{"id":285742,"date":"2026-04-25T16:47:26","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T16:47:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/285742\/"},"modified":"2026-04-25T16:47:26","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T16:47:26","slug":"governor-candidates-must-tackle-states-education-deficits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/285742\/","title":{"rendered":"Governor candidates must tackle state’s education deficits"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Dan Walters<\/a>, CalMatters<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\""A\"
\n\t\t\t\tStudents in a California classroom on May 11, 2022. A bill would create tests to screen youngsters for math deficits, in kindergarten through second grade. Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters<\/p>\n

This commentary was originally published by CalMatters<\/a>. Sign up<\/a> for their newsletters.<\/p>\n

For years, polls about California voter attitudes have found public schools a consistent concern.<\/p>\n

In a very recent Public Policy Institute of California poll<\/a>, responses were mixed about whether the public school system is moving in the right direction, but 89% said it needs to change.<\/p>\n

That concern is well founded, given that California\u2019s students don\u2019t do very well in national tests of academic skills, vis-\u00e0-vis those in other states. It\u2019s one of California\u2019s most vexing \u2014 and most important \u2014 issues and should be commanding attention from those who hold public office.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, when the six leading candidates for governor responded to questions during a 90-minute televised debate Wednesday night, education came up only once in a question from a viewer, not the debate moderators, and was directed at Republican Steve Hilton.<\/p>\n

Asked how he would improve schools, Hilton responded with \u201clearn from what works in other states.\u201d It was actually a valid response, because California officials have generally resisted learning about learning from other states that have succeeded in raising test scores \u2014 Mississippi on reading<\/a>, for instance.<\/p>\n

Candidates\u2019 intentions about the single largest item in the state\u2019s budget \u2014 $81.3 billion this year \u2014 are particularly important because outgoing Gov. Gavin Newsom has proposed to downgrade the state school superintendent\u2019s position<\/a> to that of an advisory role, while vesting primary responsibility for education in whoever succeeds him next January.<\/p>\n

Moderators of future debates should make at least an effort to explore the candidates\u2019 approaches to education, particularly how they would raise academic achievement that now is mediocre at best.<\/p>\n

On the positive side of the public school situation, California has finally embraced phonics<\/a> as the most effective way of teaching elementary students to read, although it\u2019s not yet mandatory. And on Wednesday, a few hours before the televised debate snubbed education, the Senate Education Committee advanced legislation to do something about California\u2019s even lower ranking in math skills.<\/a><\/p>\n

Just 37% of California students perform at grade level in math<\/a>, and the state ranks 43rd nationally in fourth-grade math proficiency.\u00a0Moreover, there are distinct gaps between kids from families that struggle to afford living in California and their more privileged classmates.<\/p>\n

Senate Bill 1067<\/a> would establish a statewide math screening system for kids in kindergarten and 1st and 2nd grades, to identify those who struggle with numbers and need extra help. It\u2019s modeled after a similar system to gauge reading skills.<\/p>\n

The bill is backed by EdVoice, an education reform advocate, and carried by Sen. Akilah Weber Pierson<\/a>, a San Diego Democrat and daughter of Secretary of State Shirley Weber, who tirelessly championed educational reform while a state legislator.<\/p>\n

\u201cCalifornia has already taken an important step forward by identifying and addressing reading challenges early with K-2 universal screening for reading difficulties. SB 1067 applies that same common-sense approach to math,\u201d Marshall Tuck, CEO of EdVoice, said in a statement. \u201cStudents who struggle with foundational math skills in the early grades continue to fall further behind without timely, targeted intervention. This bill helps prepare students for future success in school, career, and life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mastering basic reading and math skills in the early years of school are not only important unto themselves, but they’re vital for students to climb the educational ladder as high as their innate intelligences allow and to segue into productive and satisfying careers that support the larger economy.<\/p>\n

While California has no shortage of existential issues, none is more vital than doing something about its education deficit. The Legislature at long last seems to be getting the message, but the next governor must get it too.<\/p>\n

This article was originally published on CalMatters<\/a> and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives<\/a> license.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"By Dan Walters, CalMatters Students in a California classroom on May 11, 2022. A bill would create tests…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":106399,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7,2340,9,8,6198,964,76068,4730],"class_list":{"0":"post-285742","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-california","8":"tag-california","9":"tag-california-democrats","10":"tag-california-headlines","11":"tag-california-news","12":"tag-california-republicans","13":"tag-commentary","14":"tag-governor-race-2026","15":"tag-k-12-education"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285742","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=285742"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/285742\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/106399"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=285742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=285742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=285742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}