Education and Cultural Institutions  

Education

The earliest schools in California were founded in the last half of the 18th century by Franciscan missionaries. In the 1840s, American settlers began to set up their own schools. Progressive school laws, passed in the 1860s, provided for free elementary education for every child and established an advanced state system of public education. High schools were granted state support in 1903, and junior colleges were recognized as part of the secondary school system in 1917. Full-time school attendance is now compulsory for all children from 6 to 18 years old. Some 14 percent of the state's children attend private schools.

In the 1995-1996 school year California spent $5,108 on each student's education, compared to a national average of $6,146. There were 22.9 students for every teacher (the national average was 17.1). California had one of the largest average class sizes of any state. Of those older than 25 years of age, 80.1 percent percent had a high school diploma, compared with an average for the nation of 82.8 percent percent.