News

 
  • | Getting Down to Facts III

    Central Valley Education Leaders Chart Path Forward with Data-Driven Solutions

    The Getting Down to Facts III Central Valley Convening brought together educators, policymakers, and community leaders to tackle the region's most pressing educational challenges. From addressing teacher shortages to improving student outcomes in rural districts, expert presenters shared research-based strategies for strengthening public education. All presentation videos are now available on our YouTube channel, offering valuable insights for anyone committed to improving educational outcomes in California. Watch the full convening to discover actionable solutions for your district or community.

     

  • | Getting Down to Facts III

  • | FutureEd

    Chris Agnew is the managing director of Stanford University’s AI Hub for Education, a part of the SCALE Initiative that translates research on AI in teaching and learning into practical guidance for K-12 education leaders. Since its founding in January 2025, the Hub has built a repository of academic research on AI in education and published “Understanding The Evidence Base on AI in K–12,” which identified key trends in AI research. Agnew also recently co-authored “The Learning Experiences that Matter and AI’s Role” with Stanford colleagues Susanna Loeb and Cristina Barnard Gonzales. FutureEd Policy Analyst Tara Moon recently spoke with Agnew about the fast-changing AI landscape in education.

  • | Stuart Foundation

    On May 11, 2026, researchers, educators, advocates, and state leaders gathered in Sacramento to discuss Getting Down to Facts III, a research initiative designed to inform the next decade of education policy in California. At the convening, Stuart Foundation President Sophie Fanelli sat down with State Board of Education President and Learning Policy Institute Founder and Chief Knowledge Officer Linda Darling-Hammond for a conversation about rethinking learning, engaging students, and expanding opportunity in high schools. Their conversation has been edited for length. You can watch the full recording here. We’ve also added links throughout for further reading.

  • | Stanford Graduate School of Education

    Susanna Loeb has been appointed the inaugural Kissick Family Professor. 

    Loeb is the faculty director of the SCALE Initiative at the Stanford Accelerator for Learning, which aims to develop and disseminate evidence-driven learning solutions, and a senior fellow at the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research (SIEPR). Her research focuses on education policy and its role in improving educational opportunities for students, addressing issues including educator career choices and professional development, school finance and governance, and early childhood systems. She leads the Getting Down to Facts initiatives, which provide nonpartisan research and analysis to inform education policymaking in California.

  • | SFGATE

    Because school funding is closely tied to attendance and enrollment, shrinking classrooms can quickly spiral into budget crises. Districts facing long-term declines are increasingly confronting layoffs, hiring freezes and school closures, such as the San Francisco Unified District, which is operating with a multimillion dollar budget deficit.

    A report by Noguera and Alvin Makori on shrinking enrollment from Getting Down to Facts, an independent research project out of Stanford University, revealed that 630 California schools have closed since 2015. The report argues that enrollment decline has become “a governance problem” for districts forced into politically painful decisions about which campuses survive.  

  • | Education Week

    School closures—commonly touted as a financially responsible strategy to right-size cash-strapped districts—often do not improve districts’ financial standing, according to a new study out of California.

    Even worse: Any money actually saved from closing a school building is largely offset by funding lost when affected students withdraw from the district to attend school somewhere else.

    The study, led by Francis Pearman, an assistant professor of education at Stanford University, examined school closure data across California between 2011 and 2019.

  • | Penn Graduate School of Education

    A new report from Penn GSE researchers explores one of the most pressing tensions in education policy today: how to ensure rigorous preparation for teachers while expanding access to the profession.

    In Teacher Certification Policies: Balancing Quality and Access in the Teaching Profession, Penn GSE former dean Pam Grossman and postdoctoral scholar Maya Kaul analyze California’s teacher certification system as part of Stanford University’s Getting Down to Facts III initiative—a major, multi-institution research effort designed to inform education policy across the state.

  • | Getting Down to Facts III

  • | FourPoint Education Partners

    With the release of Getting Down to Facts, Stanford University’s SCALE Initiative finds that school performance in California remains widely uneven. While uneven performance is a finding that shocks no one, what sets Getting Down to Facts apart is—with the help of 112 researchers across 22 research briefs—the meticulous detailing of the conditions of California’s education system and the policy changes needed to improve it.

    A key finding: Although better positioned than ever before to pursue” broad and ambitious goals for students, California’s education system lacks coherence. More specifically, “Governance structures are fragmented, and policies have proliferated over time, often creating disconnected, contradictory, and burdensome guidance to schools,” writes Susanna Loeb, director of the SCALE Initiative.