California Department of Education Releases New Groundbreaking Accountability System that Goes Beyond Test Scores: the California School Dashboard

Imperial County parents and educators will soon have a new opportunity to learn about the performance of local schools and districts with a new system that goes far beyond what was previously available.  The California School Dashboard (www.caschooldashboard.org) is a new website that uses multiple indicators to give a more complete picture of how schools are serving our diverse student population.

“The changes to our new accountability system are taking us in the right direction,” said Dr. Todd Finnell, Imperial County Superintendent of Schools. “The focus on equity and access for all students across multiple measures, while supporting local decision-making, will prove much more effective in improving our schools and helping our students find success.”

State and Local Performance Indicators

The Dashboard replaces the Academic Performance Index (API), which relied on test scores to produce a single number that offered a limited view of school performance.  It shows how districts and schools are performing over time on a dozen state and local school district indicators, including high school graduation rates, career and college readiness, English learner progress and suspension rates, while still looking at test scores in English language arts and mathematics.  

The Dashboard features easy-to-read reports on school and district performance.

Performance Levels for State Indicators

Performance on state indicators for individual schools and districts will be represented in the Dashboard by easy-to-understand color-coded pie pieces. The five performance levels are: blue (highest), green, yellow, orange, and red (lowest). The levels reflect both current performance and changes in performance over time.

Easy to Use Dashboard Reports

The Dashboard provides four types of reports with detailed performance information:

• Equity Report – performance level of all students
• Status and Change Report – current performance and change over time
• Detailed Reports – year-by-year data for the state and local indicators
• Student Group Report – performance of various demographic groups

The Dashboard is the next step in a series of major shifts in public education in California that have raised the bar for student learning, transformed testing and placed the focus on equity for all students.

The Dashboard also reflects California’s commitment to transparency and continuous improvement. The new system places greater emphasis on changes in performance from year to year. This will highlight programs that are making positive change and allow schools and districts to learn from each other’s success. It will also make it easier to identify areas where schools need assistance to improve performance.

Key Advantages of the California School Dashboard

• More than a Single Number
  A quality education is defined by more than a single test score.
   
• Focus on Equity
  Increased focus on addressing disparities among student groups.
   
• Supports Local Decision-Making
  More information to support the local strategic planning process.

Resources

Imperial County Office of Education has gathered and developed some helpful resources related to the Dashboard for parents and community members in both English and Spanish and they are posted on the ICOE website at:  www.icoe.org/dashboard.

The Dashboard Home Page is accessible at: caschooldashboard.org

Additional information can be found at the California Department of Education's California Accountability Model & School Dashboard website at:  www.cde.ca.gov/dashboard

The Dashboard does not provide detailed test results for the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP). That information will continue to be available at caaspp.cde.ca.gov and individual student CAASPP score reports will continue to be mailed home annually.