BAKERSFIELD CALIFORNIAN January 27, 2008

HEADLINE: Student tracking system moves forward

What school has too many dropouts? What educational programs really work?

The answers to these and other questions are often weighed down with incomplete data, educators say.

But a central system to track students and their progress no matter where they move in the state inched closer to reality this month.

The California Department of Education, in a $15-million, three-year contract with IBM, will begin building a system to keep tabs on California's 6.2 million students throughout their education, said Keric Ashley, director of the CDE's data management division.

"We're very enthusiastic about any effort the state can make to keep track of the kids because we're being judged on student performance and student outcomes," said Chuck Rosengard, KHSD's manager of research and planning.

"The state has not tracked that comprehensively, and for No Child Left Behind, that matters."

In response to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, the state allowed for a data collection system to track students via ID numbers. IDs were assigned to K-12 students in 2005. And by 2009-2010, when students walk into their new schools, staff will immediately know their academic levels. When students leave school, staff can more easily track where they went.

Transient student body

The goal of No Child is for all students to be proficient in math and reading by 2014. Educators worry schools can be penalized when inaccurate data show poor progress. One No Child benchmark is graduation rates, which factors in dropouts. But a student can be labeled a dropout at one school if he moves without notifying the school he left.

Ashley estimated about 15 percent of schools' students move for reasons other than graduation.

"They're going to call the moving van, they're not going to call the school and say 'we're not coming,'" Rosengard said.

KHSD did not meet its graduation target, according to CDE data for 2007. Districts need an 82.9 percent graduation rate to meet the benchmark. The district met this requirement the previous two years.

The streamlined system will also track incoming students. Transcripts from any school in the state will be available "at the touch of a finger," said Bryon Schaefer, principal at North High. Counselors will know what courses students need.

They will also know if the student has passed the high school exit exam, taken the annual English learner test, needs particular services or special education.

Academic progress

"One of the problems in NCLB is that we don't really measure ... the progress a school or district makes with an individual student," said Rosengard.

If a high-performing student moves to a new district and is tested there, the new district receives credit for that student's progress. Likewise with a poor-performing one, he said. The new tracking system could parcel out responsibility to give a more accurate picture of a school or district's effectiveness.

Educators will also be able to get a better handle on English learners, said Kathy Caric, Kern County Superintendent of Schools director of curriculum, instruction and accountability. Caric said she would like to compare students who stay in a district for several years with those who move frequently to see how programs can be improved.

Limitations

The program cannot track students who move to or from another state or country, however. And a $32 million, or $5-per-student, funding request for schools that need assistance implementing and maintaining the electronic records was cut from the budget, Ashley said.

But educators hope the system will eventually be up and running.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell in Tuesday's State of Education address announced the receipt of a $2 million grant from the Gates and Hewlett foundations to develop a plan for gathering even more detailed data.

"You have to have confidence in your data to have confidence in your proposed solutions," Caric said.

By the numbers

15 -- Estimated percent of schools' students who leave for reasons other than normal matriculation.

468 -- Kern High School District students who completed school but did not pass the exit exam in 2007.

55 -- Former KHSD students incorrectly counted as dropouts because a majority of them had failed the exit exam. They were, however, taking classes at Bakersfield College in the fall and should not have been counted as dropouts.

Sources: California Department of Education; John Teves, KHSD spokesman; Chuck Rosengard, KHSD manager of research and planning.