Education

If the plight of hungry and homeless college students has lately caught the national media’s attention, it’s in no small part due to the efforts of Temple University professor Sara Goldrick-Rab.  Goldrick-Rab, who describes herself as a “scholar activist,” has been trying to get policymakers to address the cost of college for years, advocating policy […]

Two months into the new job, Tony Thurmond seems to be exactly the man that his most loyal backers hoped (and his opponents feared) he would be. In a Commonwealth Club discussion with CALmatters' education reporter Ricardo Cano, the state’s public schools superintendent didn’t hold back in a wide-ranging discussion Thursday night: He raised doubts about the value of charter schools, criticized school districts for the state’s wave of teacher strikes, questioned the severity of public pension debt and insisted the state must spend more to educate its students.

As UC reacts to the college cheating scandal, some urge them to lock the side door, reconsider the SAT and ACT for admissions and scrutinize athletic recruiting.

Heather Hiles, president and CEO of California's new online college, advocated for granting a no-bid contract to executive recruiter Carolyn Carpeneti. Before becoming an executive recruiter, Carpeneti was a political fundraiser whose clients included then San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown. Brown and Carpeneti became romantically involved and had a daughter in 2001.

California is funding immigration attorneys for students and their families as federal courts weigh the fate of DACA and politicians battle over border enforcement.

The transparency mandate signed into law Tuesday is just the first in a flurry of bills aimed at curbing California charter schools.

New legislation would make major changes to the standards for-profit colleges must meet to operate in California, and the state bureau regulating the industry has been reorganized.

As teachers strike this week in Oakland, the conflict over charter schools in California is being portrayed in sweeping terms. But a CALmatters analysis of statewide charter enrollment data paints a far more nuanced picture, in which charter growth is more a collection of densely concentrated hotspots than a statewide phenomenon.

As Gavin Newsom delivers his first State of the State speech, how do his plans prepare California for that dream—not just next year, but 5, 20, 30 years from now?

Tuition-free community college programs are springing up around the country, including in California. But to many struggling students, “free” doesn’t really mean free.