Internship Evaluation Template FAQs
Commonly asked questions on the new Internship Evaluation Template.What does the internship evaluation template have to do with the College/Career Indicator (CCI)?
For the past several years, the California Department of Education (CDE) has been continuing its efforts to meet the State Board of Education's (SBE's) directive to expand the California School Dashboard College/Career Indicator (CCI) with more career measures. Because student internship was one measure recommended by the CCI Work Group and the Alternative Schools Task Force, various data on internships are being collected for the first time in 2020–21 to determine its inclusion in the CCI.
Because job performance is a strong measure of career success, and since an evaluation provides students valuable insight to their ability to demonstrate specific work standards, one data point being collected is the employers' evaluation of student interns.
Why did the CDE develop this template?
Staff in local educational agencies (LEAs) requested that the CDE develop an internship evaluation form that can be shared with employers as needed. LEAs and schools are not required to use this template; it was developed as a resource for LEAs and schools to use if they did not have an evaluation form.
To ensure that the form aligned with the Standards for Career Ready Practice and that it included all facets that employers should review when evaluating an intern, this work was created in partnership with a business member in the CCI Work Group and the Career and College Transition Division at the CDE.
Will elementary and middle schools use this template?
No. Internship data is being collected for the CCI, which is a high school indicator.
How is the employer's evaluation of a student intern being collected?
When a student completes an internship, the LEA must submit the employer's overall evaluation of the student's performance in the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) Work-Based Learning File field #21.13.
Information on field #21.13 and the collection of other internship data can be found on the CDE CALPADS Flash #184. In addition, an in-depth PowerPoint on the submission and definition of work-based learning data (which includes internships) is available on the California School Information Services web page
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What is the scoring guide that follows the evaluation form?
The template contains both an evaluation form and a scoring guide. The scoring guide provides descriptions of the performance levels (i.e., Does Not Meet Expectations to Above Expectations) in the evaluation form. It also describes when 'N/A' should be used. Employers can use this guide when deciding on the appropriate rating for the student.
Who should complete the internship evaluation form and when should it be completed?
The evaluation form is completed at the end of the internship or annually if the internship crosses multiple school years. It should be completed by the student's direct supervisor or the individual who has had the opportunity to observe the student at the work place.
What if a school already has their own internship evaluation form? Can they continue to use their own form or do they need to use the template issued by the CDE?
As long as the school's form includes (at minimum) the same three core categories found in the CDE template, the school may continue using their own evaluation form. The three core categories that the evaluation should cover are:
- Foundational Skills,
- Applied Workplace Skills, and
- Self-Management and Personal Responsibility
What if a school's evaluation form covers the three categories identified above but it does not include all the elements found under each category?
The school's evaluation form does not need to cover each of the elements found under each category. For instance, there are nine elements to rate under the Foundational Skills category, such as listening, attention to detail, and following workplace guidelines. The school’s form does not need to cover these exact nine elements as long as they evaluate foundational skills.
There seems to be some differences between the CDE template and the code sets in CALPADS on Internship Employer Performance Evaluation. Why is this?
There are three differences:
- The CDE template identifies three core categories (Foundational Skills, Applied Workplace Skills, and Self-Management and Personal Responsibility) whereas the CALPADS code sets references four. A decision was made to exclude the category "Knowledge of the Field and Organizational Context" (noted in the CALPADS code sets) as this is a difficult element to assess high school students.
- The overall rating that the LEA submits into CALPADS has been adjusted in the template to reflect the removal of the "Knowledge of the Field and Organizational Context" category. Therefore, the student’s overall performance rating is now based on three categories (not four).
- The CDE template references different rating names than those in the CALPADS code sets. While the template has ratings ranging from "Does Not Meet Expectations" to "Above Expectations," the CALPADS code sets refer to ratings of "Unsatisfactory or Unacceptable" to "Exceptional." Therefore, please note that:
- "Exceptional" in CALPADS is the same as "Above Expectations" in the template
- "Satisfactory" in CALPADS is the same as "Meets Expectations" in the template
- "Less than Satisfactory" in CALPADS is the same as "Partially Meets Expectations" in the template
- "Unsatisfactory or Unacceptable" in CALPADS is the same as "Does Not Meet Expectations" in the template
In all three cases, the information in the template reflects the most recent information and can be referenced when submitting the data for the Work-Based Learning File field #21.13 in CALPADS. These three differences will be adjusted in CALPADS in the future so that the template will align with the descriptions in the code sets.
Are LEAs supposed to submit employer evaluation forms to the CDE?
No. LEAs do not need to submit the employer evaluation forms to the CDE.
Does the collection of student internship data mean that internships will automatically be included as a measure in the CCI?
No. As with all new measures considered for the CCI, once internship data has been collected statewide, it will be analyzed with the CCI Work Group, Alternative Schools Task Force, California Practitioners Advisory Group, and the Technical Design Group. These groups will make recommendations as to whether to include this measure into the CCI and what criteria will place a student in Prepared versus Approaching Prepared. These recommendations will be presented to the SBE, and the SBE will make a final decision on this measure.
Are there other career measures being collected for the first time in 2020–21?
Yes. Data is also being collected for the first time on student-led enterprise, simulated work-based learning, and the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery Test (ASVAB) Armed Forces Qualification Test (AFQT) score.
- For information on student-led enterprise and simulated work-based learning, see CALPADS Flash #184 and the California School Information Services work-based learning data PowerPoint noted in the fourth question.
- For information on the ASVAB AFQT score, see: