California has made some important progress in improving its public education system. The state has perhaps the best set of academic content standards in the country. The testing and accountability systems are now aligned with those standards. Yet, despite these advances, much more needs to be done in order to raise student achievement to the levels required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act and by the demands of parents and the public.

The Pacific Research Institute offers Governor Schwarzenegger and state legislators three realistic reform agendas for improving:

•  the state school accountability system
•  teacher quality
• •high-school performance