The California Department of Education and the State Board of Education on Dec. 12 launched the 2019 California School Dashboard, a key component of the state’s school accountability system that includes 2018–19 data on graduation rates, suspension rates, test scores, English learner progress, college/career readiness, and chronic absenteeism. “The California School Dashboard is a data-driven approach to provide the ‘whole picture’ of a school for educators and parents,” said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond. “The Dashboard empowers local communities to identify opportunities and resources to better serve their students, and provides parents and educators with meaningful information on school and district progress so they can participate in plans to improve student learning.” The Dashboard shows that California public schools are making progress on four out of six statewide indicators: The statewide graduation rate increased 2.2 percentage points from 83.7 percent to 85.9 percent. The suspension rate fell slightly from 3.5 percent to 3.4 percent. The college/career readiness rate grew 1.8 percent — 44.1 percent of students are now deemed ready for college when they graduate from high school. Both math and English Language Arts (ELA) test scores are up: a 2.9-point increase in math and a 3.1 point increase in ELA. Because of steady progress, the number of school districts eligible for state assistance based on Dashboard indicators fell from 386 last year to 333. Thirty-two charter schools are also eligible for the first time for state support. Achievement gaps are narrowing in several areas, although significant disparities remain. For example, African Americans showed the largest graduation rate gain among student groups with an increase of 6.2 percent for a total of 78.6 percent of students graduating. The graduation rate for foster youth increased by 4.2 percent for a total of 64.2 percent. By comparison, the graduation rate for white students increased 1.3 percent during that same time period for a total of 89.1 percent. Students with disabilities made the greatest gains in math (6.6-point improvement) and English language arts (7.6 points). “California public schools are making steady — albeit slow — progress in important areas — we are headed in the right direction,” said State Board President Linda Darling-Hammond. “We also are seeing places making strong gains — schools and districts that we will want to study further. In other places where progress is stuck, we need to examine the nature of the support being provided to local educators.”