Research Brief
African American Perspectives on SFUSD Special Education Disproportionality
This research memo used the following data sources to summarize African American family and community perspectives on what causes SFUSD to disproportionately represent African American students in special education services:
Research on English Learner Classification & Reclassification
This scoping review, prepared by graduate students Brenda Valdes and Oswaldo Rosales and professor Amado Padilla, synthesizes 25 years of empirical research on the classification and reclassification of English learner students, with particular attention to how EL subgroups (including newcomers, LTELs, and dually classified students) have been studied.
Improving the Reclassification Process for Long-Term English Learners in California
California now requires that school districts report outcomes for Long-Term English Learners, and new Gardner Center research identifies real-world improvements to the reclassification process as a way to support their academic success for this group of students.
Summary of: Research Study on Examining the Connections Between Collective Teacher Efficacy and Lesson Study, Year 2
This summary provides an overview of the initial analysis from the research study “Examining the Connections Between Collective Teacher Efficacy and Lesson Study.” The report addresses the research question: What do teachers and leaders identify as the essential components of lesson study (LS)? This qualitative case study was conducted during the 2024-2025 school year in […]
Examining Language Program Models in SFUSD Based on Recommendations from the National Academies of Education 2017 Report
This memo explains an analysis of San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD)’s expected components or principles intended to guide their language program models. This analysis compares SFUSD language program principles against recommendations and findings from the 2017 National Academies of Sciences Engineering and Medicine report (referred henceforth as “the NAS report”) titled, Promoting the Educational […]
Redefining and Re-examining the Home Language Survey in the Context of Initial English Language Proficiency Results
Amidst California’s diverse multilingual educational landscape, the research project in this summary evaluates the effectiveness of the current Home Language Survey against a team’s newly proposed version. By analyzing the correlation between survey responses and initial English language proficiency assessments, the study aims to enhance the precision of identifying English learners, ensuring more accurate educational […]
Improving English Learner Identification Practices
This research brief summarizes some of the challenges in designing a home language survey that does not over- or under-identify students as English learners. Some best practices are identified: (1) Ambiguity in question phrasing can lead to misinterpretations by respondents, potentially skewing the data used to identify more students as English Learners (ELs); (2) Home […]
Summary of Findings: The Impact of Mastering Cultural Identity (MCI) in the San Francisco Unified School District by Thomas S. Dee & Jaymes Pine
This brief highlights findings and implications from a study investigating the impact of culturally relevant pedagogy (CRP), specifically the Mastering Cultural Identity (MCI) program, on student retention in the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD). The MCI program, part of SFUSD’s African American Achievement and Leadership Initiative (AAALI), offers culturally sustaining coursework for African American […]
Interrupting the Precursors to Disproportionality in Special Education Toward Black Students Thriving in SFUSD
This research brief summarizes project findings from Year 1 (2023/24), the first half of Year 2 (the current year), and the next phase of work, which will comprise in-depth, site-level exploration and analyses of Black students’ experiences in SFUSD. This project’s purpose is to understand drivers of persistent racial disparities in special education placements, positioning […]
Instructional Reform Facilitator Knowledge Sharing in San Francisco Unified School District
This brief summarizes two phases of a research study on the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) Instructional Reform Facilitator (IRF) Network created to learn and promote equity for underserved groups, such as African American students, multilingual learners, and students with Individual Education Plans. The IRFs set out to meet these needs by coaching teachers, […]