California’s sweeping education reforms championed by Gov. Jerry Brown have resulted in higher graduation rates and especially sizable gains in math among low-income students in the 11th grade, according to a new study.

“The evidence suggests that money targeted to students’ needs can make a significant difference in student outcomes and narrow achievement gaps,” the study by researchers at UC Berkeley and the Learning Policy Institute found.

The study, which did not include charter schools, was conducted by Rucker Johnson, an economist at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy, and Sean Tanner, a senior researcher at the Learning Policy Institute, a nonprofit research and policy organization in Palo Alto.

Among other features, the formula funnels additional funds to school districts based on the number of low-income students, English learners and foster children they enroll.

The study showed a statistically significant increase in math test score performance among high school students in schools who received more funds. The increase was especially marked among low-income students who take the Smarter Balanced tests each spring. The researchers found that every $1,000 a district received resulted in an increase of approximately 7 months of learning

Read the full article on California's education reforms by Louis Freedberg at Ed Source