The California State Board of Education (SBE) took action on items related to student performance and accountability during its one-day Sept. 13 meeting. Board President Linda Darling-Hammond also noted the new academic year is in full swing with novel supports in place for children and educators. She highlighted new literacy instruction resources and funding, as well as the Expanded Learning Opportunities Program (ELO-P) — now in its first year of being fully implemented.

The meeting also introduced the new State Board student member, Anya Ayyappan, a senior at Dougherty Valley High School in San Ramon. As a member of her district’s board of education, she serves as a liaison between the local student body of over 30,000 youth and the school board.

The board provided feedback regarding the draft Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) template and instructions that incorporate the requirements outlined in Senate Bill 114, which amended California Education Code to require additional revisions of the LCAP and Annual Update template and instructions. The proposed revisions — including reporting on engagement with parents, students and other educational partners for schools that generate Local Control Funding Formula Equity Multiplier funding, plans to address any ineffective actions or programs described in the existing LCAP goals and more — will be in effect beginning with the 2024–25 LCAP year.

CDE staff also proposed the inclusion of a stand-alone LCAP Annual Update template for use when developing the 2024–25 LCAP, which will allow an LEA to provide the required annual update for the 2023–24 LCAP without requiring the LEA to report goals, actions or metrics that it will discontinue in the 2024–25 LCAP, said Josh Strong, Local Agency Systems Support Office administrator. This approach is consistent with the transition between the 2019–20 LCAP template and the 2021–22 LCAP template.

Board Vice President Cynthia Glover Woods said while the LCAP template is perhaps heartier than intended, the additions are an important step to ensure “LEAs take the time necessary to address the very specific student needs in their population.

“There are areas now where it’s very clear that these areas have to be addressed and called out in goals, actions and services. I hope that it puts to bed some of the myths that may have been out there on what student groups can be addressed or cannot be addressed in the LCAP — particularly African American students or others,” she said.

During public comment, CSBA Legislative Advocate Carlos Machado reiterated recommendations submitted to the State Board by a group of statewide and local K-12 education associations, of which CSBA is a member.

“CSBA supports the changes recommended by the CDE that help make the LCAP less complex and more accessible. The proposed changes include consolidation and flexibility that, together, would take an important step in streamlining the template,” Machado said. “By making the LCAP more accessible, these changes would help improve transparency, make the document more accessible, and lead to greater local engagement.”

The board approved cut points for English Learner Progress Indicator (ELPI) change, which measures the year-to-year change in the rate that LEAs move English learners toward English Language Progress, as well as the inclusion of Summative Alternate English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC) in the ELPI. Establishing change on the ELPI requires a minimum of three consecutive years of Summative ELPAC results, according to California Department of Education staff.

Among other key actions taken on student performance measures and accountability, the board re-established the five-by-five color scheme for ELPI performance colors on the 2023 Dashboard; approved the removal of the Non-Registered Pre-Apprenticeship measure from the College/Career Indicator (CCI) beginning with the 2023–24 school year; the eligibility criteria for Differentiated Assistance based on the 2023 Dashboard; objective criteria for the 2021–22 Teacher Assignment Outcomes within Priority 1; and links to additional data outside of the California School Dashboard for the Chronic Absenteeism, the Science assessment, and Least Restrictive Environment data.

The board also approved the proposed 2023–24 California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) and ELPAC Student Score Reports (SSRs). The proposed SSRs will be implemented in the 2023–24 school year.

Several changes were applied to the CAASPP and ELPAC SSRs following the board’s July meeting to clarify language describing practices for the Smarter Balanced Summative Assessment for Mathematics and for SSRs for the Summative ELPAC. Language on page one of each SSR was also revised slightly so that all SSRs contained consistent language that was clear and concise, and allowed for efficient translations into the other languages used for reporting.