California schools release a blizzard of data, and that’s why parents can’t make sense of it

By Carolyn Jones (CALMATTERS) – California has a wealth of data about K-12 public schools — test scores, attendance rates, who’s headed to college and more. Finding it is another story. Information about the state’s 5.8 million students and their schools is spread across at least five websites, each outfitted with dozens of filters, drop-down menus and color-coded graphics. That scattered approach to data transparency prevents parents from truly understanding how their children’s schools are faring — and taking action to improve them, according to a report released today. “I have a Ph.D. in education policy and I can barely navigate these sites,” said Morgan Polikoff, a USC professor who worked on the report. “How do we expect a typical parent to access this information and make sense of it?” The report, published by the Center for Reinventing Public Education at Arizona State University, gave California a “D” for school data transparency, compared to other states. Researchers looked at how states present test scores in math, social studies, reading and science, as well as absenteeism and graduation rates and English learner progress.  Connecticut, Michigan and Tennessee were among the states that received A’s for their easy-to-navigate data portals. California ranked...