This week Executive Director Louis Freedberg and Editor-at-Large John Fensterwald continue their coverage of California’s new School Dashboard, the website that rates the performance of districts, schools and student groups on student performance indicators, using a range of colors.
They spoke with Carrie Hahnel, the deputy director of research and policy at The Education Trust-West, who has closely followed the dashboard creation and the new accountability system since its inception. Among the questions we asked her:
- What was her impression of the way the dashboard presents complicated information to parents?
- What ways might it be improved?
- Are other states presenting similar information better/differently?
Louis and John also discuss the proposed new credentialing requirements for special education teachers, the first major change in 20 years. The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing is hoping that having special education and general education teachers working closer together will have a dramatic impact on improving services for students with special needs and identifying those students at a younger age.
Produced by Sarah Tan