SARCnews March 2008 Edition

2006-07 SARC Template and Data Definitions

At its July 12, 2007 meeting, the California State Board of Education (SBE) approved the 2006-07 School Accountability Report Card (SARC) template and data definitions as proposed by the California Department of Education (CDE). The SARC template is intended to guide the preparation of report cards to be published in the 2007-08 school year. 

All documents in this publication are available on CDE’s SARC Web page [http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/sa/]. The 2006-07 SARC template and a summary of changes for the template are available on the 2006-07 SARC [http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/sa/sarc0607.asp] Web page in the Templates section. The data definitions that support the template and a summary of changes for the data definitions are available on the 2006-07 SARC [http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/sa/sarc0607.asp]. Web page in the Data Elements section.

Initially, the area of school facilities was the only significant change to the 2006-07 SARC template. Last year's State of California Office of Public School Construction (OPSC) Interim Evaluation Instrument (IEI) was used to determine the safety, cleanliness, and adequacy of school facilities, including any needed maintenance to ensure good repair. The IEI assigned a "yes" or "no" value to component systems and school facilities to indicate whether a school facility was in good repair. The OPSC-developed IEI was replaced by a Facility Inspection Tool (FIT) in June 2007. The FIT evaluates the same conditions as the IEI, but will do so with ratings of "good," "fair," or "poor." The FIT also provides an overall summary of the conditions at each school on a scale of "exemplary," "good," "fair," or "poor."

However, as a result of this past summer's federal Title I review, the CDE is required to ensure that high school student performance level proficiency results in English-language arts and mathematics, as derived from the California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE), be reported in the 2007-08 school year. Therefore, the updated SARC template with data and the updated data files now include CAHSEE proficiency data for all students for the previous three years, as well as data disaggregated by student group for the most recent year, for English-language arts and mathematics. These two data tables are found in the SARC Template section titled VIII. Student Performance in the topic titled California High School Exit Examination.

SARC Template With Data in Languages Other Than English

For 2006-07, the CDE is providing the SARC Template With Data in languages other than English. The SARC Template With Data 2006-07 is available in English, Chinese (simplified), Chinese (traditional), Korean, Spanish, and Vietnamese.

These updated SARC templates are available on the 2006-07 SARC [http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/sa/sarc0607.asp]. Web page in the Templates section. On the SARC Login Information page, enter the User ID (in lower case), the Password (in lower case), and select the Login button. From the School Selection page, select your County, your District, your School, and the Language.

A SARC Coordinator may request the User ID and Password by completing the Update Your SARC Coordinator form, which is available on the SARC home page [http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/sa/].

SARC Template in Word Translations

The CDE is providing translations of the SARC Template in Word for 2006-07 in seventeen non-English languages. These translations include the top five language groups based on the "15% and above" statistics for schools, pursuant to Education Code Section 48985, which are Spanish, Chinese (traditional), Vietnamese, Chinese (simplified), and Korean. Additionally, the SARC Template in Word is available in Arabic, Armenian (Western), Farsi (Persian), Hmong, Japanese, Lao, Pilipino (Tagalog), Portuguese (Brazilian), Portuguese (Continental), Punjabi, Russian, and Ukrainan. These translated SARC templates in Word are available on the 2006-07 SARC [http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/sa/sarc0607.asp]. Web page in the Templates section by selecting Available Translations.

SARC Data Files

The 2006-07 SARC downloadable data files are now available on the 2006-07 SARC [http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/sa/sarc0607.asp]. Web page in the Data Files section. The data files are provided in DBF format and are updated as of March 13, 2008. A list of Updates to Data contained in the SARC templates and data files is also available.

Note: A data discrepancy was reported to the CDE concerning data tables for student groups under Section. VIII Student Performance in the tables titled CAHSEE Results for All Students – Three-Year Comparison and CAHSEE Results by Student Group – Most Recent Year. We confirmed that test results for some schools were in fact not populating the tables in the template properly. The two tables contain data concerning CASHEE test results by proficiency level. They are now programmed to populate the template with data correctly and the data files for this area are now updated. If you have previously created SARCs using these two tables, match the current data provided in the template with your previously created SARC. If the two data sets do not match, update your SARCs using the latest data provided in the template or files.

2006-07 SARCs are Dynamic

For 2006-07, the CDE redesigned the SARC database structure to “dynamically” link the SARC Template With Data to most of its data sources (i.e., API, AYP, STAR). These dynamically linked data populate the related SARC data items and automatically display any updates made to the source data. For those data sources not housed in a CDE database (i.e., physical fitness data, SAT, ACT), data from individual source files populate the related SARC data items, which will be updated as new or revised data source files are submitted to the SARC team.

This SARC redesign improves on the current “point-in-time” structure by allowing SARC templates with data to have the most current data available during the entire school year. This enables a district or school to access a SARC template with current data in those instances when data updates have been submitted to the CDE.

SARC Coordinators will be notified by e-mail of any dynamic or new data updates as soon as they are available. As a practical matter, the dynamically linked or new file updates to the SARC will not impact most schools and districts and will only be of interest to those schools and districts that have submitted data updates to the CDE. Therefore, it will be critical that your local SARC Coordinator be notified whenever a district submits any data updates to the CDE.

As a result of this redesigned SARC data structure, the SARC team is recommending that schools and districts indicate the date of publication on the SARC.

Dynamically Linked, File, and Local Data Sources

SARC Data Items With Dynamically Linked Data Sources

SARC Data Items With File Data Sources

SARC Data Items With Local Data Sources

Additional SARC Information

The data used in the SARC template are current as of March 13, 2008. Data may be revised by LEAs for various reasons, including corrections to demographic data submitted as part of the state-mandated testing programs or appeals related to federal Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) determinations and resulting changes to Program Improvement status.

When properly completed, the SARC template meets all state and federal accountability reporting requirements. An LEA may choose to develop and use an alternative reporting format, as long as the report includes all required data elements and uses SBE-approved definitions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Various responses to the SARC frequently asked questions (FAQs) have been updated. Questions 4, 5, 13, 16, and 25 were revised and questions 12 and 14 are new. The FAQs are available on the SARC home page [http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/sa/] by selecting Frequently Asked Questions.

State Accountability Report Card

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 requires each state to produce an annual report card that summarizes assessment results of students statewide and disaggregated by student subgroup. Information must also be included on high school graduation rates, teacher qualifications, other indicators used in each state’s definition of AYP, and the AYP status of all schools and districts in the state.

The State Accountability Report Card 2006-07 is available in English and Spanish on CDE’s State Accountability Report Card [http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/sc/] Web page.

Contact the SARC Team

If you have any questions or comments about the topics covered in this newsletter, or suggestions for topics for a future newsletter, please contact us as indicated below.