Judge blocks mandatory algebra testing for California eighth-graders
Los Angeles Times 
12/20/08 

Report urges database on state's students
The Sacramento Bee
12/19/08
"We spend $60 billion annually on public education, and we know from No Child Left Behind that our schools are not doing well, especially in serving children of color," said Russlynn Ali, executive director for Education Trust West, a national educational policy organization that supports the report. "We know the outcome data, but very little about how to fix these problems … we can't do schools better unless we do data better."

The Education Trust-West Response to McKinsey Report released on 12/18/08
Click Here to read the press statement

SF Schools Chief Wants Higher Bar for Grads
San Francisco Chronicle
11/20/08
San Jose Unified is the only urban district to currently require it. There, starting with the class of 2003, students have had to pass the A-G courses to get a diploma, and 66 percent have met the UC and CSU requirement of a C or better in each class. "Every myth that we hear about increasing high school expectations - that kids will drop out - that is debunked," said Russlynn Ali, executive director of the Education Trust-West, an Oakland nonprofit focused on closing the achievement gap. "When you give kids the right support, when you give teachers the right support, graduation rates will rise."

Growth Data for Teachers Under Review
Education Week
10/20/08 - Russlynn Ali, the executive director of Education Trust-West, which lobbies for better education for poor children, said her Oakland, Calif., organization challenges that interpretation of the law. “We are going to need a judicial opinion to decide this, because there is too much confusion and too much vitriol,” said Ms. Ali, whose organization supports the use of value-added data to identify excellent teachers. Experts also are concerned about the potential for such laws to hinder research.