California students are improving in English but stalling in mathematics, according to a Public Policy Institute of California report. The report analyzed student test scores from the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium tests and National Assessment of Educational Progress. Both tests indicate that California made large gains in English scores between 2015 and 2018. On the SBAC, the percent of third-graders scoring at proficient levels increased 10 percentage points. Proficiency also increased 10 points as students progressed from third to sixth grade. NAEP data also reflects major gains: reading scores, when adjusted for the share of low-income students, are now near the national average.  However, both tests suggest that Common Core math standards are not yet generating improved student performance. Third-grade SBAC scores have improved 9 percentage points, but growth in later grades is inconsistent. The report also identifies persistent income achievement gaps in math among lower-income districts. Read the full report at http://bit.ly/30BLq5Z. The California Department of Education has developed a Multilingual Program search feature within the department’s California Schools Mobile Application. This app provides quick access to information on all public schools in California with their location identified on a map. This new feature allows users to search for schools that offer multilingual programs in specific geographic areas. Interest in multilingual programs have increased exponentially throughout California since the passage of Proposition 58 in November 2016. More than 73 percent of California voters approved the measure, which encourages school districts to provide opportunities for all students to become proficient in more than one language. A growing number of parents are searching for schools that offer multilingual programs. Based on data collected in the fall of 2018, the CDE estimates that 1,346 schools offer at least one type of multilingual program. When it comes to back-to-school shopping for the classroom, California teachers are shelling out more of their own money than teachers in other states, according to a recent analysis by the Economic Policy Institute. California teachers spend on average $664 on school supplies, the most in the nation. The national average is $459 in teacher spending on school supplies for which they are not reimbursed, according to the National Center of Education Statistics 2011–2012 Schools and Staffing Survey, which was adjusted for inflation.  According to the analysis, this spending difference can be attributed to a number of factors, including students’ needs, how schools are funded in the state, the cost of living in the state, and others. The data also show that teachers in high-poverty schools end up spending more of their own money on school supplies than teachers in low-poverty schools by around 20 percent.