There was a time when a batch of standardized test scores was considered a passable snapshot of a school’s performance. But those numbers never really told the whole story, leaving out key measures that reflect academic engagement, school climate and discipline trends.
That’s why state education officials introduced the California School Dashboard in 2017. This online tool, which was revised slightly for 2018, bundles together a series of visual indicators for each school to paint a more complete picture of performance, progress and needs.
If you haven’t looked up your school or your child’s school on the dashboard, it’s worth taking a moment to explore the site to see how it works. And to help you get started, we’ve produced the brief introductory video above.