SBE makes science a Dashboard indicator

www.acsa.org

July 22, 2024

The State Board of Education met July 10-11 for their monthly meeting, where they made several significant decisions.

First was the incorporation of science on the 2024 California School Dashboard. The state has two years of results from the 2021–22 and 2022–23 California Science Test (CAST) and California Alternate Assessment for Science (CAA-Science) assessments based on the revised blueprint. These test results have been included in the additional reports section of prior Dashboards.

Because it is the first year of the Science Indicator, science will show without colors on the 2024 Dashboard. Colors will not begin until 2025, which will also be when science will start impacting accountability support determinations.

SBE also approved the eligibility criteria for the LCFF support determinations for 2024, normalizing California’s accountability system and incorporating legislative requirements. The board decided that long-term English learners, as a new student group, could qualify LEAs for Differentiated Assistance. With the full addition of colors, the College and Career Indicator is again an eligibility criterion for Differentiated Assistance. Also, charter schools will be eligible for DA+ (“Level 2.5”) for the first time with the 2024 Dashboard if they have three or more student groups underperforming for three out of four consecutive years.

Other important events from the SBE meeting include:

TK students will now show as a separate group on DataQuest for Suspension and Chronic Absenteeism.
For the first year, California is now eligible for Target Support and Improvement (TSI), a federal support program that focuses on schools with low-performing student groups. Advocates have asked and will continue to ask CDE to provide the field guidance on TSI.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed AB 2268 (Muratsuchi) in June immediately exempting TK students from the ELPAC administration. Subsequently, CDE published an information memorandum articulating the impact of the new law and options for California. Additionally, CDE issued informal guidance to all LEAs, notifying them of the bill’s signing and encouraging them to continue to conduct the Home Language Survey (HLS) during TK enrollment to identify if a language other than English is spoken at home. The guidance further instructs LEAs to populate the English Language Acquisition Status in CALPADS with “TBD” when a TK student’s survey identifies their native language to be one other than English. Equity groups are opposed to the “TBD” label, and SBE has directed CDE to propose alternatives for a future meeting. However, a new method for identifying EL students in TK would require legislative action and funding to implement.

Details on the new Science Indicator of the California School Dashboard

Distance from Standard (DFS) was approved as the unit of measurement for Science. The SBE believed DFS provided consistency because it aligned with English language arts and math, and it encompassed a more holistic approach to student achievement.
Unlike the ELA and math assessments, which are administered in grade 11, the science assessment can be administered to students in either grades 10, 11 or 12. To report on high school performance on the science assessments, the SBE decided to combine current year scores; in other words, all high schoolers that tested in 2023–24 (i.e., all 10th graders, 11th graders and 12th graders in 2023–24).
A participation rate penalty will be included for science. As part of the participation rate, a penalty rate will be included if LEAs fail to assess 95 percent of eligible students. The penalty is the same as the one applied to ELA and math, which is the Lowest Obtainable Scale Score (LOSS). The penalty will be enacted for the 2025 Dashboard, meaning LEAs will have this current year (2024–25) to increase participation for the CAST and CAA-Science.