and whether the targets are achieved or not. There is a planned Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) at district levels to address the students’ educational needs, which will work with the Local Education Agency (LEA) budget (Ed-data.k12.ca.us, 2015. California State had a moderate population growth rate of 0.88% in 2013 -2014 since the figure hit 38.5 million by July 2014. In 2015, the population figure is approximated to be 38.9 million people with the racial distribution having some changes (Demographic Information, 2015). The Latino population is expected to be more than the non-Hispanic due to lower birth rates. The annual growth rates are about 4.7 percent with the retirement population hitting 20.7 percent raising the dependency ratio. The government budget for education in 2014-2015 as $60.8 billion for K_12 schools and community colleges. 450 billion dollars will go to the implementation of the new Standards for Mathematics and English Language Arts. 250 million will be for the career technical education while the Early Childhood Education will get $264 million. Conclusion California’s education system faces many challenges since the major recession making the learners get an education that is at a lower standard command to the other states in the US. The majority of the learner's com from the disadvantaged backgrounds especially the Africa Americans Latin Americans with low incomes. The state has made several reforms in the education sector to enable it to get at the same position with the other state. Funding of the education per student and providing extra funds for the needy students and those with special needs. The changes will help in improving the education sector in California and raise the standards of living. References Alphin H. (n.d). Higher Education Governance in California. SSRN Journal. doi:10.2139/ssrn.2287230 Amador, C. (2011). The Struggle for Public Education in California: States of Indebtedness: Care Work in the Struggle against Educational Privatization. South Atlantic Quarterly, Spring2011, (110) 2, 565-569. Chen, C. (2011). The Struggle for Public Education in California: "We have all become students of color now": The California Student Movement and the Rhetoric of Privilege. South Atlantic Quarterly, Spring (110) 2, 559-564. Dorph, R., Shields, P., Tiffany-Morales, J., Hartry, A., & McCaffrey, T. (2011). High Hopes--Few Opportunities: The Status of Elementary Science Education in California. Strengthening Science Education in California. Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning at WestEd. Ed-data.k12.ca.us,. (2015). Pages - K-12-changes. Retrieved 4 May 2015, from https://www.ed-data.k12.ca.us/Pages/K-12-changes.aspx Demographic Information,. (2015). Demogr aphic Infor mation 149 Governor’s Budget Summary – 2014-15. Retrieved 4 May 2015, from http://www.ebudget.ca.gov/2014-15/pdf/BudgetSummary/DemographicInformation.pdf McClanahan, A. (2011). The Struggle for Public Education in California: Coming Due: Accounting for Debt, Counting on Crisis. South Atlantic Quarterly, Spring (110) 2, 539-545 Newfield, C., Lye, C. ( 2011). The Struggle for Public Education in California: Introduction. South Atlantic Quarterly, Spring, (110) 2, 529-538. Ziadie, B. (2011). The Struggle for Public Education in California: The New Diversity: A Year of Crisis at UC Riverside South Atlantic Quarterly, Spring (110) 2, 553-558. Read More