69ý

IT Infrastructure & Management

Veto Stirs Concerns Over California Data System

By Sean Cavanagh — October 22, 2010 3 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

The feud continues over California’s problem-plagued school data system, with the latest clash coming after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger used his line-item veto authority to cut $6.8 million from the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System, known as .

The governor’s decision came after he signed the state’s $87.5 billion fiscal 2011 budget, approved by lawmakers Oct. 8 after a lengthy impasse. His veto drew the wrath of state schools Superintendent Jack O’Connell, who called it “shortsighted, ill-informed, and hypocritical,” and said it will hinder the state’s ability to collect crucial information from schools.

“Rather than maintaining California’s course toward meeting its education data goals of helping all students reach their full potential,” Mr. O’Connell said in a statement, “the governor’s veto of CALPADS funding just sent California racing to the bottom of the heap.”

The governor's veto ... just sent California racing to the bottom of the heap."

But in a statement explaining his veto, Gov. Schwarzenegger said that the lack of a working data system hurt California’s application for a share of $4 billion in the federal Race to the Top grant competition, whose final winners were announced in August. Other states, he said in a statement, have put together data systems with few of the woes California has incurred.

“Enough is enough,” the governor said. “I am concerned that the resources allocated for this purpose lack necessary accountability to ensure that the citizens of California receive a high-quality longitudinal educational data system.”

Rocky Road

The CALPADS system, built by IBM, is designed to allow for an examination of student test scores, demographic data, teacher assignment by course, and individual students’ course enrollment and completion.

Since its rollout a year ago, however, the system has been dogged by technical issues, including complaints from school districts about difficulty in being able to enter student data. Earlier this year, Mr. O’Connell ordered a top-to-bottom review of the system and put a stop to any changes to it until it was complete. (California Data System Struggles to Clear Hurdles, Oct. 13, 2010.)

Since then, however, officials have said they have worked with IBM to improve CALPADS. Mr. O’Connell told reporters in a conference call last week that CALPADS is now collecting valuable information, with more than 90 percent of the state’s districts and charter schools having successfully submitted data.

Keric Ashley, the director of the California education department’s data-management division, said the veto would leave many districts without critical help to navigate the system. The state receives 70 calls a day for help with data, Mr. Ashley estimated. The veto also hinders state officials’ ability to oversee IBM’S work, he added.

The governor argued that the state has spent $150 million on longitudinal school data systems in California, but Mr. Ashley said that figure melds money from different sources, with much of that aid flowing directly to school districts. Mr. Ashley also said that the cuts undermine the state’s ability to compile a four-year cohort graduation rate, which would jeopardize its ability to meet requirements of the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund, which was part of the federal economic stimulus.

The governor does not believe that the ability to collect and report that required data would be weakened by the funding cuts, said a spokesman for his office, Matt Connelly. Mr. Schwarzenegger believes the department has proven “incapable of effectively managing CALPADS,” and he is determined to hold the agency to a higher standard, Mr. Connelly added.

A version of this article appeared in the October 27, 2010 edition of Education Week as Schwarzenegger Veto Reignites Squabble Over California Data System

Events

This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Artificial Intelligence Webinar
AI and Educational Leadership: Driving Innovation and Equity
Discover how to leverage AI to transform teaching, leadership, and administration. Network with experts and learn practical strategies.
Content provided by 
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School Climate & Safety Webinar
Investing in Success: Leading a Culture of Safety and Support
Content provided by 
Assessment K-12 Essentials Forum Making Competency-Based Learning a Reality
Join this free virtual event to hear from educators and experts working to implement competency-based education.

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

IT Infrastructure & Management Cybersecurity Demands Are Growing. Funding Isn't Keeping Pace
State education leaders worry funding for cybersecurity isn’t enough to cope with the worsening problem of attacks on schools.
2 min read
Dollar Sign Made of Circuit Board on Motherboard and CPU.
iStock/Getty
IT Infrastructure & Management Sizing Up the Risks of 69ý' Reliance on the 'Internet of Things'
Technology is now critical to both the learning and business operations of schools.
1 min read
Vector image of an open laptop with octopus tentacles reaching out of the monitor around a triangle icon with an exclamation point in the middle of it.
DigitalVision Vectors
IT Infrastructure & Management How 69ý Can Survive a Global Tech Meltdown
The CrowdStrike incident this summer is a cautionary tale for schools.
8 min read
Image of students taking a test.
smolaw11/iStock/Getty
IT Infrastructure & Management What Districts Can Do With All Those Old Chromebooks
The Chromebooks and tablets districts bought en masse early in the pandemic are approaching the end of their useful lives.
3 min read
Art and technology teacher Jenny O'Sullivan, right, shows students a video they made, April 15, 2024, at A.D. Henderson School in Boca Raton, Fla. While many teachers nationally complain their districts dictate textbooks and course work, the South Florida school's administrators allow their staff high levels of classroom creativity...and it works.
Art and technology teacher Jenny O'Sullivan, right, shows students a video they made on April 15, 2024, at A.D. Henderson School in Boca Raton, Fla. After districts equipped every student with a device early in the pandemic, they now face the challenge of recycling or disposing of the technology responsibly.
Wilfredo Lee/AP