Study Offers Grim Look at Schools-LAT

[Rose Siding]

In nearly every objective measure of school quality — including funding and academic achievement — California trails national averages, a finding that paints a grim portrait of the state's once-sterling educational system, according to a Rand Corp. study released Monday.

The researchers found that declining per-pupil funding, growing enrollments, relatively flat teacher salaries and large classes have undercut the state's efforts to improve public education.

Even a reform that was meant to boost achievement — reducing the size of classes in kindergarten through third grade — spawned an unintended consequence of bringing legions of inexperienced teachers to schools, particularly those serving low-income and minority children.

The report did not offer recommendations to address the problems. But its lead author said the state should consider systemic solutions rather than piecemeal remedies — an approach that would require huge sums of money as Sacramento grapples with a multibillion-dollar budget shortfall.

"The system as a whole has problems," said Stephen Carroll, a Rand senior economist who warned against inaction.

"The economy in the future is going to depend on the quality of the workforce," he said. "We're not developing a workforce that is going to be competitive with other states."

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-schools4jan04,0,2139698.story?coll=la-home-local