A New Guide to Understanding the California School Dashboard
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The California School Dashboard is one of the most powerful tools we have for understanding how students are doing — and one of the most challenging to interpret.
Behind every data point are students, families, educators, and communities doing the hard work of supporting learning. And while the Dashboard highlights where systems are falling short, it also shows where progress is happening, where bright spots exist, and where collective action is beginning to make a difference.
That’s why GO Public Schools is releasing new Dashboard resources on February 23, designed to help families and community members not just read the data — but connect it to what they already know about their schools and communities.
What’s coming:
- Regional California School Dashboard Guides for Fresno, Oakland, and West Contra Costa, designed to help families interpret local Dashboard results alongside the long-term trends we’ve lifted up in our Kids student outcomes reports.
- A new statewide Dashboard report that looks across California to identify systemwide patterns — including where outcomes are improving, where challenges persist, and where accountability and support systems must do more.
[Reserve your spot for our 2/26 webinar!]
Together, these resources are meant to be used in conversation with one another.
Our Kids reports track how student outcomes change over time. The California School Dashboard shows how the state measures progress and accountability right now. When read together, they help answer deeper questions about what’s working, what’s shifting, and where focused action is needed next.
These resources help surface:
- Nuggets of hope — early signs of improvement and momentum worth protecting
- What’s working — where schools and districts are making measurable gains
- Where gaps remain — especially for Black, Latino, English learner, and other historically underserved students
- Where you can lead change, from your role as a parent, educator, advocate, or community partner
We believe it truly takes a village. Data doesn’t create change on its own — people do. Our goal is to make these tools more accessible, more connected, and more useful for families and communities working to strengthen student outcomes.
To support families and partners in using these resources, we invite you to join our upcoming webinar:
California School Dashboard Webinar
🗓️ Thursday, February 26
⏰ 5:00 PM
👉 RSVP here: bit.ly/CADashboardRSVP
During the webinar, we’ll walk through how to read key Dashboard indicators, connect them back to the trends highlighted in our Kids reports, lift up promising signs of progress, and discuss how this data can inform local advocacy and decision-making.
The reports will be released on February 23, and we hope you’ll join us as we explore what the data shows — and how, together, we can build on what’s working to better support students across California.