Piece Description

In the 1960s, California Governor Edmund G. Brown envisioned a state with opportunities, jobs and a good education for all. No matter your ethnic background or economic status, public schools were supposed to be the great equalizer. In the '60s the state was in the top 10 in per-pupil spending, and half of California's high school graduates went on to college. Today, California's schools rank among the lowest in the nation in test scores and in educational spending per student. And students from low-income families post some of the lowest test scores in districts throughout the state. A recent year-long study of California schools found that in 715 schools with a high percentage of impoverished students, only 1 has reached the state's target score on the Academic Performance Index. So why is making the grade so elusive for these schools? KALW reporter Kristi Coale spent time at two schools in San Jose and reports that the path to closing this achievement gap is a precarious one. Then, host Holly Kernan discusses the status of primary education along with opportunities for reform with UCLA Presidential Professor of Education Equity Jeannie Oakes.