• Overview

    The California School Dashboard – Let the Conversation Begin (Video; 1:53)
    This two-minute video explains why the California School Dashboard is the “ultimate conversation starter” and how it can lead to better planning and better results for our kids.

    Background

    California's accountability system is based on multiple measures that assess how local educational agencies (LEAs) and schools are meeting the needs of their students. Performance on these measures is reported on the California School Dashboard (Dashboard).

    Based on Dashboard results, some LEAs are eligible for assistance through the System of Support.

    The Dashboard

    The Dashboard is a powerful online tool to help districts and schools identify strengths and weaknesses and pinpoint student groups that may be struggling. It reports performance and progress on both state and local measures:

    • State measures apply to all LEAs, schools, and student groups and are based on data that is collected consistently across the state.

    • Local measures apply at the LEA and charter school level and are based on data collected at the local level.

     

     

    The state and local measures are drawn from the ten priority areas of the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), which was passed in 2013. Table 1 lists each priority area and its corresponding state and/or local measure:

    Priority Areas   State Indicator   Local Indicator
    Priority 1: Basic Services and Conditions at schools   N/A   Text books availability, adequate facilities, and correctly assigned teachers.
    Priority 2: Implementation of State Academic Standards   N/A   Annually report on progress in implementing the standards for all content areas.

    Priority 3: Parent Engagement

    		   N/A   Annually report progress toward: (1) seeking input from parents/guardians in decision making; and (2) promoting parental participation in programs.
    Priority 4: Student Achievement  
    • Academic Performance (Grades 3–8 and Grade 11)

    • English Learner Progress
    		   N/A
    Priority 5: Student Engagement  
    • Graduation Rate
    • Chronic Absenteeism
    		   N/A
    Priority 6: School Climate   Suspension Rate   Administer a Local Climate Survey every other year.
    Priority 7: Access to a Broad Course of Study   N/A   Annually report progress on the extent students have access to, and are enrolled in, a broad course of study.
    Priority 8: Outcomes in a Broad Course of Study   College/Career   N/A
    Priority 9: (COEs Only) Coordination of Services for Expelled Students   N/A   Annual measure of progress in coordinating instruction for expelled students.
    Priority 10: (COEs Only) Coordination of Services for Foster Youth   N/A   Annual measure of progress in coordinating instruction for foster youth.

     

    These priority areas form the basis for California's integrated accountability system, which meets both state and federal requirements.

    Different criteria are used to determine and report performance for the state and local measures.

    For the methodology for measuring performance on the local measures, please see the local measures.

    Performance on the state measures is based on data from both the current and prior years. Any LEA, school, or student group with at least 30 students in both the current and prior year receives a performance level for each applicable state measure. There are five performance levels, and each is assigned a different color: Red is the lowest performance level, Orange is the second lowest, Yellow is the middle point, Green is the second highest, and Blue is the highest performance level.

    On the Dashboard, a school's, LEA's, or student group's performance on a state measure is graphically displayed by a gauge, that is broken into five different colored segments, to represent the five levels of performance. An arrow points to the color that that corresponds to the performance for that measure. The picture below illustrates the five analog gauge meters used on the California School Dashboard. Each gauge meter is a half-circle dial that has 5 segments. Each segment represents a different performance level. The colors read from top to bottom: Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, and Red. Blue represents the highest performance level while Red represents the lowest performance level. A needle indicates the performance level for the measure.

    A picture of the five analog gauge meters used on the California School Dashboard and its performance range as described above.

    To learn more about a state measure, select from the list below: