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  • Parents of English learners in the dark about their children’s language progress

    Parents of English learners in the dark about their children’s language progress


    Este artículo está disponible en Español. Léelo en español.

    Yosadara Carbajal Salmerón was always a very involved parent, from the time her children were in Head Start.

    She would volunteer in the classroom and sign up for parent committees throughout elementary and middle school.

    But Carbajal Salmerón didn’t realize that her children, who attend school in Pomona Unified, were still considered English learners after years of school, or how that might affect them. Then one day she received notification that her son had been reclassified as fluent and English proficient when he was in eighth grade.

    Her first question was, “Why hasn’t my daughter reclassified?” 

    Carbajal Salmerón’s daughter Mia Mirón was younger and had never learned to speak Spanish fluently, in part because she had always spoken English with her older brother.

    “I couldn’t understand it,” Carbajal Salmerón said in Spanish. “My son was the first born and he only spoke Spanish when he entered school. But why would my daughter still be an English learner, if she had had a harder time learning Spanish?”

    Courtesy of Yosadara Carbajal Salmerón

    Yosadara Carbajal Salmerón (right) with her children Andrew and Mia Mirón at Mia’s eighth grade graduation.

    Parents of English learners are often unaware of their children’s progress learning the language, according to advocates from the Parent Organization Network, based in Los Angeles.

    The organization is launching a campaign to help parents learn to monitor their children’s progress and advocating for changes in how districts communicate the information to families.

    Students are classified as English learners when they first enroll in school if their parents speak a language other than English at home and they do not score high enough on the English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC). English learners have to continue to take the test every year, until they show proficiency in English, in addition to meeting other requirements, such as meeting grade level on state standardized tests in English language arts. At that point, they are reclassified as “fluent English proficient.”

    As long as students are classified as English learners, they must take English language development classes in addition to their regular classes. If they are not reclassified before middle and high school, those language classes can take up so much of their schedule that they cannot take as many electives as other students, and they may not be able to access as much academic content in other classes.

    Araceli Simeón, executive director of Parent Organization Network, said that parents often rely on report cards to monitor their children’s academic progress. “If they’re getting A’s and B’s, they don’t look at anything else,” she said.

    Districts have to send information to parents of English learners every year about their children’s progress on the ELPAC, but the reports are often sent in the mail, separate from a child’s report card. Even when parents do receive the scores, they do not always understand what they mean or what their children need to do in order to be reclassified.

    In addition, more and more districts are using online portals to share students’ scores on state standardized tests in reading, math and English language proficiency, Simeón said. Often, those portals can be difficult to navigate for parents who don’t speak English or aren’t as comfortable with technology. 

    “If you don’t know how to navigate that, then essentially years go by without you receiving a note about your child’s progress on the test,” Simeón said.

    Last year, staff from Parent Organization Network trained more than 80 parents in three districts – Los Angeles Unified, Long Beach Unified and Pomona Unified.

    In one of those trainings, Carbajal Salmerón learned for the first time about the process for students to be reclassified.

    “For the first time, someone explained to me the exam that they have to take once a year and that they have to learn how to write, listen, speak and read. The teachers had never told me that my daughter had a 3 in reading, for example, or a 2 in writing. No one had ever told me that,” said Carbajal Salmerón.

    Maribel Bautista is another parent who took the training. She has 14-year-old triplets in Long Beach Unified. All three were classified as English learners when they entered kindergarten because the family speaks Spanish at home. When Bautista would receive reports on how her triplets were doing in English, she assumed it was in English language arts, rather than learning the language itself. 

    When Bautista took training with Parent Organization Network and began to analyze the reports she had received, she realized that one of her triplets was reclassified in second grade and another in third, but one had never been reclassified, and he was in eighth grade.

    “I think the most important thing is explaining to parents what the classification of English learner means, why their kids are being placed there, and what steps they need to take to pass the exam before they go to middle school,” Bautista said in Spanish. “It’s about communication.”

    Courtesy of Maribel Bautista

    Triplets Nick, Jeson and Kendrick Figueroa attend school in Long Beach Unified.

    Asked what steps they are taking to help parents understand the reclassification process and their children’s progress, the districts where Parent Organization Network trained parents responded in different ways.

    The superintendent of Pomona Unified, Darren Knowles, said that collaborating with Parent Organization Network “led to a complete overhaul of the documents that we use to inform parents about the reclassification process.”

    Knowles said over the last four years, Pomona Unified redesigned a resource page for parents about reclassification criteria in English, Spanish, and Mandarin. The district also conducts regular presentations and training for parents about what students need in order to reclassify. In addition, he said the district is printing ELPAC score reports to give to families during parent-teacher conferences. Recently, he said the district sent out information about ELPAC scores to parents and offered in-person meetings if they wanted to review their children’s progress. He said 92 parents from 18 different schools requested an in-person meeting.

    Spokespersons from Los Angeles Unified and Long Beach Unified shared fewer details. “Our families have various opportunities including notification and consultation letters,” said the LAUSD statement. “The District also offers over a dozen meetings throughout the year where families can deep dive into their student’s educational journey. In addition, families are welcome to call and set up a school visit with the English learner designee or school principal.”

    “Long Beach Unified is dedicated to ensuring parents of English language learners receive student progress and reclassification information,” said Long Beach Unified School District spokesperson Evelyn Somoza. “Parents of students who have not yet been reclassified receive information on their student’s English language proficiency at the start of every school year through U.S. mail and our online portal. Parents receive phone calls and emails when test scores from assessments completed during the school year become available.”

    Both Bautista and Carbajal Salmerón attended universities in Mexico and want their children to go to college, too. They want their children to be able to enroll in the college preparatory classes they need in high school, which can be hard for students if they are still classified as English learners.

    After understanding the process, they began to push for more help for their children and encourage them to work on their English reading and writing skills to improve their scores on the ELPAC. 

    Carbajal Salmerón’s daughter Mia took a summer school intensive English class, began to attend English classes on Saturdays, and started focusing on improving her reading.

    Finally, in the first semester of ninth grade, she was reclassified, allowing her to stop taking English language development classes and freeing up her schedule to take more electives.

    Now a sophomore, Mia hopes to go to college to study ethnic studies. She credits her eighth grade English language development teacher, who spoke with her and other English learners and explained to them that they had to pass the English proficiency test in order to be reclassified as fluent. 

    “She was a teacher that really wanted everybody in the class to reclassify, and she put in the energy and time to really create a connection with every single one of us,” Mia said. “I feel like personally it’s all in the teacher. If they motivate you and make you see that you personally are capable of doing and achieving and reclassifying, it’s the greatest compliment ever.”





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  • Time to retire the tainted, unfair basic skills test for teachers

    Time to retire the tainted, unfair basic skills test for teachers


    Photo courtesy Woodleywonderworks / Flickr

    One morning, some 20 years ago, I took an anonymous phone call that stunned me. Years had passed since our decadelong federal class action discrimination lawsuit against the CBEST had ended with only partial reforms in 2000. From its origins in 1982, the California Basic Educational Skills Test, which purports to measure the universal reading, writing and math skills needed to perform in all the varied public school jobs requiring credentials, has been controversial for deterring tens of thousands of educators of color from entering the public school workforce. The horrific first-time pass rates — 38% for Blacks; 49% for Latinos, and 53% Asians vs. 80% for whites — improved, but only modestly, after 1995 changes instigated by our lawsuit.

    The caller had personal knowledge that a recently deceased former employee of the defendant Commission on Teacher Credentialing had examined the CBEST for her doctoral dissertation and concluded it was racially and culturally biased. The Commission suppressed the study, including when our lawsuit specifically requested such reports. Instead of producing it or making us and our judge aware of it, the commission’s lawyers quietly procured a protective order from a state judge to keep the study out of the federal case.

    From its inception, the racial and cultural bias undergirding the CBEST — like the phantom study — has been suppressed, lurking, just beneath the surface. The sickening pass rates — rather than spurring reform — have been used to support the worst kind of circular reasoning: If it’s failing that many people, especially Black and brown people who’ve been subjected to inferior public education in California, the state’s lawyer repeatedly told the court, it must be working.

    Federal guidelines dictate that a test and its passing levels should correspond to “normal expectations of proficiency within the workforce.” Yet there has never been evidence that over half of all Black college graduates (or a fifth of whites, for that matter), are graduating lacking basic reading, writing and math skills.

    Rather, the CBEST’s passing scores, and to some extent its math content, have always been set arbitrarily high, bent more on failing many to justify itself politically than on fairly assessing educators on the minimum level of basic skills needed for their jobs.

    The CBEST ran off track from its inception. Rather than being created by employment-testing experts like a civil service exam, it was a high-profile political showpiece, divorced from critical employment testing standards and processes. When employment tests have a substantial adverse impact on diverse candidates, “job-relatedness” requires that assumptions about what skills are needed must be proven by analyzing each job tested. Likewise, untested desires for high performance on partial job elements must be scrutinized. Insisting that all your players sink 90% of their free throws may sound good, but that unexamined standard would fail legions of hall of famers.

    Documents uncovered during the case acknowledged that in 1982, California chose the faster and cheaper development plan from Educational Testing Service that specifically rejected making the test “job-related.” Even so, ETS’s initial validity study undertook the most careful and extensive examination to date of where to establish passing scores, for, as required, “minimally competent” (not high or average-performing) educators. Relying on the professional judgment of some 289 educators and academics, that study recommended relatively modest passing scores. A typical employment exam process would likely have called it a day. Instead, a much smaller, politically appointed advisory board of 11 recommended substantially higher passing scores, which were further one-upped by then-State Superintendent of Public Instruction Bill Honig. Spurred on by “campaign promises to raise [teacher] quality,” Honig set yet higher passing scores without regard to job-relatedness. The final effect reduced Black, Latino and Asian first-time pass rates from 63%, 69% and 76% if the 289 ETS panelists had been followed to 38%, 49% and 53%, respectively.

    Enter Public Advocates’ litigation 10 years later. The state defendants were blindsided when the courts held the CBEST is an employment exam for public school educators which must be “job-related.” The pre-litigation validity studies admittedly had never taken the essential first step for employment tests — a job analysis of all those educator jobs. When the commission finally attempted one in 1994, its own expert advised that most of the math test — the algebra and geometry portions used since 1982 — was not job-related, that those items should be removed and the test re-scored to pass unfairly failed candidates.

    Did the state and the commission acknowledge the harm caused and right the wrong? No. They doubled down on protecting the CBEST and its racially discriminatory failure rates.

    The policymakers had their expert “reconsider” and then delete that recommendation. Then, they engineered a revised CBEST that imported the difficulty level and high failure rates for people of color of the prior invalid test by removing much less of the math content than called for, swapping in relatively difficult “lower order” math items and — when test-takers still performed better — raising the math passing score.

    In 2000, six judges on a deeply fractured 11-judge federal appellate panel looked the other way and accepted the “revised” CBEST. But state decision-makers don’t have to continue to do so. At its meeting this week, the commission is examining whether to renew the CBEST contract with its vendor. After 40 years, it’s time to retire the CBEST. In a post-George Floyd era of racial reckoning, we should be working to overturn the harms against people of color caused by unnecessary, biased, standardized tests. In 2015, California dropped another discriminatory, misguided “accountability” measure from a bygone era, the High School Exit Exam. The University of California and California State University have dropped the SAT from their admissions processes, and the state has essentially halted community colleges from using questionable exams to place students from marginalized communities in dead-end remedial classes disproportionately. Oregon, the only other state that used the CBEST, phased out administering it years ago, concerned with its redundancy and adverse impacts.

    There are more than enough entry requirements to ensure credential candidates possess job-related basic skills. These include requiring a bachelor’s degree, subject matter competency, the California Teaching Performance Assessment, the Reading Instruction Competence Assessment or RICA and, since 2000, transcript reviews of basic skills proficiency as an alternative to the CBEST. It’s time for the credentialing commission and the state to drop the tainted CBEST. It’s also time for some reconciliation. The commission can start by releasing that long-suppressed study of the CBEST’s racial and cultural bias.

    •••

    John Affeldt is a managing attorney at Public Advocates, a public-interest law firm in San Francisco, where he focuses on educational equity issues.

    The opinions expressed in this commentary represent those of the author. EdSource welcomes commentaries representing diverse points of view. If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelines and contact us.





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  • On the heels of Proposition 28, California colleges pave new pathways for arts teachers

    On the heels of Proposition 28, California colleges pave new pathways for arts teachers


    Children visit a gallery to learn about bugs by making art projects in Merryl Goldberg’s class at Cal State San Marcos.

    credit: Merryl Goldberg

    Eric Engdahl once ran away to join the circus. Always one with a flair for the dramatic, he became a ringmaster at Circus Flora, a one-ring boutique circus with a Civil War theme. He says the experience, learning to communicate with gymnasts and clowns, elephants and horses, prepared him well for the challenge of being a teacher.  

    “There was no one common language,” said Engdahl, now professor emeritus in the department of teacher education at Cal State East Bay. “So I learned how to build communication, how to tell stories, and that a common goal is essential.”

    Helping students find their creative voice is a key reason Engdahl spearheaded an online credential program in theater and dance at Cal State East Bay in 2021, making it the first CSU to offer those credentials just as Proposition 28 promises to create thousands of new arts teaching jobs at California schools.  Similarly, Cal State San Marcos will soon become the first CSU to create a pathway specifically for undergraduate art majors who wish to teach. Cal State Northridge is poised to launch a dance credential program next spring. Given the anticipated demand for newly minted arts educators in the wake of Proposition 28, the state’s 2022 groundbreaking initiative to bring arts education back into schools, many expect other campuses to follow their lead.

    “I would like to claim that I was prescient about Prop. 28, and while I did a lot of groundwork to get the credentials going, there is always the unexpected, e.g. Covid,” said Engdahl, who wrote his dissertation on the antebellum circus movement in America. “It turned out to be great timing.”

    Merryl Goldberg, a longtime music professor, has long seen arts education as an equity issue. She believes that all students should have access to the arts, not just the privileged ones, particularly because of the well-established links between arts education, academic achievement and social-emotional learning. That’s what inspired her to launch the state’s first undergraduate pathway to arts education at Cal State San Marcos. 

    credit: Albert Rascon

    Musicians jam during Merryl Goldberg’s arts education class at Cal State San Marcos.

    “We have the most wonderful diverse students at CSUSM, who I know will make incredible arts teachers,” said Goldberg, a saxophonist who spent 13 years on the road with the Klezmer Conservatory Band. “It kills me that so many students in California have had a limited arts background, and I’m thrilled this will finally change. The arts truly matter.”

    Engdahl’s students are now reaping the benefits of his fortuitous planning efforts. They are sitting in the catbird seat as many school districts are clamoring to hire arts educators to teach classes funded by the state’s historic mandate to restore arts and music education to California schools. Last year, an LAUSD official visiting his theater credential class offered jobs to all his students. 

    “I regularly get phone calls and emails from people all over the state wanting to recruit my students,” said Engdahl. “Los Angeles, San Francisco, and to some extent, San Diego, the big districts are all aggressively implementing Prop. 28 and hiring people to fill those jobs.”  

    Goldberg is also hearing from school districts eager to hire arts educators. Some are having to recruit out-of-state teachers to fill the slots, she says.

    “This opens up the world to so many students who want to be an art teacher, a music teacher, a dance or theater teacher,” said Goldberg. “It’s especially important for first-generation college students. The majority of our students are first-generation, and many are low-income. They have to work so hard to go to college, and they are beaming with potential to make a difference. They have so much passion.”

    credit: Albert Rascon

    A student in one of Merryl Godberg’s music education classes at Cal State San Marcos.

    One major concern is how best to widen the arts credential pipeline, which has shriveled amid decades of cutbacks, for the next generation of arts ed teachers. While there are 64 programs in the state that offer a music credential and 57 that offer a visual arts credential, only a few focus on theater and dance. That’s not enough to feed a field that has gone from famine to feast, experts say.

    “We know we’re short about 15,000 arts teachers in the state,” said Goldberg. “Most of the CSUs or UCs or even private colleges haven’t been churning out a lot of art and music and dance and theater teachers because there haven’t been a whole lot of jobs. Now, all of a sudden, there’s so many jobs.”

    Despite this arts teacher crunch, there are various workarounds. For instance, physical education teachers who were credentialed before 2022 already have dance embedded in their credential, experts say. The same goes for some English teachers automatically having a theater credential. Prospective arts educators with sufficient college credits in their discipline can also apply for a supplemental authorization to teach instead of getting a credential. 

    It should be noted, however, that not all districts are anxious to raise the curtain on new arts programs. The myriad complexities of the Proposition 28 rollout may have contributed to many smaller and rural districts proceeding cautiously as they expand their arts offerings. 

    “The rural districts are not as well-resourced due to fewer students,” said Letty Kraus, director of the California County Superintendents’ statewide arts initiative, “and it is harder to staff rural schools with credentialed arts teachers due to shortages.” 

    In the wake of the Covid pandemic, many school administrators are also overwhelmed by pressing matters, experts say, from the dearth of teachers to deep learning loss, marked by falling rates of literacy and numeracy. 

    “Elementary principals don’t have time to deal with this,” said Engdahl. “You’re already struggling to hire teachers. You’re looking to fill classrooms, you’re doing a lot of jobs and there’s not enough administrative support.”

    Some districts, having eliminated their arts classes long ago due to budget cuts, are now starting from scratch with no expertise in the arts. They need help to build out a plan for arts education, and some arts advocates note the California Department of Education, which is administering the program, has not been sufficiently responsive regarding the rules of implementation.

    “Many school districts are taking a go-slow approach,” said Engdahl, who is consulting with several districts on how to flesh out their programs. “They want to wait and see how the money flows. They don’t know quite what to do with it because they don’t have enough administrative staff to figure it out.”

    A slow-and-steady approach might make sense, some say, because schools have three years to use the funds. A little extra time also means that more colleges can get in on the act and develop their own arts credential programs to help fill the burgeoning pipeline.

    “You have to take the long view,” Goldberg said. “It’s not a bad idea to hold off and not rush into things. That gives you time to really look at the language of the law. It also gives colleges time to launch new programs to widen the pipeline. My team feels confident our work is 100% replicable among any of the CSUs, private colleges and UCs.”

    Cal State San Marcos plans to welcome its first arts education cohort next fall. Goldberg says there’s been a lot of demand thus far from both arts-focused undergraduates who want to teach their craft and from seasoned teachers interested in transitioning into arts education.

    “We are reaching out to teaching artists who may wish to come back to get a credential, and to in-service teachers who have already or might soon transition to becoming an arts teacher,” she said. “We want to ensure they have the support and training they need. There is an extreme need for new arts teachers and support for transitioning teachers.”

    She also argues that California offers many career opportunities for graduates with arts expertise, from arts education and the entertainment industry to the exploding cybersecurity sector, which has been known to recruit music majors for their ability to construct complex elements into intricate patterns.

    “The amount of jobs relating directly to the arts is crazy,” said Goldberg. “Arts ain’t fluff, they really are a career opportunity. The importance of arts in preparation for careers is giant.”

    For his part, Engdahl is hopeful that as the new arts mandate rolls out, more districts will see that arts education could also be a powerful tool for healing children traumatized by the pandemic. 

    “The arts and arts education, because of the way it’s taught, could really be a wonderful resource for helping students heal from the pandemic and catch up with the developmental and the social skills that they lost,” he said. “I think probably many administrators know that, but it’s just they’re so overwhelmed with what’s going on in the trenches right now.” 





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  • Congress must reinvigorate the nation’s Head Start program

    Congress must reinvigorate the nation’s Head Start program


    Credit: Lillian Mongeau/EdSource

    Our country is facing an urgent crisis: the early-educator shortage. Earlier this year, the National Head Start Association reported that 19% of Head Start staff positions were vacant nationwide, leading to the closure of 20% of all Head Start classrooms. As of August, the entire child care workforce was 40,000 less than pre-pandemic.

    As the largest Head Start provider in Los Angeles County and the state of California, the Los Angeles County Office of Education feels shortage acutely. We recognize the immense responsibility we have to children, families and communities, as well as the elementary schools where our youngest learners will continue their educational journeys. It takes educators to meet that commitment.

    It is time for Congress to fulfill the promise of Head Start by investing in the highly qualified, professional educators who teach our youngest learners through funding that at least keeps pace with inflation.

    In the meantime, we at the county office, like many early-learning providers, are doing what we can to address the staffing crisis.

    In August, I had the pleasure of addressing a graduating class of brand-new educators. Not fresh-faced young college grads just setting off into the world, these new teachers were already parents, enrolled in our Head Start program, and ready to change their life trajectories.

    There was Maria Riley, a Head Start mom decades ago, and now a Head Start grandma as she fosters her two young grandsons. Reengaging with Head Start had ignited a spark she will now share with more young learners.

    There was Martha Rebollar, initially hesitant to return to school after so long away, convinced she wouldn’t finish, and always on the verge of dropping out. But she was always persevering. And, ultimately, she was the first to be hired.

    There was Georgina Perez, whose childhood dream of becoming a teacher was first put on hold, then nearly derailed by cancer. But she would not give up. Though she had to attend the first few classes virtually from her hospital bed, she never quit.

    Then there were three dozen more of their peers, each with their own story. They joined us as parents, became our students, and are now fully qualified, professional early educators.

    Each is a testament to what the Head Start program can accomplish and a reminder of the promise made by our elected representatives in Washington for nearly six decades — a promise Congress must now reignite.

    Launching Head Start as a new front in the War on Poverty in 1965, President Lyndon Johnson declared it “one of the most constructive, and one of the most sensible, and also one of the most exciting programs that this nation has ever undertaken.”

    A National Bureau of Economic Research report shows that “Head Start easily pays for itself and generates sizable returns when taking account of its long-run effects” through lifelong benefits, even second-generation benefits, to participants.

    Proclaiming Head Start Awareness Month in October 1982, President Ronald Reagan recognized that “the services provided by dedicated Head Start staff have been instrumental in creating a quality program that truly provides young children with a ‘head start’ in life.”

    Head Start’s inclusive, comprehensive, whole-family, whole-child approach is what makes the difference — even more so in this post-pandemic world. Beginning with supporting expectant parents, collaborating with and empowering families while nurturing children educationally, nutritionally, socially and emotionally from birth until school entry, Head Start prepares children for success in school and in life.

    Head Start teachers are required to tailor activities to meet each child’s unique needs. Home visitors empower parents to be their child’s first and best teachers. Family service workers help families move toward self-sufficiency. Health and nutrition specialists build the foundation for a lifetime of healthy habits. And disabilities managers ensure that children of all abilities thrive in an inclusive classroom.

    Achieving all this, however, takes qualified, passionate staff who feel supported, are fairly compensated, and have opportunities for career growth. With proper funding, the result will be a stable workforce backed with the support needed to be present for our young learners and prepare them for the TK-12 journey ahead.

    That’s why the Los Angeles County Office of Education launched our Career Development Initiative to provide an innovative, fast-track career growth opportunity for talented, committed individuals like Maria, Martha, Georgina and so many more.

    And that’s why I’m calling on all of our elected officials to prioritize Head Start. As a society, we cannot afford to let our children, our families and our teachers down. Our future depends on it.

    •••

    Debra Duardo is the Los Angeles County superintendent of schools.

    The opinions expressed in this commentary represent those of the author. EdSource welcomes commentaries representing diverse points of view. If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelines and contact us.





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  • Credentialing commission could change the way California tests teachers

    Credentialing commission could change the way California tests teachers


    Credit: iStock_Ryan Balderas

    The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing is considering whether the state should continue to use educator assessments customized for the state, adopt assessments given in other states, use a combination of both, or do something else.

    A $25.6 million Pearson contract, which expires on Oct. 31, 2025, currently provides testing for the California Basic Education Skills Test, the California Subject Examinations for Teachers, the Reading Instruction Competency Assessment and the California Preliminary Administrative Credential Examination.  

    On Friday, commissioners directed staff to begin research on how best to improve teacher assessments in the state and to report back at a future meeting.

    Commissioner Ira Litt called the assessment system “imperfect and overly burdensome.” 

    “We have a real opportunity to sort of influence and shape the ways we speak to the educator workforce and the kinds of ways that we bring folks into the profession,” he said. “I really don’t want us to miss that opportunity.”

    California has been moving away from standardized testing for teacher candidates for several years. In July 2021, legislation gave teacher candidates the option to take approved coursework instead of the California Basic Education Skills Test, or CBEST, or the California Subject Examinations for Teachers, or CSET. 

    The state will retire the Reading Instruction Competence Assessment in June 2025 and will replace it with a Literacy Performance Assessment that allows teachers to demonstrate their competence by submitting evidence of their instructional practice through video clips and written reflections on their practice.

    Despite the added options that teacher candidates have to prove their ability to teach, commission data shows that most are still choosing to prove competency by taking a test. Staff at the commission expect the number of people taking exams to decrease as more candidates learn about the other options available.

    Nearly half of California’s potential teachers have struggled to pass the standardized tests required to earn a credential, according to data from the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. 

    The CBEST tests reading, math and writing skills and is usually taken before a student is accepted into a teacher preparation program. The CSET tests a teacher candidate’s proficiency in the subject they will teach. The RICA must be passed before a teacher can earn a credential to teach elementary school or special education.

    The CBEST is a barrier for educators of color, said John Affeldt, managing attorney at Public Advocates told EdSource after the meeting. He said the best outcome would be for legislators to eliminate the test.

     Both tests are required by law and would take legislation to eliminate them.

    “We’re urging the commission and the state to drop the test, much like what the state did with the California High School Exit Exam a few years ago,” he said.

    At Friday’s CTC meeting, Commissioner Christopher Davis, a middle school language arts teacher, agreed. Standardized testing causes “disproportionate harm” to people of color, he said. 

    “We continue to struggle with the reality that our state, through these examinations, is systematically discriminating against the very diversity it alleges it wants to track into our workforce,” Davis said. “This can end with this body. We have an opportunity to act. And I think this is the moment in history to innovate and set an example for every other state to follow.”

    Davis also questioned why the state needed to prove teachers have basic skills in reading, mathematics and writing when they have completed a bachelor’s degree.

    Other commissioners also view the sunset of the Pearson contract as an opportunity to take a comprehensive look at the best way to assess teacher candidates, but some stressed urgency because of the state’s teacher shortage.

    “We have to bring teachers into this profession,” said Commissioner Cheryl Cotton, who represents the California Department of Education on the board. “We have to support them as best we can. There is nothing more heartbreaking than to see a teacher who is highly effective with their students but who can’t pass a test.”

    The California Teachers Association supports recent legislation offering alternatives to testing to prove competency, but it wants to ensure that any tests adopted from other states are vetted by California classroom teachers, a union spokesperson said at the meeting.

    Ronald Wicks, a student liaison to the commission who is pursuing a multiple-subject credential at Pepperdine University, said he likes the idea of offering teacher candidates multiple options to qualify. 

    “Ideally, we would love everyone to meet basic skills and subject-matter competence through their coursework, right?” he said. “We would love that, but for some people, it is easier, especially if they want to teach in an area that they didn’t major in, for some people it’s going to be a lot easier to just take that test to show subject-matter competence, then to take all the coursework.”





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  • Campus tour guides set the tone for college prospects’ first impressions

    Campus tour guides set the tone for college prospects’ first impressions


    Campus tour guide Owen Short speaks to a group during a tour at Sonoma State university.

    Credit: Emily Uhrich / EdSource

    “First impressions are everything,” according to Sonoma State University tour guide Jennifer Garcia. “For a while, I didn’t really think about how important my first impression impacts tour guests.” 

    As a first line of engagement for colleges, a campus tour can be a game-changer for a student who is deciding between schools. Everything a tour guide says can impact the school, and ultimately it makes a difference for a university trying to maintain or increase its enrollment. An enthusiastic tour guide can sway students and families to that institution, while a good tour can confirm an already positive impression.

    Garcia said she realized her first impression really mattered “when a family recognized me at Seawolf Decision Day a year after they toured the school with me. The family was super friendly, and I [imagine] my good first impression made them feel comfortable even a year later.”  

    Added Sonoma State tour guide Olivia Kalogiannis, “I think the most important part when meeting prospective students for the first time is making a true connection. As a campus tour guide, I want to make the campus feel as personable as I can.”

    Most college campus tour guides are current students themselves; their main goal while on tour is to convince prospective students to come to the school by presenting some of the same reasons that lured them.

    To become a student campus tour guide at Sonoma State, applicants need to show they have a passion for the institution and a willingness to learn. The tour script, the route and the mannerisms are all predetermined and can be taught, as long as enthusiasm and effort are evident.

    Besides giving one-hour tours, shifts for guides might include answering phones in the welcome center, greeting incoming visitors and making gift bags for tour guests. In the spring, when tour season is busiest, guides sometimes lead two or three tours during a shift.

    Tours happen rain or shine, and guides have to be able to pivot at any point during their tour, such as when there’s an obstacle blocking the traditional tour path, or noise necessitates a new route.

    “Nothing really changes for me when it comes to an obstruction with a tour. I just try to make the tour seem as normal as possible. For example, if I have to change the route because it’s too loud, I’ll just direct my group into a space that is quieter, but I make it seem like it’s just part of the tour,” said tour guide Daniel Beglin.

    The guides see a variety of visitors. There are people who come in by themselves, some bring a parent, guardian or friend, and others bring their whole families. Connecting with everyone matters.

    Kalogiannis understands that the decision on where to attend could be influenced by others on the tour. “I believe interacting with the whole family is just as important as interacting with the student. My favorite part about doing this is getting people excited about college, whether that is a younger sibling, cousin or even the grandparents.”

    The most common tour-takers are those who are excited, have many questions and can’t wait to be a part of the campus community. These types of tour-takers are some of the easiest to spot for guides because they come very eager and excited to be on tour. But plenty of tour-goers are more reserved people who may have a lot of questions but don’t ask them, at least not in front of the whole group. 

    And occasionally, guests come in with negative attitudes about the school or are loaded with difficult questions. Guides still try to convince those tourists that Sonoma State is worth considering — answering tough questions truthfully — while trying to showcase the school in a positive light. 

    “When it comes to people with negative attitudes, it automatically makes it more difficult for me. No matter how hard I try, they still can just deny or put down everything I say. Nevertheless, I try not to let it affect me. My goal is to make the tour as enjoyable as I can for everyone,” Beglin said. 

    For people with difficult questions, Beglin said, “I try to answer them to the best of my ability, but I don’t want to give anyone the wrong information. So if I can’t answer it, I direct them to where they can get the correct information.” 

    Kalogiannis assesses the personality types on her tours quickly. “I try to talk to everyone; after that first interaction, I get an idea of what their vibes are for the tour.” 

    When tour guests aren’t as interactive as she would like, she pulls back a bit. “If people still aren’t engaging with me, I will kind of just let them be, [hoping] that the small interaction with me will lead to them being more receptive and asking questions later on the tour.” 

    Sonoma State tour guide Emily Uhrich sees her role as that of a mentor. “My favorite part about being a campus tour guide is meeting and helping (the visitors). I like being a mentor, especially for those who are first-generation, like I am. I want to help them navigate college because I know it can be very confusing if you are the first in your family to go to college.”

    Former tour guide Sean Kenneally has parlayed his role, post-graduation, into a job as an outreach and recruitment counselor for Sonoma State.

    “Growing up in Southern California, people tend to lean toward ‘big brand name’ schools like Harvard, USC and NYU,” Kenneally said. “I took this job because I truly enjoy talking to prospective students and showcasing the opportunities a state education can provide. I think it’s important to show that the CSU system is a viable and accessible option for higher education.” 

     

    Javier Hernandez graduated in May with a degree in communications and media studies from Sonoma State University. He is a member of EdSource’s California Student Journalism Corps and has worked as a campus tour guide since the fall 2021.





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  • Newsom’s veto enables charters to remain close to the communities they serve

    Newsom’s veto enables charters to remain close to the communities they serve


    Courtesy: Lighthouse Community Public Schools

    On Oct. 7, Gov. Gavin Newsom boldly vetoed a bill that purported to increase accountability for charter schools in high-needs communities that receive funding from the Charter School Facility Grant Program. The bill’s labor sponsors, the California School Employees Association and Assemblymember Mia Bonta claimed that this bill “will safeguard hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars from wasteful and improper spending by charter schools.”

    Despite passing through the Democratic party’s supermajority in both the Assembly and Senate, Gov. Newsom thoughtfully centered the needs of students and families in historically underserved communities over party politics and labor endorsements, and vetoed this bill, noting in his veto message of Assembly Bill 1604 that “provisions could have unintended consequences, including increasing facilities costs or limiting financial options for charter schools.”

    Unlike school districts, charter schools cannot pass general obligation bonds to finance their facilities. Instead, charter schools that serve a majority low-income student population can access funding through the Charter School Facility Grant Program to invest in facilities in the communities they serve and secure necessary financing to modernize classrooms and make campus safety improvements. Assemblymember Bonta’s bill would have increased their facilities costs and limited their long-term financing capacity — and prevented students from having access to safe and equitable facilities. This was her second failed attempt at legislation against the charter school facilities program alongside her partners at CSEA (AB 2484 in 2022 was a similar bill that died in Senate Appropriations).

    Under the current system, thoughtfully and thoroughly managed by the state treasury, charter schools can borrow money through the bond market for their facilities. The report from a 2022 audit of the Charter School Facility Grant Program noted the positive effect of the existing bond program and that the programs are “generally achieving their purpose of increasing charter schools’ access to facility funding” and did not find any improper use of the program. However, Bonta wanted to increase accountability and recoup public facilities funding in the event a charter school were to close.

    Had this bill passed, charter schools would have faced the unfair burden of increased borrowing rates for facilities in high-needs communities, or it could have even made access to financing untenable. In Oakland specifically, the district Bonta represents, charter schools, unfortunately, do not have access to high-quality, safe and equitable facilities, and require access to these bonds for long-term community investment. Oakland’s charters already face barriers, often political, to getting Proposition 39 offers (a state law requiring districts to allow charters to share space in their unused facilities or classrooms) or funding under Proposition 51 to improve existing facilities (a grant program that allows for bond-funded improvements at available district facilities for charter schools).

    Newsom’s veto should signal to Bonta and her labor partners that they should focus on more pressing educational issues that public school families care about, like increasing literacy rates, aligning investments in community school programming, improving public and school safety, and ensuring college readiness and career pathway completion.

    It is not surprising that about half of the students in East Oakland, from the Fruitvale to the San Leandro border, choose charter schools. Over the last three years, Oakland’s charter high schools have had college readiness A-G completion rates of 67% for African American and Latino students, compared with 34% at district high schools. Bonta is well aware of this, given her previous role as CEO of the Oakland Promise, an organization that provides college scholarships to Oakland Unified and charter school graduates. Many in the Oakland community were confused as to why she was attacking charter schools and their access to facilities financing given the positive college readiness rates that charter high schools have shifted locally.

    Many charter schools in Oakland exist to counter the systemic challenges of educational redlining — as children attending schools in the affluent hills receive a dramatically different educational experience and set of outcomes than children in the flatlands — and to give students and families quality public school options.  A third of Oakland’s families exercise this choice and choose charter schools for their children. According to Oakland Enrolls, a nonprofit that helps families choose the best school for their child, in each of the last three years, there have been an average of 8,000 unique student applications to charter schools in Oakland.

    The Covid-19 pandemic exacerbated the educational inequities that existed before the pandemic. Assemblymember Bonta’s repeated attempts to pass legislation that could harm charter schools are out of touch with the needs of students and families in Oakland and of high needs communities across California. However, the governor’s strong veto of AB 1604 is a welcome sign that he is committed to educational equity and to providing all students with access to high-quality educational opportunities, and recognizes that charter schools are a vital part of the educational landscape in California.

    •••

    Rich Harrison is CEO of Lighthouse Community Public Schools, which operates two K-12 public charter schools serving more than 1,600 students in East Oakland.

    The opinions expressed in this commentary represent those of the author. EdSource welcomes commentaries representing diverse points of view. If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelines and contact us.





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  • The kids are watching; what lessons are we teaching?

    The kids are watching; what lessons are we teaching?


    A high school calculus teacher helps her students at Glendale High School work through a tough word problem.

    Credit: Lillian Mongeau/EdSource

    Superintendents around the nation have stepped down from their roles at alarming rates.

    Since the start of July, more than two dozen district leaders have abruptly resigned, retired or been fired by their school board, according to an EdWeek analysis of local news coverage. A number of superintendents in California have left their districts in the last year.

    Recently, board meetings have become a political arena for issues such as banned books, critical race theory and Pride Month. In June, while I was serving as superintendent of Glendale Unified School District I, recommended that the board adopt a resolution to designate June 2023 as LGBTQ+ Pride Month. But this exact resolution — adopted without issue for three consecutive years — now faced backlash from some in the community.

    The controversy contributed to my decision to retire, although I had recently received a stellar evaluation from the board and signed a four-year extension to my contract. How do democratic values show up when angry individuals interrupt public meetings, invade private lives and threaten the safety of leaders? How can students advocate for themselves? How do educators and school administrators navigate public forums where our students’ opportunity to learn is at stake?

    Students, listen up. Here is a final message from your superintendent: You have a voice and you have agency. Schools belong to you, so be thoughtful and organized, engage in civil discourse to improve conditions for learning and teaching. These words stand in sharp contrast to the lesson played out at the Glendale board meetings. What students observed was far from the civil discourse I encouraged Glendale students to practice.

    Practice civil discourse and engage in dialogue, not just with those who are alike in their thinking, and always show courage. Finding common ground makes us a more united and powerful community.

    To teachers: With the support of school leaders, site leaders, and superintendents — uphold our democratic values and prepare students to become responsible and productive citizens. Teachers deliver lessons about democracy that center on citizenship and encourage individuals to respect diverse perspectives and opinions.

    However, what played out in Glendale reminds us that we must step back and ask what lessons we teach our children. How do they make sense of the rhetoric that adults model for them? What does this mean in a nation committed to respect for the individual’s rights and commitment to the common good?

    To parents: Get involved and volunteer at your student’s school site for student well-being. Trust the teachers and administrators. The way you build trust is by building a relationship. Relational capital is the prerequisite or foundation for building trust within the school community and beyond.

    Relationships established among the district’s stakeholders stem from a strong sense of belonging and a highly developed cooperation capacity. Trust is earned through the display of relational and interpersonal skills. Meaningful engagement with stakeholders requires the exchange of lived experiences to address challenges by generating solutions and building common ground.

    For fellow superintendents who had similar experiences with their boards, I emphasize the following priorities:

    • Ensure a positive, collaborative and productive relationship with the board built on trust and communication.
    • Earn public trust, welcome community support and honor student voice.
    • Build positive and productive relationships with political and community leaders, parents and business organizations.
    • Celebrate the community and our diversity, culture, traditions, history and expectations.

    Our kids are watching! What lessons will they learn? Is there a place where we can find common ground, model respectful discourse and promote the common good? There are at least two sides to any debate. Let us cherish our freedoms and those differences of opinion. This is what makes our society strong and preserves trust in public education.

    •••

    Vivian Ekchian served as the superintendent of Glendale Unified School District and was named Los Angeles County Superintendent of the Year for 2022-23. She has an Ed.D. from USC Rossier. Maria Ott, USC Rossier professor of clinical education and an expert on school administration, contributed to this commentary.

    The opinions expressed in this commentary represent those of the author. EdSource welcomes commentaries representing diverse points of view. If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelines and contact us.





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  • How are UC and CSU students managing the cost of textbooks?

    How are UC and CSU students managing the cost of textbooks?


    San Diego State University’s Equitable Access textbook program costs students $19.75 per credit, but some opt for cheaper textbooks outside of this program.

    One student who opted out is Kimberly Watkinson, leading her to search for textbooks on her own.

    “I do it through my own means. I buy them on Chegg or Amazon, or sometimes I look for students who have the same class as me, and maybe they can sell me their books,” she said.

    Some of her professors offer the class materials for free, through PDFs and other alternatives.

    “There are some classes, mostly in childhood development, where we only look at articles and they are usually free and posted on Canvas. Or they use books that are from friends of them,” Watkinson said.

    She added that collaborating with classmates is a good way to lower individual costs.

    “I’ve had classes where I even share a book with another person to do the assignments because it’s so expensive that I cannot afford it,” Watkinson said.

    While her textbook plans are constantly shifting and the costs are demanding, they haven’t had a bearing on her academic ambitions.

    “I learn about how much the books cost when I am in the class because there’s some professors who post how much they are,” Watkinson said. “But I haven’t dropped out because I find my ways around and maybe share with another person, buy it somewhere else, or rent it.”

    Kimberly’s story gathered by California Student Journalism Corps member Noah Lyons.





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  • To make dual enrollment more equitable, bring the college experience to high school

    To make dual enrollment more equitable, bring the college experience to high school


    Justice Spears is a senior at Sacramento Charter High School, who is enrolled in the Panther Pipeline Program.

    Credit: Arrows Digital / St. HOPE Public Schools

    College enrollment was declining even before the pandemic. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, “the overall college enrollment rate for 18- to 24-year-olds decreased from 41% in 2010 to 38% in 2021.” In 2021, the college enrollment rate for 18- to 24-year-olds was highest for Asian students (60%) compared to 37% for Black students and 33% for Hispanic students.

    One important way to increase college attendance is through dual enrollment programs in which high school students take college classes and receive college credit. According to a recent report from the Public Policy Institute of California, participation in dual enrollment programs is associated with higher high school completion, college readiness and higher academic achievement.

    While the benefits of dual enrollment are clear, not all students have the bandwidth to take college classes on top of their high school coursework. In order to reduce barriers and increase access to college-level courses, we have taken dual enrollment one step further at St. HOPE Public Schools. Our Panther Pipeline program brings the college experience to our high school campus. Through our partnership with the Los Rios Community College District, college professors come to Sacramento Charter High School and teach our juniors and seniors in person. Scholars enrolled in the Panther Pipeline program take rigorous college courses and receive both high school and college credit.

    This program is unique because our scholars do not have to leave our high school campus to take college courses. Two days a week, college professors come to Sac High to teach in person, and the other three days, scholars complete their college work in class with their Sac High instructional aide. By bringing college to our scholars and allowing them to receive both high and college credit we are making dual enrollment more accessible and an option for scholars who may not otherwise be able to take high school and college classes at the same time.

    The benefits of bringing college courses to our scholars are far-reaching. Our student population is predominantly low-income minority students, and many of our scholars are the first in their families to go to college. By exposing them to college before they need to apply in fall of their senior year, we hope to spark their interest in pursuing higher education and expand their worldview of what opportunities are available in college. Providing our upperclassmen with multiple college course offerings while they are in high school helps them home in on what major they may want to pursue in college as well as think about what career might be the best fit for them.

    Dual enrollment programs provide students with an opportunity to graduate from high school with college credits, which helps them save money on college tuition by reducing the number of college classes they need to graduate. High school juniors enrolled in our dual enrollment program could potentially take four college courses before they graduate from high school, saving them time and money while in college.

    Bringing college classes to our high school campus also helps reduce transportation barriers for students who may not be able to travel to a college campus. Many of our scholars have after-school commitments — jobs, sports, and responsibilities at home — that might prevent them from taking courses at a college campus, but when they are part of their high school day, those barriers are removed.

    An important part of our dual enrollment program is that it provides students with a multitiered system of support. We have high school teachers who help students navigate and manage their college coursework, and students have access to the Los Rios College campuses, facilities and tutoring resources. This is critical for preparing students for university-level expectations and ensuring they have the study skills to succeed in college.

    As we collectively work on increasing access to college and career pathways, I encourage high schools around the state to offer dual enrollment programs that provide students with both high school and college credit. Taking college courses in addition to high school classes can be daunting, but combining college and high school credit is much more doable for many students, especially those we are trying to get into the college pipeline.

    •••

    Lisa Ruda is superintendent of St. HOPE Public Schools, a tuition-free, college prep public charter school network in Sacramento.

    The opinions expressed in this commentary represent those of the author. EdSource welcomes commentaries representing diverse points of view. If you would like to submit a commentary, please review our guidelines and contact us.





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