The California Education Lab is a collaborative group of
researchers investigating important questions of education policy
and practice in California. Much of our work focuses on
understanding how young adults are prepared for, transition into,
and succeed in college. We also have expertise in K-12
school and teacher quality, college quality, peer effects,
educational achievement gaps, school climate, facilities,
finance, and school choice. Our projects explicitly aim to
understand and improve persistent inequalities in educational
attainment for students from different racial/ethnic and
socioeconomic backgrounds.
Partnership
In our work, we partner with
California educators and policymakers across the K-12 and
postsecondary sectors to answer timely and relevant questions
with rigorous analytical methods. Our long-standing
relationships with the California Department of Education, the
California Community College Chancellor’s Office, the California
State University Chancellor’s Office, the University of
California Office of the President, and the California Student
Aid Commission inform and enable our research. Overtime, we have
accumulated considerable knowledge about the State’s multiple,
and diverse, education sectors, and the data and methods
necessary to answer critical policy questions for California.
Dissemination
To ensure the greatest impact on practice and policy, we
cooperate with Policy Analysis for California
Education (PACE), Wheelhouse:
The Center for Community College Leadership and
Research, and UC Davis Center for Poverty
Research to disseminate our research findings. In
addition to academic research conferences and publication in
peer-reviewed journals, we disseminate our findings through
research and policy briefs, and present at a wide variety of
conferences and convenings.
Funding
Our work is supported through federal research grants and the
generosity of private foundations.
Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education
S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
College Futures Foundation
Ford Foundation
The James Irvine Foundation
Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE)
Sobrato Family Foundation
Stuart Foundation
Stupski Family Foundation
Tipping Point Community
