There are more than 130 known errors in the CALPADS system currently.  If you are having difficulties with some errors or totals not working out as expected, try consulting the attached excel file.  It may contain information about your particular situation that may be impacting your district's data.  File Name: CALPAD_knownissues_july5-2018 File Size: 31 kb Download File

"I hope the new dashboard is in 3-D!"

Dear Accountability Coordinators: Governor Brown's FY 2018-19 budget includes funding for improvements to the California School Dashboard (Dashboard). The California Department of Education and State Board of Education are gathering stakeholder feedback to help inform potential updates to the look and feel of the Dashboard. This meeting will take place on Monday, July 23rd, from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m., over WebEx. Please use the following connection information to sign in: Topic: Broad Stakeholder Webinar on Dashboard RedesignDate and Time: Monday, July 23, 2018 1:00 pm, Pacific Daylight Time (San Francisco, GMT-07:00)Event number: 668 426 813Event password: 155428Event registration/address for a...

Notes on the ELPAC -  The Initial ELPAC administration window opened on July 1.-  The Local Scoring Tool (LST) became available in the Test Operations and Management System (TOMS) on July 9.-  The Initial ELPAC data file layout will be posted on the ELPAC Test Administration web page by July 13.-  The Initial ELPAC preliminary score sheet and instructions as well as the conversion tables will be posted in TOMS by July 13. They are available for optional summer use by local educational agencies (LEAs) that choose to wait until fall to enter raw scores in the LST. "Understanding Your Student Score Report"—in English, Spanish, Mandarin, and Vietnamese—is now available on the...

lluminate Education, IO Education, SchoolCity, Alpine Achievement, and Key Data Systems merge to create the largest provider of data platforms, data, analytics, formative assessments, and a "whole view of the student."   Irvine, Lake Elsinore, and Santa Clara, CA., Atlanta, GA., and Centennial, CO. (July 03, 2018) – Illuminate Education, the company transforming K-12 instruction through education intelligence solutions, has merged with IO Education, SchoolCity, Alpine Achievement, and Key Data Systems (KDS). The new company, called Illuminate Education, will be led by Christine Willig, a 25-year K-12 industry veteran. Insight Venture Partners, a New York-based venture capital and p...

​Wishing you and your family all the best this Fourth of July!

Published June 25, 2018.  The entire PDF file is below:    Download PDF File Here

IRVINE, Calif. and MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (PRWEB) June 25, 2018 Illuminate Education, a leading K-12 Education Intelligence Platform (EIP), today announced it has been certified as a Google for Education Premier Partner. As part of the partnership, Illuminate Education also selected Google Cloud Platform to power the Illuminate EIP. The collaboration will create interoperability with Google Classroom, streamlined navigation for users, and enhanced insights to drive personalized learning. As a Google for Education Premier Partner, Illuminate Education is integrating its entire suite of products into the Google Cloud ecosystem, including full support of Google for Education productivity tools. ...

The English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC) Update, from the California Department of Education (CDE), is a monthly e-mail for K–12 educators, including testing coordinators. The ELPAC, when it becomes operational, will replace the California English Language Development Test (CELDT). Individualized Education Programs and the New Matrix 4 The new Matrix Four displays the universal tools, designated supports, and accommodations (non-embedded) allowed as part of the ELPAC. For students who have an individualized education program (IEP) that identifies the use of accommodations listed in Matrix Four, an addendum is not necessary. For students whose IEP identifies differe...

The English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC) Update, from the California Department of Education (CDE), is an e-mail for K–12 educators, including testing coordinators, which focuses on the English Language Proficiency Assessments for California. When the ELPAC is operational, it will replace the California English Language Development Test (CELDT). The ELPAC Update will be sent once per month beginning March 2017. Please forward this e-mail to any educators in your local educational agency (LEA) who would be interested in or benefit from this information. Superintendent's Designation of LEA ELPAC Coordinator Form Due August 1 Just a brief reminder: The Superintendent'...

Reap the Rewards, Get CK-12 Certified! Summer break is the time to discover more about using CK-12 to boost your students' progress. Say hello to CK-12's Certified Educator Program! Our training program is back, with more sessions and flexibility to suit your every need. So don't wait, sign up now. BENEFITS Improved student engagement and learning. Discover how to: use a variety of resources through Concept-Based Learning, replace textbooks with customizable FlexBooks®, help your students explore math and science concepts with interactives, assign Adaptive Practice to support students at various skill levels, and more.Professional growth. Gain key skills, earn professional development hours ...

Dear Accountability Coordinators: 2018 CALIFORNIA SCHOOL DASHBOARD WEBINAR This e-mail is to invite you to participate in a Webinar on May 30, 2018, at 10 a.m., to assist local educational agencies prepare for the 2018 California School Dashboard (Dashboard) release. The Webinar will provide information and respond to questions on the following topics: 1.  Information on the proposed student-level growth model2.  New business rule on the exclusion of English learners enrolled in a U.S. school for less than one year from the calculation of the English language arts participation rate for the Academic Indicator3.  Upcoming timeline to submit data in the California...

The English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC) Update, from the California Department of Education (CDE), is an e-mail for K-12 educators, including testing coordinators, which focuses on the English Language Proficiency Assessments for California. When the ELPAC is operational, it will replace the California English Language Development Test (CELDT). The ELPAC Update will be sent once per month beginning March 2017. Please forward this e-mail to any educators in your local educational agency (LEA) who would be interested in or benefit from this information. ELPAC Regulations Approved! Have you heard the news? The ELPAC regulations have been approved and will become effe...

There are four unique listservs that disseminate info about CALPADS.  One is maintained by CSIS/FCMAT and serves as a Q & A forum for day-to-day users.  The other three are "one-way" messaging systems and do not accept replies.  A list of these and their intended audiences and access instructions is below: "CALPADS" listservsIntended AudienceAccess Instructions  1.  "CSIS-LS" Lot's of back-and-forth messages from CALPADS Coordinators Individuals who work on a daily basis with all aspects of the system, including preparing data for upload, working with various SIS systems, resolving errors, and validating/verifying data.  The group is open to all local school district CALPADS administrators and usually has around 200 active participants.  This is a lively back-and-forth discussion forum with roughly 25 to 50 email messages going back and forth each day.  It is advisable to use a secondary email account just for this listserv or to create some rules within your email filter to sort these messages into their own folder. https://csis.fcmat.org/Pages/Listserv.aspx 2.  "CALPADS-LEA" Only official information According to the CDE website, "The CALPADS-LEA listserv is a private listserv restricted to LEAs. All requests for membership will be reviewed before approval is granted."  This is one of the official channels in which "Flash" updates from CDE regarding CALPADS is disseminated.  Generally anyone who is the LEA CALPADS Coordinator should be on this list to receive deadline information, product improvement updates, known issues updates, and new data requirement updates.  (Note to CDE - Since this is official information already posted on the CDE site, and not priviliged info in any way, it might make sense to open access of this list up a bit too!  That way we can assign a unique email address to it (e.g. CALPADSINFO@mydistrict.edu) and then route this critically important info to all necessary parties at our schools.http://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sp/cl/listservs.asp 3.  "CALPADS-SIS-VENDORS" Only official information "The CALPADS-SIS-VENDORS listserv provides information relevant to the development and implementation of CALPADS to Student Information System (SIS) vendors and LEAs utilizing custom-designed SISs. This listserv is an open listserv with no membership restrictions." This listserv provides an opportunity to understand how changes in the CALPADS system may impact your student information system (e.g. Aeries, PowerSchool, Infinite Campus, Illuminate SIS, and others).  There is usually a monthly vendor conference call as well, that is usually attended by representatives of those companies (when it hasn't been cancelled).   http://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sp/cl/listservs.asp 4.  "CASEMIS-TO-CALPADS" Only official information "The CASEMIS-TO-CALPADS listserv disseminates information to LEAs regarding the transition from the California Special Education Management Information System (CASEMIS) to CALPADS. This listserv is an open listserv with no membership restrictions. "  Since the CASEMIS data is scheduled to "morph" into CALPADS at some point in the 2019-2020 time-frame, it would make sense for Special Education leaders and CALPADS Coordinators to participate in this listserv in order to anticipate these changes in how SPed data is captured, stored, and reported.http://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/sp/cl/listservs.asp

Here's a PDF of today's CALPADS Flash.      Download PDF File Here

  Summative Assessments The closing of the summative assessment testing window is nearing for many local educational agencies (LEAs). As the testing season winds down, we ask that you: Continue your vigilance regarding security breaches involving the exposure of secure materials and ensure that all test administration environments are secure. The California Department of Education (CDE) is monitoring social media sites to make certain that CAASPP testing content has not been posted. Remember to submit your Security and Test Administration Incident Reporting System (STAIRS) form and/or appeals requests as soon as possible and to follow-up on all requests to ensure that their processing is complete prior to the end of the testing window. Spanish Resource: “Understanding the Student Score Report” Video  The Spanish version of the video “Understanding the CAASPP Student Score Report” is now available on the CDE CAASPP Student Score Report Information Web page. This eight-minute video highlights the new features on the score report, using samples of the report in Spanish. The “Other” Testing Issue Category on the STAIRS Form The CDE has seen an increase in the number of testing issues reported as “Other.” Before selecting the testing issue “Other,” please ensure that your test security incident does not fall into a listed test issue category by referring to the STAIRS—Applicable Testing Issues chart . Note that selecting the category “Other” when a listed issue actually applies may cause a significant delayin the processing of your report. Further explanation of testing incidents can be found in the CAASPP Security Incidents and Appeals Procedure Guide . Accessibility Notes: Reporting an Issue with a Universal Tool, Designated Support, or Accommodation When contacting the California Technical Assistance Center to report a universal tool, designated support, or accommodation that does not seem to be functioning correctly, please provide the test session ID number and the student’s Statewide Student Identifier to allow technical staff to investigate the issue in a timely manner.  Post-Test Workshop Webcast Tomorrow! Tomorrow, May 19,from 10 a.m. to noon (Part 1) and 1 to 3 p.m. (Part 2), Educational Testing Service, in partnership with the CDE and WestEd, will present a Webcast of the 2015–16 CAASPP Post-Test Workshop “Connecting Assessments to Instruction.” The purpose of this Webcast is to inform LEAs of the various components of the 2015–16 CAASPP assessment student results and reports and how they can be used to inform instruction. Topics will include: Principles of scoring (including high-level information on the scoring of the online Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments)Using the Online Reporting SystemUnderstanding how to access, use, and interpret the 2015–16 student reports and results to improve classroom instructionProviding supplementary resources and reference materials to assist LEA CAASPP coordinators with their training efforts to improve teaching and learning This Webcast  is open to all school and district staff—please notify curriculum instruction leaders, professional development leaders, and/or LEA representatives who would disseminate the information to other teachers in your LEA. No preregistration or logon account is required.  The Webcast and related materials will later be archived and available in the “Webcast Archives” section on the...

Good stuff from Digital Promise.  Link here:  digitalpromise.com  

Editor's Note - Mary is a dear friend and colleague of mine when we both worked at Camino Nuevo Charter Academy.  She is the nicest, smartest, hardest-working person I've ever met in my life and one of the first contributors to this website.  Please read her story and support her and her family during this difficult time. From her website: I am a 36-year old married mother of three young children (4, 2, 7 months) who fulfills my passion of educating college students every day. This spring I was diagnosed with stage IV lung cancer - an unclassic case that has cut my timeline to a fraction of what I had imagined.   While some might call it a bucket list, for me, it would be more...

The Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) is a non-pricing meal service option for schools and school districts in low-income areas. CEP allows the nation's highest poverty schools and districts to serve breakfast and lunch at no cost to all enrolled students without collecting household applications. Instead, schools that adopt CEP are reimbursed using a formula based on the percentage of students categorically eligible for free meals based on their participation in other specific means-tested programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). File Name: CEPfactsheet File Size: 425 kb Download File File Name: california...

I came across this fantastic new podcast called "My Tech Toolbelt" at the CUE Conference.  Great stuff!   It's run by a two woman crew (Shannon Tabaldo and Brenda Argano) and focuses on recognizing great teaching (and teachers) and the work they are doing with technology.  I love the 'hands-on' format of the podcast - instead of hyping up this product or that, they focus instead on the nitty-gritty of getting technology to work and making it practical for both teachers and students.   My Tech ToolBelt Podcast We are a small crew that is passionate about recognizing great teachers and the work they are doing with technology in their classrooms. We wanted to try someth...