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January 19, 2012, Evidence Letter

Letter Head: Tom Torlakson, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, California Department of Education

January 19, 2012

Dear Select County and District Superintendents:

GUIDELINES FOR SUBMITTING EVIDENCE OF LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY PLAN IMPLEMENTATION AND MONITORING TO THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

At its November 2011 meeting, the State Board of Education (SBE) took action to end the requirement for local educational agencies (LEA) in Cohorts 1, 2, and 3 of Program Improvement (PI) Year 3 Corrective Action to submit quarterly reports to the California Department of Education (CDE) to document progress in implementing their LEA Plan. This action is described in Item 7 on the SBE meeting for November 2011 Web page at http://www.cde.ca.gov/be/ag/ag/yr11/agenda201111.asp.

In an effort to reduce additional reporting requirements while encouraging LEAs in PI Year 3 to monitor the implementation of their LEA Plans, the SBE also approved at its November 2011 meeting the requirement for each LEA in Cohorts 1–5 of PI Year 3 to submit local evidence of LEA Plan implementation to the CDE. This reporting will consist of three parts:

  • A mid-year and end-of-year summary description of the LEA’s progress towards implementation of the strategies and actions in the LEA Plan
  • Documentation of a mid-year and end-of-year data analysis of the LEA’s progress towards student achievement goals in the LEA Plan based on local assessment data
  • Documentation of annual communication with the local governing board regarding the LEA’s progress toward student achievement goals in the LEA Plan
This letter provides LEAs with guidance for documenting progress of implementation and monitoring of the LEA Plan. All evidence of progress will be submitted to the CDE electronically via the California Accountability and Improvement System (CAIS). A trained reviewer will confirm receipt of your evidence in CAIS, and your documentation will be compiled in a summary report of LEA progress for review by the SBE. Following this initial collection cycle, the CDE will survey each LEA in Cohorts 1–4 of PI Year 3 to obtain feedback on the process and gather input for improvements.

Mid-Year Evidence of Progress

March 7, 2012, is the due date to submit mid-year evidence to the CDE for LEAs in Cohorts 1–4 of PI Year 3. LEAs in Cohort 5 of PI Year 3 will submit evidence of progress to the CDE beginning in 2013. Attachment 1 is a list of LEAs in Cohorts 1–5 of PI Year 3.

Mid-year evidence is a single document in either Word or PDF format to be uploaded in CAIS. Within this document, the LEA should provide (1) a brief narrative of its progress in implementing the LEA Plan strategies, including a description of evidence used to determine progress, and (2) a district-level analysis of local formative assessment data to document progress towards LEA Plan student performance goals in English-language arts (ELA) and mathematics.

End-of-Year Evidence of Progress

September 30, 2012, is the due date for submission of the end-of-year evidence to the CDE for LEAs in Cohorts 1–4 of PI Year 3. End-of-year evidence consists of the following three elements to be uploaded in CAIS:

  • A summary of the LEA Plan strategies implemented during the previous year, including a description of evidence used to determine effective implementation
  • An analysis of LEA performance on the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program assessments, including a description of progress towards LEA Plan student performance goals in ELA and mathematics
  • Evidence of annual communication with the local governing board regarding the implementation of LEA Plan strategies and actions, the analysis of student group performance on the STAR Program assessments, and progress towards LEA Plan student performance goals in ELA and mathematics

Webinar

You are invited to participate in a Webinar presented in partnership with the California Comprehensive Center at WestEd to support LEAs in the submission process. The Webinar is scheduled for February 15, 2012, at 2 p.m. Please use the links below to access the Webinar:

Webinar address: https://wested.webex.com/wested/onstage/g.php?t=a&d=598362873
Event Password: cais
Alternate URL: https://wested.webex.com (select from Today's Listed Meetings)
Event Number: 598 362 873

US/Canada Toll-Free Dial-in: 877-817-7702
Conference ID: 41084482
For Webinar Technical Support: enter *0 after dialing in

Join Test Meeting: www.webex.com/lp/jointest/

In order to access the Webinar, you will need a computer with an Internet connection and a telephone for calling in (audio is not available through the computer). The Test Meeting link is provided so you can check whether your computer has the correct settings to view the live meeting prior to the Webinar.Also, please note the session will be recorded and available for viewing at a later date.

For your review prior to the Webinar, Attachment 2 includes instructions for submitting evidence of progress on CAIS. Access to CAIS for this purpose will be available after the Webinar.

If you have any questions regarding this subject, please contact Clement Mok, Education Programs Consultant, District Innovation and Improvement Office, by phone at 916-319-0940 or by e-mail at cmok@cde.ca.gov, or Keith Coppage, Education Programs Consultant, District Innovation and Improvement Office, by phone at 916-319-0651 or by e-mail at kcoppage@cde.ca.gov.

Sincerely,

/s/

Christine Swenson, Division Director
Improvement and Accountability Division

CS:cm
Attachments

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