Featured Research Collection

Featured Research Collection used by front page.

Policy Brief Highlights Student Achievement and Parent Demand for Magnet Schools

This new research is based on a 2011 survey of magnet school leaders from over 50 school districts across the country. Magnet school leaders responding to the survey reported that student achievement rose during periods of federal magnet funding via the Magnet Schools Assistance Program (MSAP) and that parent demand for magnet school placements was high. Inclusive admissions processes and inter-district transfer policies were increasing, both of which are particularly effective in reducing racial isolation in schools.

Report Shows Poorly Educated Workers at Bottom of So Cal's Broken Economic Ladder

By focusing on underemployment rates in addition to the numbers of unemployed, this report provides a more accurate measure of the health of the labor market in Southern California and finds a marked increase in the concentration of people clinging to the bottom of the state’s social and economic ladder, with Latino and Black males comprising the economy's hardest hit sectors.

UCLA Research Center Releases Studies Showing Barriers To College From State Budget Cuts Growing

The reports clearly show the very dramatic impact of cuts implemented prior to this year, with huge cuts now being imposed certain to intensify the situation. In a policy briefing today, representatives of the California Senate Education Committee, the California Postsecondary Education Commission, and the Legislative Analyst's Office will comment on the studies and offer their perspectives on where the state goes from here.

College Affordability at Risk for Latino, African American & American Indian Youth

The Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles at UCLA released two studies showing that college affordability in California is at risk and financial aid is urgently needed. Across the board students are found to be working too many hours to keep up with their studies and a huge proportion (30%) of those surveyed may abandon their studies and hopes of getting a college degree.

Education for Students at CSUs Shortchanged by State’s Fiscal Crisis

Faculty in Crisis is a two-part study and the second in a series of reports about the devastating effects of state budget cuts on the California State University system. The reports find that many professors in the CSU system feel that the cutbacks already implemented, coupled with the substantial cuts projected, put the quality of a CSU education in a rapid spiral downward. The studies reveal that faculty are extremely concerned, that the students are losing out, and that their learning experience is significantly undermined by the fiscal crisis.