​SAN JOSE, CA – On December 15, 2023, the California D​epartment of Education (CDE) released the 2023 California School Dashboard. The Dashboard is a key component of the state’s school accountability system, which includes the latest data on graduation rates, suspension rates, test scores, English Learner progress, college/career indicator, chronic absenteeism, and local indicators.

This is the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic that the Dashboard is returning to the odometer icon that presents performance data. The 2023 Dashboard shows that students in California  are graduating at higher levels than the pandemic and are missing less school.

“The Santa Clara County Office of Education finds the Dashboard to be one of the most helpful tools in identifying areas in need of improvement,” stated Dr. Mary Ann Dewan, County Superintendent of Schools.  “The release of the 2023 Dashboard is another opportunity to engage in ongoing reflection to monitor student progress and identify areas in need of greater support.”

The Santa Clara County Office of Education (SCCOE) is committed to serving, inspiring, and promoting student and public school success and is an integral part of the state’s system of support. 219 school districts and county offices of education that were previously eligible for differentiated assistance have made significant improvements in student outcomes and are no longer eligible for differentiated assistance, while only 68 school districts and county offices of education became newly eligible based on needs to improve outcomes for specific student groups. This statewide improvement comes after a record 617 districts and COEs were eligible for differentiated assistance in 2022, following the pandemic.

“Our overarching goal is to help local educational 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,” said Dr. Dewan. “We  provide support through a hybrid model that includes in-person training, individualized LEA coaching and opportunities for networking.”

Within the state’s system of support, SCCOE serves as a  Geographical Lead Agency that supports Alameda, Contra Costa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano counties. 

Statewide graduation rates saw a slight dip - less than one percentage point - from the class of 2022. The four-year cohort graduation rate for the class of 2023 is 86.2% which is still higher than pre-pandemic rates. The CDE contributes the slightly lower 2023 graduation rate to the phase out of AB 104 which allowed for temporary flexibility in graduation requirements and course grading policies for high school students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“There is still plenty of work ahead of us, but this first glance at comparative data since the global pandemic is indicating that the efforts of our interventions such as the California Collaborative for Learning Acceleration, the student wellness centers, and the attendance and engagement work​ is having an impact on student outcomes,”  noted Dr. Dewan.