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Newsletter Highlights

Emphasizing Student-Level Data, CBEDS Reporting in October 2007

By Keric Ashley, Director, Data Management Division, CDE

The October 2007 California Basic Educational Data System (CBEDS) data collection will again be impacted by CDE’s continued move toward emphasizing the collection of student-level data through the Annual Statewide Student Identifier (SSID) Maintenance. Changes to the CBEDS reporting process because of the Annual SSID Maintenance and student-level data, as well as other changes to CBEDS are listed below.

Reporting School-Level Data on the SIF:

Student Enrollment Data: As the October 2006 student enrollment counts were successfully derived from the October 2006 Annual SSID Maintenance, the enrollment section of the School Information Form (SIF) will be removed this year. This makes reporting student-level data through the Annual SSID Maintenance critical, since it will be the only source available for reporting enrollment.

High School Graduate Data: The CDE will, for the first time, derive official high school graduate data from exiting student data submitted through the Annual SSID Maintenance. The CBEDS forms and data entry assistant software (CBEDS DEA) will continue to support keying aggregate data about graduates for LEA use. However, the graduate data reported through the Annual SSID Maintenance will be the data used for state reporting purposes. Impacted sections of the SIF include:

  • High School Graduates, Section B.
  • High School Graduates Completing All Courses Required for UC and/or CSU Entrance, Section B.
  • NCLB (No Child Left Behind) Graduate data for migrant education, limited English-proficient, special education, and socioeconomically disadvantaged students, Section I.

Dropout Data: Official dropout counts will also be derived from the data about exiting students derived from the Annual SSID Maintenance. LEAs will report dropout data through both the traditional CBEDS reporting process and the Annual SSID Maintenance. This “parallel reporting” process serves as a transition to reporting high school dropout data solely through only the Annual SSID Maintenance process in 2008, and is necessary to ensure the accuracy of the data. Official dropout counts will be derived from the data about exiting students derived from the Annual SSID Maintenance. Impacted sections of the SIF include:

  • High school dropouts, Section E.
  • NCLB Dropout data for migrant education, limited English-proficient, special education, and socioeconomically disadvantaged Students, Section I.

Educational Options Data: Section F will be modified. Program area changes include:

  • Enrollment for continuation and community/experienced-based programs will no longer be collected.
  • Enrollment for alternative schools and programs of choice, AVID, California Partnership Academies, International Baccalaureate program, smaller learning communities, specialized secondary program, and thematic schools will be added to the section. (Enrollment for opportunity, magnet program, pregnant/parenting, and independent study will continue to be collected.)
Reporting Teacher, Administrator, and Pupil Services Assignments on the PAIF:

There will be some significant modification to the CBEDS assignment codes used to report information about teachers on the Professional Assignment Information Form (PAIF), particularly in the Career Technical Education, special education, and independent study areas. Definitions for the new course codes will be added to the CBEDS Course Codes and Definitions.

Due to the reporting requirements of NCLB, new codes were added for reporting special education and independent study teaching assignments. Beginning with the October 2007 CBEDS, teacher assignments for special education and independent study will be reported by subject area (i.e. special education elementary, special education secondary mathematics, etc.) This will allow LEAs to report those subject areas for which the teacher is NCLB compliant.

Key Dates

September 28, 2007: Obtain or renew CSIS Digital Certificates as necessary. Review CDE’s Expected Schools List and resolve discrepancies. Review CDE’s site regarding status of charter schools and notify CDE if changes are necessary.

By October 2, 2007: Attend CSIS and vendor training.

By October 3, 2007: Obtain SSIDs for all new students.

October 17, 2007: SSID-only LEAs submit Annual SSID Maintenance data for at least one school.

November 16, 2007: SSID-only LEAs submit Annual SSID Maintenance data for all schools.

December 10, 2007: Certify Annual SSID Maintenance.

Lessons Learned from the Fall 2006 Annual SSID Maintenance Submission

By Nancy Sullivan, Special Projects Administrator, CSIS

History was made in the fall of 2006 when official enrollment counts were collected from local educational agencies (LEAs) via the Annual Statewide Student Identifier (SSID) Maintenance submission or the Fall State Reporting submission. For the first time, all LEAs were required to reported their enrollment through the submission of individual student records rather than via aggregate reporting. The Fall 2006 submission was significant work for both the California School Information Services (CSIS) and LEAs. Lessons learned from 2006 can help both CSIS and LEAs prepare for the Fall 2007 submission.

In terms of CSIS, efforts are underway to obtain more resources for CSIS to replace outdated hardware, improve State Reporting and Records Transfer System (SRRTS) functionality, and to add additional staff. CSIS is working to address system stability issues, implement code value and definition changes, and improve the LEA experience.

In terms of LEAs, many were not adequately prepared for the Fall 2006 submission and struggled to complete the work within the required window. The deadline for the Fall 2007 Annual SSID Maintenance and State Reporting is December 10, 2007. LEAs should begin this spring and summer to prepare for the submission. All LEAs should take the following steps:

  1. Download a copy of the CSIS Schedule of Milestones and Activities (Outside Source) and use this schedule to build a local calendar that supports completing the work on or before the suggested dates.
  2. Obtain SSIDs for new students before October 3, 2007 when Fall Submission begins. Establishing processes to obtain SSIDs as students enroll also avoids peak processing that occurs in October.
  3. Gather and evaluate student exit/withdrawals as early as possible. Use the CDE Exit/Withdrawal Code Descriptions document for guidance on use of exit/withdrawal codes and information about how the various exit/withdrawal codes will be grouped for state and federal reporting purposes.
  4. In September, review the Expected Schools list on CDE’s CBEDS Coordinator Web page before submitting data. Resolve discrepancies by notifying CDE of any institution changes in your district.
  5. Review charter submission type on the CDE’s SSID Web page to identify charter schools that have elected to report independently. Resolve discrepancies by notifying the CSIS-CALPADS Program Office calpads@cde.ca.gov.
  6. Submit data early! During the initial phase of the submission window, CSIS support staff have more time to devote to one-on-one analysis and transactions process at a higher rate of speed. In order to gauge how well your data aligns with SRRTS edits, SSID-only LEAs should submit data for at least one school by October 17, 2007. All LEAs should submit data for ALL of their students and ALL of their schools by November 16, 2007 to allow sufficient time to reconcile enrollment, graduate, and dropout counts.

State Reporting LEAs should also complete the following tasks:

  1. Gather and evaluate staff data as early as possible. Districts tend to struggle with staff information, since it is not typically maintained in the student information system. Verify teaching assignments against the master course schedule. Run queries to determine if the staff data is complete (i.e., does every teacher have a credential and an authorized teaching area? Is the field for birth year populated for all teachers, administrators, and pupil services staff?).
  2. Obtain credential document numbers for all staff with teaching assignments. Contact Michelle Stephenson mstephenson@csis.k12.ca.us to coordinate obtaining the numbers with the Commission on Teacher Credentialing.

For more information about preparing for the Fall 2007 submissions, contact CSIS Support at ssid@csis.k12.ca.us.

CALPADS Development Approaching

By Paula Mishima, Manager, CSIS-CALPADS Program Office, CDE

Starting in 2010, the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) will become the foundation of California’s K-12 education data system. CALPADS will collect student level data on enrollment, demographics, program participation, and course completion. Teacher- level data will include course assignments. The CDE completed its evaluations of the vendor proposals to build CALPADS on May 17, 2007 and cost bids was opened on June 6, 2007. The project is on schedule for the selected contractor to begin work this fall with design and development occurring in 2008, piloting beginning towards the end of 2008, and statewide rollout in 2009-10. In the coming months the CDE will begin to identify an LEA user group to consult during the design process, and LEAs to pilot the system. If you are interested in participating in the pilot, please contact calpads@cde.ca.gov.

The Good Fight Continues - Funding to Support LEA Data Activities

By Paula Mishima, Manager, CSIS-CALPADS Program Office, CDE


As the state moves from separate aggregate reporting to consolidated individual-level reporting in CALPADS, there is a growing recognition by the Legislature and Governor of the critical importance of local data system quality, data management practices, and use of data. Most recently the importance of quality data was highlighted by reports embodied in “Getting Down to Facts,” an independent research project commissioned by a number of foundations. These reports can be found at the Institute For Research on Education Policy & Practice at Stanford University (Outside Source).

For years the CDE and CSIS have strongly advocated for ongoing funding to support LEA data activities to ensure data quality. This year LEA help was solicited, and three representatives - Chuck Berridge (Capistrano Unified), Carole Parkinson (San Lorenzo Unified), and Cathy Stewart (Claremont Unified) made the trek to Sacramento to make the case for funding to legislative members. Thank you Chuck, Carole, and Cathy! While we do not know what accounted for the change, we do know that in January funding was not included in the proposed budget, and in the May Revision to the budget, $65 million to support LEAs activities over the next two years was included.

Both the Assembly and Senate budget subcommittees approved the funding level, but modified and adopted slightly different versions of the accompanying budget language. Initially the budget conference committee, whose job it is to reconcile the differences in the budgets adopted by the two houses, reconciled the two different language proposals spreading the funding over three years. After doing this, however, the state’s current year budget picture took a down turn, and the conference committee was forced to strip all one-time funding for “new” efforts, including the $65 million, from the budget.

While the funding is currently not in the budget, additional negotiations will take place between the Governor and the legislative leadership of both houses. This funding continues to be the highest priority of State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Jack O’Connell, and the CDE will continue to advocate for restoring it to the budget.

In the meantime, Superintendent O’Connell will continue with his sponsorship of Assembly Bill (AB) 1656 authored by Assembly Members Feuer and DeSaulnier. This bill can be viewed on the Senate Web page (Outside Source). Assembly Bill 1656 creates an ongoing grant program that would provide LEAs $5.00 per student to support local data activities. The bill passed the Assembly Education and Appropriations Committee and will now head to the Senate.

Get Ready to Plant Some SEIDS

By Paula Mishima, Manager, CSIS-CALPADS Program Office, CDE

The CDE and the Commission on Teacher Credentialing (CTC) continue to collaborate on gathering requirements and developing the Request for Proposal (RFP) for the California Longitudinal Teacher Integrated Data Education System (CALTIDES). Facilitated by the RFP vendor, a number of Joint Application Development (JAD) sessions were held regionally this spring with representatives from county offices of education and school districts. The CDE and CTC appreciate the LEA participation in these important sessions. The RFP document is still on schedule for submission to control agencies in October 2007, with release to the vendor community in January 2008.

Simultaneous to the RFP development efforts, the CTC is working to assign and disseminate the Statewide Educator Identifiers (SEIDs) as required by Senate Bill 1614 (Chapter 840, Statutes of 2006). The SEID will be a statewide unique 10-digit number that must be populated in local student information systems. A person will receive a SEID from the CTC when they submit an application for a document which indicates the person is seeking to become credentialed as an educator. Eventually LEAs will report individual teacher assignment data on the CBEDS Professional Assignment Information Form (and later to CALPADS) using the SEID instead of a credential document number. The current schedule has dissemination of the SEID to LEAs occurring early next year with completion in Spring 2008.

The California School Technology Survey: An Evolving Resource

By Patrick McMenamin, Consultant, Education Technology Office, CDE

The California School Technology Survey (CSTS) is an evolving resource developed by the California Department of Education (CDE) to gather data about how California's schools access and use technology. Since the first survey in the spring of 2001, the CSTS now consists of three sets of survey questions: (1) the District Survey, (2) the School Survey, and (3) the Direct Funded Charter School Survey. Representatives of California’s school districts, schools, charter schools (a total of about 10,000 entities) annually logon to the CSTS and complete the survey. In recent years the statewide completion rate of the CSTS has been in the 94 to 98 percent range. This high statewide completion rate makes the CSTS an excellent source of data regarding technology access and use in California’s schools.

The CSTS survey questions are designed to gather data about the number of computers used for instructional purposes in a school, the ratio of students per computer, internet access and connectivity, professional development related to technology, and the various uses of technology and technology-related resources in schools and districts. Word documents of the three sets of the 2007 survey questions may be downloaded on the California School Technology Survey Web page.

The 2007 CSTS release in mid-January is a substantially revised survey with new enhancements, including new sections that gather data about professional development and personnel awareness and use of the Statewide Education Technology Services (SETS) projects. These surveys are available online at:

California Learning Resource Network (CLRN) (Outside Source)

EdTechProfile (Outside Source)

Professional Development for Districts and Site Administrators (TICAL) (Outside Source)

Technical Support for Education Technology in Schools (TechSETS) (Outside Source)

Use of CSTS Data: In an article that appears in the Winter 2007 issue of the TechSETS online eNewsletter, currently available at TechSETS (Outside Source), educational researchers John Cradler and Ric Barline discuss some of the ways that the data derived from the CSTS may be used, including providing information needed by the Legislature to help justify continuation, modification, and/or expansion of state-funded educational technology programs.

The CSTS data can also be used by schools and districts to develop technology assessments and technology plans based on current needs. For example, each CSTS “School Survey” reveals important data about the total number of computers used for instruction at a school site and the approximate ages of those computers. This information may be used by schools and districts to develop plans and budgets based on current data and future technology needs. Schools and districts can also logon and download CSTS data gathered in 2005 and 2006.

As the CSTS evolves as a resource for schools and districts, board members, legislators, and the general public, the CDE continues to refine the CSTS, to ensure that relevant questions are asked each year and useful data is collected. CDE continues to develop the CSTS with the primary goal of creating data sets that measure the impact of education technology as a tool that enhances student performance and academic achievement. In the coming years, the CDE anticipates that the CSTS will become an increasingly important resource to schools and districts as the CSTS data help identify specific forms of education technology that provide the greatest enhancements to student performance and academic achievement.

For further information about the CSTS, please contact Patrick McMenamin at: pmcmenam@cde.ca.gov.

Reducing Data Collection and Reporting Burden on LEAs

By Sonya Edwards, Manager, Education Data Office, CDE

A significant priority for the California Department of Education (CDE) is to streamline data collection and reporting and reduce the burden on (LEAs). The CDE recognizes that local educational agencies (LEAs) have experienced a long history of new data collections required by state and federal authorities that have tended to accumulate, rather than replace prior collections. This has placed a substantial and increasing burden on LEAs. Unfortunately, the reality that over 70 percent of the data that the CDE collects from LEAs is data required by the United States Education Department (ED) substantially complicates the CDE’s ability to address this problem.

Further complicating the CDE’s ability to address this problem are recent changes in federal regulations that give the Secretary of Education the authority to mandate that state educational agencies (SEAs) submit data electronically. The regulations also allow the Secretary to take “administrative action” against states that do not participate, although what this means is ambiguous. The CDE has asked ED to clarify these issues.

On the positive side the electronic submission of data has caused ED to improve the quality of their data by aligning data definitions across program offices, and consolidating reporting. An example of this is the incorporation of the OCR Survey into EDFacts. While a step in the right direction, there is still streamlining to be done. ED requires LEAs to submit data directly to ED rather than collecting these data from the SEAs. In 2004-05, the CDE analyzed the OCR Survey requirements and found that eighteen percent of the data required on the OCR are already collected from LEAs by the CDE. The CDE, however, currently collects these data from LEAs too late to meet the existing federal reporting deadline; so, the CDE proposed to ED that the reporting due date be adjusted so the CDE could provide the data to ED to pre-populate the OCR survey, thus reducing LEA workload. The CDE and ED are discussing the viability of making this change. The CDE is also working at the national level with ED and representatives of other SEAs and LEAs to streamline the OCR survey.

The CDE will continue to work with state and federal representatives wherever and whenever there is an opportunity to minimize the data burden placed on school districts.

Education Data News is a bi-monthly publication for California school districts.

Questions:  Meredith Babcock | mbabcock@cde.ca.gov |916-327-7367
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