School Accountability Report Card SARC Update

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School Accountability Report Card (SARC) Update

• Policy and Evaluation Division
• Carlos Rivera
• March 20, 2007

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Purpose of the SARC
To provide parents and the community with an
annual accountability report containing important
information about the condition and performance
of each public school
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What is the SARC?

• The SARC is a data reporting tool
• Contains 54 reporting elements
• Some of the most extensive reporting requirements
  in the country
• Some data are provided by the CDE, other data the
  LEA must provide
• Typically reports on data from the prior school
  year
• Point in time document

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SARC Content Requirements

• Demographic data
• Academic data
• Teacher and staff information
• Curriculum and instruction information
• Adequate Yearly Progress determinations and Title
  1 Program Improvement status
• Other information School safety, class size,
  school information, and financial data

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SARC Template and Data Definitions

• The State Board of Education annually approves a
  model template containing all the SARC reporting
  elements required by state and federal laws
• LEAs may use the model template or design their
  own report cards, as long as all the required
  elements are included

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Online Access to SARC Reports

• Web access to SARC reports at Find a School
  Report located at http//www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/sa/a
  p/sarclink1.asp
• Actual web visits per month
• November 2006 (3,126)
• December 2006 (2,671)
• January 2007 (2,653)

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Factors MotivatingSARC Improvement Efforts

• Legislative expansion of reporting elements (No
  Child Left Behind, Williams, AB 1609, SB 687)
• Concerns about report card clarity (UCLA study)
• Advocacy by private organizations concerning the
  SARC
• Media attention about compliance issues
• Increasing burdens faced by LEAs

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2006 Efforts to Streamline SARC

• Senate Bill 1510 (Vetoed) The bill provided for
  an annual February 1 SARC publication date and
  provided for the following requirement deletions
• Local Assessment Results
• Class Size Reduction Information
• Governors Performance Award Program
• School Instruction and Leadership
• Workforce Preparation of Students

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2006 Efforts to Streamline SARC (continued)

• The GROW Network, at the request of the
  Department, reviewed the perceived and actual use
  of the SARC
• This review resulted in the following products
  that are being examined for use in the future
• Redesigned print SARC prototype
• Framework for a web-based SARC version

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Current Legislative Efforts to Streamline SARC

• Assembly Bill (AB) 759 (Alquist)
• Comprehensive review of SARC
• Goal Clarity, readability, and usability
• Review group Governor, State Board of Education,
  Legislative Analyst, Legislature, state and local
  education agencies, parent and guardian
  representatives, and other stakeholders

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Current Legislative Efforts to Streamline SARC
(continued)

• AB 1015 (Brownley)
• Require that assessment of estimated expenditures
  per pupil include average actual salaries for the
  following
• Fully credentialed teachers
• Teachers with emergency credential
• State-mandated local program resulting from new
  requirement

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Current Legislative Efforts to Streamline SARC
(continued)

• AB 1061 (Mullin)
• Requires February 1 annual publication date by
  2008-09
• Deletes the following SARC requirements
• School Instruction and Leadership
• Student achievement in reading, writing, and
  mathematics
• Governors Performance Award Program

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Current Legislative Efforts to Streamline SARC
(continued)

• AB 802 (Romero)
• Requires that a SARC made available online be
  posted in a user-friendly manner and easily
  accessible

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Current Legislative Efforts to Streamline SARC
(continued)

• Senate Bill 835 (Scott)
• Requires February 1 annual publication date by
  2008-09
• Deletes the following SARC requirements
• School Instruction and Leadership
• Student achievement in reading, writing, and
  mathematics
• Governors Performance Award Program

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Ideas for the Future

• Simplify language in the standard template
• Streamline SARC content requirements
• Explore development of improved SARC-related
  services

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CDE Contact for the SARC

• Carlos Rivera, Consultant
• Evaluation, Research and Analysis Unit
• Policy and Evaluation Division
• [phone]
• crivera_at_cde.ca.gov
• SARC_at_cde.ca.gov