US News and World Report publishes an annual ranking of graduate programs in education. In 2023, #3, #9, #10, #21, #32, #41, #52, #71, #76, #89, and #100 are spots held by California schools.

Every year, this list states that California produces high-quality educators, education researchers, and other change-makers in education. What is not so apparent is why, with all of these high-quality teacher preparation programs, California’s preK – 12 public education system is so terrible.

Should education programs at these prestigious California universities have such high rankings when there are glaring problems at schools in their own backyards that aren’t being solved? Can a top-tier education program exist within a ten mile radius of the worst performing schools in California ?

One prevailing explanation is that education programs teach theory and focus on research rather than practice. If that is the case, do these universities only exist to study the problems in education and not to actually solve them?