The California State Public Education System

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The California State Public Education System

“All who have meditated on the art of governing mankind have been convinced that the fate of empires depends on the education of youth.”

-Aristotle-

It has been said many times that children are our future. That is a scary thought considering our lack of investment as a people in that future, for without a solid base of education now the bright future we hope for may never come to fruition. This Paper will look at the current state of the Public Education System of the Sate of California. It will focus on the breakdown of the current system looking specifically at the following issues: Lack of Funding for the System, Lack of Qualified Teaching Personnel, and issues caused by Diversity in the Educational System. Through the use of primary and secondary research tools we will analyze the current state of the system and look at possible remedies to said issues.

Lack of Funding

According to the California Department of Education’s Statistics overall spending for education over the last five years have shown an upward trend in spending for schools. Over the last five years spending for education has gone up by 28% (California Department of Education). It went from an average expenditure per student of $4570.00 to $6360.00 (California Department of Education). Though over the last five years spending has headed in the right direction it has not done so in a fast enough manner. The average rate of growth for the educational budget has been 8.6% (California Department of Education) a year over the last five years. This is barely above the rate of growth of enrollment of 6%(California Department of Education). We are not moving forward in fact it would seem like we are treading water. With the upcoming cuts in educational spending for the 2003-2004 school year we will actually be losing ground.

Though average expenditure per student has gone up it still is not in line with other states. As stated above the average expenditure per student is $6360.00 per year according to the most recent statistics released by the California Department of Education. To put it in perspective the top three states as far as expenditures per student are New Jersey at $10,337.00 per student, District of Columbia at $10,107.00 per student, and New York at $9,846.00 per student (National Center for Education Statistics)....

... middle of paper ...

... In your opinion, should teachers be assigned a set limit of students in order to be held more accountable for results?

9. In your opinion, should teachers have to pass a National Standardized Test governed by Congress/Government?

10. Do you think that a Cost of Living Allowance would attract qualified teachers to the Bay Area?

Demographics

11. Gender: Male ________ Female_________

12. Age: 18-20______ 21-25______ 26-30______ 31-35_______ 36-40_______ 41-45______ 46-50______ 50 and Above________

13. Ethnicity:

Works Cited

California Department of Education “Educational Demographics Office Public School Summary Statistics 1997-2001.” 19 May 2003.

Kerper Mora, Jill. "Staying the Course in Times of Change." JOURNAL OF TEACHER

EDUCATION, Nov 2000 v51 i5 p345

National Center for Educational Statistics “NAEP State Profile California.” 19 May 2003.

National Center for Educational Statistics “NAEP State Profile District of Columbia.” 19 May 2003.

National Center for Educational Statistics “NAEP State Profile New Jersey.” 19 May 2003.

National Center for Educational Statistics “NAEP State Profile New York.” 19 May 2003.

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