Continuous Improvement System
California's accountability system is based on multiple measures that assess how local educational agencies (LEAs) and schools are meeting the needs of their students. Performance on these measures is reported on the California School Dashboard (Dashboard).
System of Support
California's system of support is one of the central components of California’s accountability and continuous improvement system. The goal is to help Local Education Agencies (LEAs) and their schools meet the needs of each student they serve, with a focus on building local capacity to sustain improvement and to effectively address disparities in opportunities and outcomes.
LEAs are eligible for assistance through the System of Support based on Dashboard results. Beginning with the 2019 Dashboard, Charters are eligible for identification under the Local Control Funding Formula for support.
The Dashboard
The Dashboard is a powerful online tool to help districts and schools identify strengths and weaknesses and pinpoint student groups that may be struggling. It reports performance and progress on both state and local measures:
- State measures apply to all LEAs, schools, and student groups and are based on data that is collected consistently across the state.
- Local measures apply at the LEA and charter school level and are based on data collected at the local level.
The state and local measures are drawn from the ten priority areas of the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), which was passed in 2013.
COMPREHENSIVE SUPPORT AND iMPROVEMENT (csi)
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires state educational agencies to determine school eligibility for comprehensive support and improvement (CSI). Local educational agencies (LEAs) with schools that meet the criteria for CSI must partner with stakeholders to locally develop and implement a plan to improve student outcomes
School Eligibility Criteria for CSI
California uses the California School Dashboard (Dashboard) to determine school eligibility for CSI. School eligibility is based on the following two categories of schools
- Low graduation rate
- High schools with a graduation rate less than 67 percent averaged over two years (Based on 2018 Dashboard)
- High schools with a graduation rate less than 68 percent averaged over two years (Beginning with 2019 Dashboard; Adopted by the State Board of Education on September 11, 2019)
- Not less than the lowest-performing five percent of Title I schools
- Schools with all red indicators
- Schools with all red but one indicator of another color
- Schools with all red and orange indicators
- Schools with five or more indicators where the majority are red
CA Department of Education: Comprehensive Support and Improvement
Contains descriptions of regulations and terminology, status determinations, requirements and resources available to schools determined to be eligible for CSI.
tARGETED/aDDITIONAL tARGETED sUPPORT & iMPROVEMENT
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) also requires state educational agencies to determine school eligibility for targeted support and improvement (TSI) and additional targeted support and improvement (ATSI).
Schools that meet the criteria for TSI or ATSI must partner with stakeholders to develop and implement a school-level plan to improve student outcomes.
School Eligibility Criteria for TSI/ATSI
The California Department of Education (CDE) will use the California School Dashboard (Dashboard) to determine school eligibility for TSI and ATSI. Title I and non-Title I schools are eligible for TSI and ATSI.
Targeted Support and Improvement Criteria
Schools with one or more student groups that, for two consecutive years, meet the same criteria for the lowest-performing 5 percent of Title I schools for Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) are eligible for TSI.
Schools are eligible for TSI for the first time in 2020–21 and the identification process will occur annually.
Additional Targeted Support and Improvement Eligibility
Schools are eligible for ATSI if they are among schools eligible for TSI and if any student group at the school, on its own, meets the criteria for the lowest-performing 5 percent of Title I schools for CSI.
Schools are eligible for ATSI once every three years. California determined ATSI eligibility for the first time in 2018–19
CA Department of Education: Targeted/Additional Targeted Support & Improvement
Contains descriptions of regulations and terminology, status determinations, requirements and resources available to schools determined to eligible for TSI or ATSI.
