A lot of energy, time, and money is being spent on state assessments, so it is proper to check in and ask how it is going. It would not make sense for us to continue to spend the effort on testing only to ignore the results. And yet, eight years into the California CAASPP system, little is known about individual-level student scores responses to the Summative tests, especially with the multiple-choice section of the test. The overall scale score each student receives does not actually break down the types of questions each student answered correctly. Over the last eight years this fact has remained – individual student level data on the Computer Adapted test is still unknown. In the las...

The School Data Leadership Association is co-presenting a webinar on September 15, 2022 at 10 AM PST.   TOPIC:  Modernizing Your Approach to EdTech: From Management to Optimization DESCRIPTION:    Schools, districts and charter networks of every size are managing increasing numbers of edtech products - often with few dedicated resources and limited bandwidth. In this webinar, we'll sit down with Christopher Moggia, EdD, to discuss best practices every district can follow to drive more value from their edtech investments. We'll cover six steps to update your approach to edtech management:1. Document which edtech tools your students and teachers are using.2. Understand dist...

K12 district information teams navigate a confusing array of data management strategies to connect, and pass data between, an ever-growing collection of applications.This webinar, led by the School Data Leadership Association, will answer the question that persists for all K12 educators and technologists: How do move towards truly connecting all of our data systems?Topics will include:What are districts' best data integration options?What is the future of data warehousing and data exchanges?What questions should data leaders ask if a district wants to achieve better cross-district data access?Presenters:Chris Moggia, Executive Director, School Data Leadership AssociationKathryn Grady, Senior...

 Dear CALPADS LEA Administrators and Representatives: This is the two-week update to the May 4, 2022 listserv message that announced a delay to the opening of the 2021-22 End-of-Year (EOY) submission window.  The CDE plans to open the EOY submission window on Thursday, May 26, 2022. Additionally, in recognition of the delayed opening, current system issues, and the need for student information system vendors to implement changes to local systems and users to adjust local business practices, the July 31, 2022 certification deadline has been lifted.  The CDE recognizes that LEAs will need adequate time to submit and review data for quality, and will assess the need to extend the...

Here's a video from the CALPADS team regarding the changes.  https://youtu.be/7hjse9TiDeQ

The team at Weaver Union is looking for a Data Technician to support with their CALPADS and state reporting. https://www.edjoin.org/Home/DistrictJobPosting/1533699 If you know someone in that area that might be interested, please forward the Edjoin link to them! -Chris

Our friends over at Project Unicorn (a project of the New York based non-profit InnovateED supporting the K-12 Data Interoperability Space) have a fantastic "State of the Sector" report they've compiled that describes the growth of the dat interoperability movement in K-12 education.  You can grab your free copy here:  https://www.projectunicorn.org/state-of-the-sector. In addition, they too have rolled out a survey - not of the systems data we collect here at SchoolDataLeadership, but of some larger, more systemic/strategic concepts involving K-12 data interoperability.   Editor's note:  I was hesitant to send this info out at the same time that our 7th an...

Instructure announced on Thursday that they have rebranded their Videri data warehouse/analytics product as well as their Certify data validation suite.  The new name of "Elevate" was selected as the new name.   From their site:  In recent years, Instructure has grown significantly as we've expanded product offerings through a series of acquisitions. And with that growth, we have also seen opportunities to fertilize our mission to amplify teaching, elevate learning, and intensify impact to improve student outcomes. Today, the Instructure Learning Platform reinforces our commitment to learning on a personal level through software, assessment tools, content, professional develop...

Hello SDLA members!We've just put the finishing touches on the 7th annual district systems survey.You can find it here: 7th Annual District Systems Survey The URL is https://www.schooldataleadership.org/ca-k-12-school-districts/2022-district-systems-surveyPlease help us compile the best single resource for systems used by California school districts by taking 5-10 minutes to complete the survey. Hint - you can print the list out and use that to review your district's systems, checking them off as you go. The list can also be used to help your district understand what OPTIONS exist within each category.Each year we review the results and update the product pages listed on our site. Our goal i...

We are nearly finished with the build-out of the CALPADS reports section of the website.  We've listed the 84 active reports (both certification and support).  For each we list the name of the report, a screenshot, description, and list of the data elements (the actual headers of the report).  Eventually we will add some additional info for each. Registered members can also post comments/questions/tips for each.

California Department of EducationNews Release California Department of EducationNews Release Release: #21-96 November 30, 2021 Contact: CommunicationsE-mail: communications@cde.ca.gov Phone: 916-319-0818 SACRAMENTO—State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond today announced a partnership with Renaissance that will provide unlimited access to myON digital books and daily news articles for all pre-K to grade twelve students in California from December 1, 2021, through January 31, 2022. This initiative aims to give students The Gift of Literacy during the winter break by providing opportunities to engage in reading at home, at school, and in the community and is part of the Superintendent Thurmond’s statewide literacy campaign to help all California students reach the goal of literacy by third grade, by the year 2026. “I encourage every parent and student to use this free service to continue to read over the holidays,” said Superintendent Thurmond. “This is a great opportunity for our families to share the joy of reading and establish routines that support literacy growth for our students.” Literacy is a key benchmark in measuring and predicting student success, which is why Superintendent Thurmond is taking bold action to help students meet this important milestone. “We hope that free access to thousands of digital books will create and cultivate a lifelong love of reading that can continue to be nurtured by our school and local libraries,” Superintendent Thurmond said. Through this initiative, students—with the support of their families and educators—will access books and news articles in English and Spanish using a special shared account on Renaissance’s myON digital reading platform. myON is compatible with computers, Chromebooks, and tablets, and low-bandwidth and offline reading options provide expanded opportunities to access reading materials. All myON books and news articles include natural-voice audio narration, which is particularly helpful for younger learners and encourages read-alouds and read-alongs outside of school. This initiative is intended to support California schools and districts that are not currently using myON with their students. School and district leaders can access information for this special, shared login on a new web page created for this initiative . They will also find a number of helpful resources to help them launch this initiative with students, staff, and families, including an overview of myON, tips for getting started, family reading activities, and short video walk-throughs. The myON personalized literacy solution is currently used in hundreds of California schools. Students in these schools and districts who have their own personalized logins should continue using them to access myON and take advantage of the enhanced personalization. “We are excited to support Superintendent Thurmond’s bold vision of literacy and access to books for every student in California,” said Chris Bauleke, CEO of Renaissance. “This partnership provides access to myON digital books and news articles through the end of January and reinforces Renaissance’s mission to accelerate learning for all children, in partnership with the California Department of Education.” As part of his literacy effort to ensure students can read by third grade by 2026, State Superintendent Thurmond is working to expand...

Stability Rates ReportStability Rates Report (with County data)Stability Rate Downloadable Data Files These reports were developed in response to requests from educators, policy makers, and stakeholders across the state. The SR reports identify the number and percent of students who receive a "full year" of learning in the same school. This measure was developed after an extensive review of various stability metrics calculated by other state educational agencies, an evaluation of the data the CDE collects, and in collaboration with internal and external stakeholders. The CDE is also providing these data to fulfill a recommendation stemming from the Superintendent of Public Instruction's Impr...

Announcements  Emergency Connectivity Fund Second Application Window Closes Wednesday, October 13, 2021 Earlier this year, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced the $7.17 billion Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF), a temporary federal funding program available to E-rate eligible schools. ECF program funds may reimburse schools for the purchase of internet service and laptops or tablets necessary for students and teachers to participate remote learning activities away from school. October 13, 2021, is the final deadline to file applications for ECF funding for purchases between July 1, 2021, and June 30, 2022. More information may be found on the FCC's website at https://w...

https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/docs/announcement-letter-202108.pdfThe U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) sent a letter to district superintendents announcing that it will administer a 2021–22 Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC), marking the first time that OCR has conducted a CRDC, including all public school districts and their schools, two school years in a row—2020–21 and 2021–22.  Read the superintendent letter PDF (78K)

 The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights issued two resource collections—one for elementary and secondary schools and one for postsecondary institutions—designed to assist in planning for a successful and equitable return to schools and campuses. The two collections include fact sheets, Q&As, letters to educators, and other materials explaining the obligations that elementary, secondary, and postsecondary schools have under the federal civil rights laws enforced by OCR to provide educational environments free from discrimination. Read the Elementary and Secondary Resource Collection PDF (508K)Read the Postsecondary Resource Collection PDF (356K) As we look forward...

Kahoot! today announced the acquisition of Clever, one of the most widely-used digital learning platforms by U.S. K-12 schools, to make learning awesome worldwide. Oslo, Norway (May 6, 2021) – Kahoot!, a global learning platform company, announced today the acquisition of Clever Inc., a privately-held, California-based company that is one of the most widely-used digital learning platforms by U.S. K-12 schools. The partnership between two of the most popular platforms in education, with distinct and highly complementary offerings, will provide improved learning solutions and offerings to U.S. schools, while accelerating the global expansion of Clever's solutions. Kahoot! Group will acquire 10...

Illuminate Education and Education Advanced have joined forces in a collaborative partnership to provide educators with support and practical solutions for assessment concerns. The onset of COVID-19 in the spring of 2020 caused significant disruptions in the education world and changed how public schools function at their core. Educators across the country suddenly found themselves making substantial shifts in operations to maintain instructional continuity, despite lacking the advancements necessary to support remote and hybrid instructional delivery models. As fears for student safety shut schools down and prevented in-person attendance, another historical effect of COVID-19 emerged – the ...

The United States Department of Education on Tuesday April 6, 2021 approved in writing a request from the California Department of Education to waive some accountablity, school identificiation, and related reporting requirements for the 2020-21 school year due to challenges related to the Covid-19 pandemic.   Please note that these accountabilty requirement waivers did NOT extend reporting or testing deadlines nor did they waive the administration of any CAASPP, CAST, CAA, ELPAC, or related state tests.  In addition no extension to testing deadlines were issued. You can read the full report below: 

Be an ESSER III Hero: Three Technologies that Facilitate A Successful Return to School On Thursday, March 11, 2021, the first anniversary of the pandemic declaration, H.R. 1319, the "American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021," was signed and became Law 117-2. The ARPA, a $1.9 trillion plan, included an even larger relief package for ESSER III than ESSER I and ESSER II combined, providing $123 billion for schools to tackle learning loss and prepare to reopen in the fall. These funds provide critical assistance to help schools and districts maintain a high-quality learning environment, continue the establishment of innovative learning methods, and combat COVID-19 related learning loss. Our ...

Jason DuBose, MBA, M.Ed. Vice President of Sales - TestHound The holidays have passed us by and the season for testing is upon us. As a testing coordinator, you know what is coming, but even the best among us can get caught up in the hustle and bustle of the new semester and it is easy to let things slip. These five reminders will help new and seasoned coordinators alike set the stage for testing success this season. #1 - Build a Team I consider building a team the most important piece in having a successful testing season. You do not have to bear the testing load by yourself, and if you are to thrive in this demanding role, you need allies. Whether you are a teacher, counselor, assistant pr...