Running head: CALIFORNIAS EDUCATIONAL PROBLEMS

Californias Educational Problems

Cody Elmer
University of La Verne
Education 306

CALIFORNIAS EDUCATIONAL PROBLEMS

Lets be honest, Californias educational system is failing. The

three largest problems in our states educational system are limited
personnel, unstable funding, and a student population that are high
needs. All of these problems are leading to low graduation rates, poor
performance on standardized tests, and inadequate college
preparation. As politicians you have the ability to create change. I want
to inform you of some possible solutions for these problems in
Californias educational system.
Look at the student population in California; the sheer number of
students is exponential. There are a great number of English language
learners in California. Also many students come from low-income
families. According to a report from California Common Sense, students
from low-income families and English language learners typically have
higher educational needs and require more resources (Tatum, 2014, p.
37). The problem is that California is not providing these additional
services. The student per-teacher ratio is 25-1(Tatum, 2014, p. 37). In
order to create a positive learning environment that gives adequate
time with each student, class sizes need to be reduced.
Lowering class sizes leads me to the next major problem in our
states educational system; limited qualified personnel. There are more
substitutes and temporarily credentialed teachers in classrooms than
permanent, qualified and credentialed staff. This shortage is due to the
retirement-aged demographic of the current teachers. The solution I

CALIFORNIAS EDUCATIONAL PROBLEMS

suggest for this major problem is to make becoming a teacher more

desirable. One possible way to do this is to eliminate school loan debt
when completing the credential program. I know that would motivate
me.
California relies heavily on government funding. Currently the
states funds are disbursed unevenly. Most of the funds are going to the
people who are retiring. School districts will pay an extra $5.3 billon a
year to the California State Teachers Retirement Benefit System or
CalSTRS (Tatum, 2014, p. 36). The California Common Sense report
states that 5.3 billon dollars is nearly triple the amount school districts
spent on books and supplies in 2013(Tatum, 2014, p. 36). The Solution
I propose is for politicians like you to create a separate budget for
teachers pensions and per-student spending.
With all of these problems in Californias educational system
being in the hands of the state government, you as politicians have to
make the change. The solutions that I brought to your attention are
only some of the possibilities. There should be focus set on one aspect
of the educational systems problems. Once a positive change is made
toward one problem the rest of the issues will fall into place. Create
change!

CALIFORNIAS EDUCATIONAL PROBLEMS

References
Tatum, A. (2014). Unsustainable California: The Top 10 Issues Facing
the Golden State (pp. 34-40, Rep.). CA: California Common
Sense. doi: California Common Sense - info@cacs.org www.cacs.org