<p>jovenes, my innocent thing. Little do you know how unintentionally rhetorical, and ironic, your question is. The State that was once Number One in the nation, for many, many years. Once the envy of other states, with its (prior!) educational priorities, philosophy, resources. Once a virtual paradise for teachers and students, and their wildly happy parents. A rational proportion (small) of administrators to classroom teachers.</p>
<p>Here's "what happened" to California:</p>
<p>(1) Growth in school-age population outpacing even the national rate. Growth caused by 3 things: interstate migration and international immigration + the usual echo boomers which affect all states.<br>
(a) extremes in degree of school readiness widening: on the one hand, newcomers from East Asia and South Asia and Iran, many of whose parents are working in Silicon Valley; on the other, massive Third World numbers of students not literate, very un-ready. Creates bifurcated school system. Who is served by the publics? The majority groups, the extremes on both ends. However, the low end is not really "served," because the education will fail when fluency is rejected & perceived as nonessential by those populating public school classrooms. Low expectations are the governing principle in those classrooms. (Low expectations about mastering the language & integrating those skills into school work.)</p>
<pre><code>(b) Population overload in a decentralized school system was a nightmare waiting to happen, and happen it did. Doesn't mean that the occasional insulated public did not thrive & excel. But those with extreme needs were extremely underserved, with Too Many Cooks Spoiling the Broth, bureaucracy tripping all over itself to prescribe & treat. (Sorry for mixing the metaphors.)
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<p>(2) Massive influx of such a large Third World segment, combined with political priorities dictating State budgets going to economic needs often, even as educational needs remain high on the budget, but that budget is without exaggeration 50% administration, 50% classroom. That's because the 'administrative' part overlaps with the State's social priorities, which have been demonstrated to be more important in the average classroom than academics.</p>
<p>(3) Professional teacher associations shamefully in bed with politicians, selling out the teaching profession too often to agendas having little to do with direct education, but much to do with "other" agendas. Rudderless leadership willing to go along impulsively with the latest educational fad instead of a well -thought out intellectual approach which is nevertheless flexible.</p>
<p>(4) A migrant population -- and I don't mean necessarily farmworkers. I mean a mobile school population, caused by profound dissatisfaction with the system & an exit from it, or from the State, from those not of majority segments -- neither quite wealthy & educated, nor illiterate. This destabilizes attendance, and since the formula for funding schools & keeping them in existence is attendance, unpredictability is the name of the game. CA is nearing the 50% level for numbers of charter schools vs. non-charters. These are not as stable: charter often only 2,3 yrs in life. Often not renewed because State's demand for performance is unrealistic & not comparable to the lack of performance permitted in non-charter school.</p>
<p>Any other questions?</p>
<p>Indeed, What Happened to California? Good title for a magazine article.</p>