Thomas Timar
Share
Thomas Timar
Former Professor Emeritus, School of Education,
University of California, Davis
Thomas Timar was a professor in the School of Education at the University of California, Davis. His areas of expertise included education finance, policy, and governance. In addition to his faculty responsibilities, he was director of the UC Davis Center for Applied Policy in Education (CAP-Ed) and a member of the steering committee for Policy Analysis for California Education (PACE). Before joining UC Davis, he was an associate professor at the University of California, Riverside. Timar earned his PhD in educational policy, law, and finance from the University of California, Berkeley.
updated 2025
Publications by Thomas Timar
Rekindling Reform
This report discusses key education policy challenges in California, including funding, teacher quality, achievement gaps, and school accountability. The report highlights the need for equitable funding and effective teacher training and retention…
California's High Priority School Grants Program
The report examines the effectiveness of a large-scale performance-based incentive program in California schools. Results show that the program had a small but positive impact on student test scores in math and English, with larger effects in…
Shaping the Landscape of Equity and Adequacy
This report focuses on California's school governance system and how it affects schools' ability to provide an adequate and equal education. The author examines who is responsible for ensuring adequate resources, how to assess adequacy, how to…
Who Gains, Who Loses?
Over the past 30 years, a combination of court rulings, legislative enactments, and voter initiatives has made dramatic changes in the landscape of education governance in California.