SACRAMENTO (AP) -- California's students across all races rank among the lowest in the nation for academic achievement despite the state's many reform efforts, according to a new study by the Rand Corp.

The Rand Corp. study released Monday also finds that California's per-pupil spending is among the lowest, and its student-to-teacher ratio is among the highest. The state also lags in building schools, though it is catching up thanks to billions of dollars of bonds that voters have approved in recent years.

While he said he wasn't surprised by any single finding from the 18-month study, lead researcher Steve Carroll said he was struck by "the overall cascade of unhappy observations."

The study examined California's results on national standardized tests, facility construction, teacher preparedness and education funding.

Thirty years ago, Californians invested heavily in its public education system, resulting in schools that were consistently ranked among the nation's best, Carroll said.

But a voter-approved property tax limit and a change in how the state pays for schools, both passed in the 1970s, cut public education spending and led to a drop in quality, Carroll said.

Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell said Monday the study echoes complaints that he and other education advocates have long held.

"We have world-class academic standards, we have an accountability system and the table is set, but we're underfunded," O'Connell said. "To close the achievement gap, we need to have the financial wherewithal to meet the needs of these students."

California officials have launched aggressive education reforms, such as a class-size reduction program that gave schools extra money for having classes with no more than 20 students per teacher. The program was so popular, though, that it created a statewide shortage of qualified teachers. And Rand researchers found that the state's average ratio of nearly 21 students per teacher still remains higher than the nationwide average of 16-to-1.

Voters approved Proposition 98 in 1988, setting a minimum level of state funding for K-12 and community colleges, but the report's authors said that formula "has come to function more as a funding ceiling than a floor."

"Yes, we spend $45 billion on kids, but there's a lot of kids," Carroll said. "If you look at what share of income we're putting into that, it's a smaller share than other states."

The state also falls short in comparisons with other states regarding the share of personal income that goes toward public education. In the mid-1970s, Californians spent about 4.5 percent of their income on public education. That dropped by 1.2 percentage points in the 1980s and still remains far below the national average, he said.

"Unfortunately, it's very difficult to think of anything that could help schools that doesn't require more money," Carroll said.

Other issues researchers noted include:

• California has a relatively low rate of students who continue on to college and continues to fall behind other states.
• High school graduation rates have been lower than most states, but California is catching up.
• The average pregnancy rate in California is higher than any other state, but that rate is declining faster than most states.
• California teens compare favorably to other states when it comes to alcohol and tobacco use and property crime arrests.

(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)