California School Dashboard

April 19, 2019

As a candidate for president, Harris taking a softer stance on truancy than she did as a prosecutor

U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris championed tough-on-truancy laws while serving as San Francisco’s district attorney and California attorney general. Now she's taking heat for it on the campaign trail.

David Washburn

February 10, 2019

Kamala Harris’s stance on truancy resurfaces as she launches presidential campaign

A 2010 video clip of California senator and presidential hopeful Kamala Harris advocating the prosecution of parents for their children's truancy has re-ignited controversy as schools statewide face greater scrutiny for their rates of chronic absenteeism.

David Washburn

February 6, 2019

California quietly publishes list of 781 lowest-performing schools

Convinced that stigmatizing “bad schools” and dictating improvements didn't work, state officials are counting on district-led solutions to low achievement.

John Fensterwald

January 31, 2019

Chronic absenteeism in California schools up slightly, new data show

More than 1 in 10 students statewide were chronically absent from school in 2017-18. Rates for students in marginalized groups much higher than the state average.

David Washburn

December 6, 2018

Ratings in updated California School Dashboard target more districts for assistance

Two near indicators – chronic absenteeism and college/career readiness – debut and reemphasize the need to boost attendance of younger students and better prepare high schoolers for post-graduation.

John Fensterwald

December 6, 2018

Search and compare data from the California School Dashboard, 2018

Search and compare all California public schools, districts, cities and counties for data from the state's new school accountability dashboard.

Justin Allen, Daniel J. Willis, And Yuxuan Xie

November 28, 2018

California school districts to get ‘wake-up call’ with new absenteeism measures

At least 40 percent of California school districts and charter schools have rates of chronic absence in grades K-8 that are high or very high based on new performance measures that will be unveiled next month.

David Washburn

November 27, 2018

California's graduation rate ticks up but, still, 1 in 10 high school students drops out

Despite steady overall progress, gaps among student ethnic and racial groups persist. The new data will indicate which low-performing school districts will receive assistance when the California School Dashboard is released next month.

John Fensterwald

November 26, 2018

Measuring growth in test scores is key to understanding student progress

School communities need actionable data and a complete picture of progress to support meaningful changes for students.

Steve Martinez and Rick Miller

September 4, 2018

New ‘friendlier’ look coming for California’s school dashboard

Complaints that the state education data web site was too difficult to understand led to redesigned version.

John Fensterwald

July 11, 2018

California officials confident they’ve cut deal in dispute over federal education law

State Board also votes to continue exploring a way to measure a school’s impact on student learning. Advocates say a “growth model" will be more precise than the method the state uses now.

Mikhail Zinshteyn And John Fensterwald

July 3, 2018

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos appears ready to sign California’s education plan

Top U.S. Department of Education official says he will recommend approval if the State Board of Education votes for a revised plan at its meeting in Sacramento

David Washburn

May 7, 2018

New science test must be part of California's school accountability system

State must signal importance of science to accelerate implementation of new science standards.

Jill Grace and Vincent Stewart

April 3, 2018

California districts to take part in groundbreaking school safety study

Researchers will spend five years studying California schools in order to get a better picture of how they can become places where people feel safer and more connected.

David Washburn

March 21, 2018

California tops in suspension reform, but still not properly targeting disparities, report says

The report finds no other state does a better job than California at holding districts accountable for reducing overall school suspensions. But districts still don't adequately prioritize cuts in suspension rates for students of color and other marginalized groups.

David Washburn