The California Department of Education (CDE) has published the second release of the California School Dashboard, a website designed to help communities across the state access accountability information about K–12 districts and schools. Under the new system, county offices of education will serve as resources, providing assistance to local school districts and helping them address deficiencies.
The Dashboard broadens the concept of a successful school or district from a single metric—such as standardized test scores—to multiple indicators measuring academic achievement, school climate, student engagement, and other priorities specified in the Local Control Funding Formula. The new system is designed to help districts better communicate what is and isn’t working in their schools, giving the public a detailed look at academic progress.
Color-coded ratings illustrate performance and growth (blue is the highest rating and red is the lowest). The website reports multiple measures of school success, including test scores, graduation rates, English learner progress, and suspension rates.
“Our students, our schools, and our districts will benefit by having so much readily available information about the performance of schools and districts in the areas needed to build a more successful, positive learning environment,” said David W. Gordon, Sacramento County Superintendent of Schools.
This release of the Dashboard represents the first time the data will be used for school district accountability purposes. It is the next step in a series of major shifts in public education that has created more rigorous academic standards for students, changed how students are evaluated, and placed the focus on equity for all students.
SCOE’s Role
The Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE) will provide customized technical assistance to local districts, including:
- Facilitation of discussions to coordinate support.
- Completion of a needs assessment, analysis of additional data, and determination of root causes of challenges.
- Implementation of customized support to determine next steps, providing technical assistance in the form of training and coaching, and monitoring the implementation of planned actions with the district leads.