Major shift ahead as state creates new accountability system
State Board to finalize LCFF rubric this fall
Published: February 29, 2016
California is entering a critical stage in the development of a new public education accountability system. At its March meeting, the State Board of Education plans to consider input from stakeholders, including CSBA, on key elements of the system — such as a new LCFF evaluation rubric that will likely focus on four to six leading indicators of student and school success, and a “dashboard” format for reporting important multiple measures of school performance, as opposed to a single score.
The LCFF evaluation rubric will, according to WestEd, “assess the performance of local educational agencies and identify assistance that meets specific areas of need.” The rubric has been going through phases of development, with WestEd, on behalf of the SBE, collecting feedback to help inform the improvement of the content and design. At CSBA’s urging, the SBE and WestEd recently conducted field testing of an initial version in several districts around the state.
The rubric will establish goals for all California schools and local education agencies. It will form a core part of the overall accountability system that is expected to include data showing how successfully all students and LEAs are achieving specific outcomes, how well they are demonstrating improvement over time and how well equity is being attained. In addition to certain data such as graduation rates and test scores (to identify just two), districts will be encouraged to identify additional local indicators.
“A major goal of the new accountability system is to help shift the state away from the old ‘test and judge’ approach towards a more constructive model that helps schools make ‘continuous improvement,’” said CSBA CEO & Executive Director Vernon M. Billy, who also serves on State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson’s Advisory Task Force on Accountability and Continuous Improvement. “It’s important that the new system California ultimately puts in place is focused on strengthening teaching and learning, is responsive to the needs of all students - particularly students who make up the state’s achievement gap - provides clear information for parents, local communities and the state, and ensures support and technical assistance for those schools and districts needing help.” Billy added, “We also have to tackle the current tension between our vision for a great accountability system and the reality on the ground as it relates to a lack of adequate funding and district capacity.”
The new accountability system builds on other major K-12 system changes, including implementation of new state academic content standards, a new statewide assessment program and LCFF implementation. The SBE hopes to establish a more coherent, unified system that meets state and federal requirements, especially following the passage of the new federal Every Student Succeeds Act.
To meet an October statutory deadline, the SBE is scheduled to approve the LCFF rubric in September —which means this is an especially important time in the process for board members to offer input. Between now and September, the SBE will consider preliminary designs of the new evaluation rubric that incorporate user testing results and feedback from various stakeholders.
Said SBE President Michael Kirst, “We recognize change of this magnitude takes time … the mantra we have adopted is ‘patience, persistence and humility.’ There are several implementation decisions ahead, including adoption of the rubrics and creation of one coherent accountability system.”
New CCEE to provide assistance
Launched in 2015, the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence (CCEE), along with county offices of education, are expected to fulfill an important function by helping to increase the capacity of school and district teams to make improvements.
Gov. Jerry Brown and the Legislature established the CCEE to improve the quality of teaching, enhance school district and school site leadership and address the needs of targeted subgroups, which include English learners, students from low-income families and foster youth.
“For the past 15 years, the accountability system has focused on top-down compliance," said CCEE Executive Director Carl Cohn. “The CCEE represents a fundamental shift away from that approach to one that emphasizes getting the right kind of help and assistance to local school systems, so that they own the continuous improvement process, and are determined to build their own capacity to get better.”