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THE STATE'S "TEMPLATE" IS A TECHNICAL REFERENCE FOR YOUR SARCs

Much confusion surrounds the CDE's SARC "template" released in November 2001. Educators expecting to find a shake-and-bake SARC, ready for publication, will be disappointed. But those ready to make use of it wisely will be well rewarded.

Read on to find additional facts about:

The committee's charter and intent
Why the "template" doesn't make your SARC compliant
The optional nature of the "template"
Why summarizing your SARC is smart
Publishing and distributing your SARCs is a "must"

THE SARC COMMITTEE'S CHARTER WAS LIMITED IN SCOPE

A committee of nearly 20 educators and the staff of the Policy and Evaluation Division of the California Department of Education was asked by the legislature to do three things by Senate Bill 1632:

Save district staff the work of retrieving data
Standardize the data definitions themselves
Provide a technical reference document in electronic form that contains the data in its most detailed form

This they have done. But the limits of their work are also well worth noting:

It was not the committee's intent to provide publication-ready reports, suitable for public viewing.
It was not the committee's intent to provide explanations of the meaning of the data.
And it was beyond the committee's ability to provide a legally compliant SARC.

There is no shortcut to compliance and effective communication. It still remains for educators to decide how to make effective use of the data delivered by the "template." The CDE's template may have helped you part way down the road. Let us help you go the distance.

THE "TEMPLATE" ALONE DOESN'T SATISFY THE LAW

There's material missing from the CDE's SARC "template." But it's not an oversight.

Only your principals can satisfy the state Education Code and federal Title I requirements by describing ten qualitative factors about their schools. Principals are expected to write qualitative descriptions of their schools in these areas:

Major achievements and focuses for improvement
Classroom measures of student achievement
Teachers (Evaluating and improving teachers, Staff development, Teacher assignments, Substitutes)
Specialized programs and staff
Buildings
Resources (Library, Computer lab, Funding, Parent involvement)
Textbooks
Curriculum
Time (School schedule, Time spent on academics)
Climate for learning (Homework, Discipline, Safety)

And only your district staff is capable of providing data on twelve quantitative factors. Site-specific data includes the following items:

Student attendance
Teacher attendance
Suspensions and expulsions
Safe school assessment data on crimes
GATE enrollment
Special education enrollment
English language learner enrollment
School buildings (permanent and portable structures)
Building capacities
Expenditures in the prior fiscal year

Two data items apply to all schools and are districtwide:

Instructional minutes by grade level
Salaries of administrators and teachers

YOU'RE FREE TO USE (OR NOT USE) THE CDE's SARC "TEMPLATE"

Did you know that you're not obligated to use the state's SARC "template?" It's there as a resource if you want to use it.

The SARC committee has been asked often about the optional use of the "template." Here is how they answer.

QUESTION: Is it a requirement that the template developed by the CDE be used to report required data?

ANSWER: No. However, SB1632 states, "A school or school district that chooses not to utilize the standardized template adopted pursuant to this section shall report the data for its school accountability report card in a manner that is consistent with the definitions."

Source: The CDE SARC committee's PowerPoint presentation
shown at "School's In," September 2001.)

SUMMARIZING YOUR SARCS IS SMART

You can publish executive summaries of your SARCs, while reaching more parents more effectively and at a lower cost.

Legal compliance can be satisfied with a separate document. Overwhelming your public with a SARC that is too long for comfort was never the intent of the legislation. In fact, the Education Code states that districts must "ensure that the report cards are easy to read and understandable by parents."

The CDE's SARC committee also concluded that summary reports are fine, as long as they provide links to the full SARC online. This indeed is the option preferred by most of our district clients.

QUESTION: Must a SARC incorporating the full template or its local equivalent be sent home?

ANSWER: An abbreviated version of the report, including the aforementioned notification would suffice, accompanied by Internet access to all of the required data.

Source: The CDE SARC committee's PowerPoint presentation
shown at "School's In," September 2001.)

PUBLISHING YOUR SCHOOLS' SARCs IS MANDATORY

Putting your SARCs in your parents' hands is the point, after all, of the law. And it should be the purpose of your district's communication plan, too.

The state Education Code is explicit about the need to publish and distribute SARCs. The Education Code reads:

"It is the intent of the Legislature that LEAs ... ensure that all parents receive a copy of the report card; to ensure that the report cards are easy to read and understandable by parents."

The CDE's SARC committee interpreted the Education Code as follows:

"CDE interprets these sections, when taken together, to require the notification of all parents of the availability of a full report, through the Internet or on paper (by request). An abbreviated version of the report, including the aforementioned notification would suffice, accompanied by Internet access to all of the required data."

(Source: The CDE SARC committee's PowerPoint presentation shown at "School's In," September 2001.)