Paul Warren is a research associate at PPIC, where he focuses primarily on K –12 education finance and accountability. Before he joined PPIC, he worked in the California Legislative Analyst’s Office for more than twenty years as a policy analyst and manager. He also served as deputy director for the California Department of Education, helping to implement the state’s testing and accountability programs. He holds a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government.
Accountability For California's Alternative Schools Public Policy Institute of California Researcher Paul Warren will present his findings on the ground breaking study - "Accountability for California's Alternative Schools.” About 12 percent of all California high school seniors attend an alternative school, but far fewer than half graduate. To improve outcomes and promote the success of at-risk students, the state needs a new approach to measuring alternative school performance. This PPIC report compares California's efforts with those of Colorado, Florida and Texas to provide useful directions for the next phase of alternative school accountability. One of his findings sure to resonate with alternative accountability advocates is that the "four year graduation rate ... does not work as intended in the alternative school context." Hear why Paul concludes, "To improve outcomes and promote the success of at-risk students, the state needs a new approach to measuring alternative school performance.”