Improving California School Dashboard Pandemic Preparedness: A D Grade Report
As the education landscape continues to grapple with the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, recent national surveys have shed light on the discrepancy between parents’ perceptions of their children’s academic progress and the stark reality of pandemic learning setbacks. Despite receiving A’s and B’s on report cards, parents may not fully grasp the extent to which their children have fallen behind academically.
Education experts like Sean Reardon of Stanford and Tom Kane of Harvard caution against the misconception that the effects of the pandemic on education were merely temporary. The latest evidence suggests otherwise, highlighting the need for transparency in reporting academic performance data to provide a more accurate picture of student achievement.
One key tool for assessing school and district performance is the California School Dashboard. However, a recent report by the Center on Reinventing Public Education found that the dashboard falls short in providing clear longitudinal data that show changes in results over multiple years. This lack of comprehensive data presentation has contributed to California receiving a D grade on an A-F scale, lagging behind 29 states that performed better in terms of transparency and accountability.
The report emphasized the importance of displaying performance results over time to assess the impact of the pandemic on student achievement. States like Connecticut, which received an A grade, showcase five years of results in bar charts and line graphs for 11 performance measures, allowing for a more in-depth analysis of longitudinal trends.
California’s dashboard, on the other hand, makes it difficult to identify longitudinal results, according to Morgan Polikoff, a professor of education at the USC Rossier School of Education. He pointed out that users have to navigate multiple years of data and manipulate it in external tools like Excel to visualize longitudinal trends effectively.
The report evaluated longitudinal data for seven metrics, including achievement levels in various subjects, chronic absenteeism, graduation rates, and English learner proficiency. By using a point system to assess the accessibility of this data, the researchers underscored the importance of presenting information in a user-friendly format that allows for meaningful comparisons over time.
While California collects data for most metrics, it lacks a statewide social studies test and does not compile achievement growth using students’ specific scores over time. This approach has hindered the state’s ability to track progress accurately and make informed decisions based on longitudinal trends.
In response to the report’s findings, the California Department of Education emphasized the annual review process for refining the dashboard to ensure it is accessible and useful to families. While the department remains open to feedback and suggestions for improvement, it acknowledges the need to enhance the dashboard’s usability and transparency.
One of the challenges highlighted in the report is the inability to compare schools and districts on the California School Dashboard. This limitation was intentional, reflecting the state board’s emphasis on districts’ self-improvement and discouraging simplistic comparisons that overlook the nuances behind the data.
To address this issue, alternative dashboards like EdSource’s and data partnerships like Ed-Data offer multi-school and district comparisons, allowing users to analyze trends over time and make informed decisions about student performance. These platforms provide a more comprehensive view of academic progress and help stakeholders understand the broader context of educational outcomes.
In evaluating the usability of state dashboards, the report identified common pitfalls in navigating report card websites, noting disparities in data presentation and accessibility. While California’s dashboard is rated as “fair” in terms of usability, there is room for improvement in providing longitudinal data and facilitating comparisons across schools and districts.
Moving forward, education experts like Morgan Polikoff emphasize the need for a substantial overhaul of the California School Dashboard to enhance its usability for longitudinal comparisons. By reevaluating the dashboard’s purpose and target audience, stakeholders can design a more effective tool that meets the needs of families, educators, and policymakers alike.
As the education system continues to evolve in response to the challenges posed by the pandemic, transparent and accessible data reporting will be essential in driving informed decision-making and supporting student success. By prioritizing longitudinal data and usability in educational reporting, California can better address the academic needs of its students and ensure accountability in the education system.