A keystone of California’s new education accountability and support system is the provision of Differentiated Assistance (DA): technical assistance provided to local education agencies that the state has identified for underperformance.

To understand the impact of DA on student performance, the state legislature selected WestEd to evaluate the system. WestEd’s findings indicate that Differentiated Assistance positively impacts student outcomes, including for student groups experiencing the lowest outcomes. A triangulation of data across different sources for this evaluation indicates that DA has room for improvement, particularly in some districts and counties, but system leaders broadly support it.

Download the report to explore the evaluation in-depth and the recommendations for the state to further refine and improve DA based on lessons learned from the first years of implementation.

Addendum to the Evaluation of California's Differentiated AssistanceAddendum to the Evaluation of California’s Differentiated Assistance

This 2023 addendum shares system leaders’ and other education partners’ perspectives on the original evaluation report’s recommendations and highlights key insights that surfaced.