School Wise Press SARC Services

SARC BITE 32 | OCTOBER 7, 2005

State SARC Report Format, Used by Many Districts, Gets a Harsh Evaluation by UCLA Law School Study

On Monday, Sept. 26, the UCLA law school released a study of the CDE's SARC template for reporting schools' annual results. The writing and design of the SARC template were criticized as unnecessarily complex. In fact, the study determined that the CDE template was more difficult to understand than the IRS instructions for the 1040-A and the VIOXX patient information form.

Read the press release or the full-length study (22 pages, PDF format).

The SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS editorial page carried a strong follow-up story five days later. Its headline read: "School Reports Hard To Find and Use." The editorial affirmed the critical importance of annual reports. This is a heartening affirmation for anyone with SARC responsibilities. It also praised district leaders who do this job well, naming San Jose USD in particular.

But this editorial also carried a precaution. It warned that "inundating parents with data doesn't constitute accountability." This editorial is well worth reading and sending to your colleagues in cabinet. Armed with this UCLA study and the SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS' editorial, your district's board members may ask your superintendent if your accountability reports are effective. Are you prepared to answer "yes" if asked? Do you have evidence of effectiveness? Do you measure readership of your SARCs on your district's Web site? Do you ask parents if they understand your reports, and if not, what parts they find daunting?

Help is at hand. Stay tuned for practical advice on how to address these questions and more in the weeks to come. In the meantime, you may find San Jose USD's efforts to measure effectiveness worth emulating.