Imagine you want to use a new learning app alongside your school's learning management system (LMS), like Canvas or Blackboard. This article explains how these two systems can work together, focusing on two common methods: API and LTI integrations. Think of integrations as "bridges" between different two different systems. In this case, will take a learning app and an LMS. Integrations would allow your LMS and the new app to share information securely, making things easier for educators and students with integrated functionality like single sign-on, rostering, content sync, and grade passback. Here's a simple breakdown of those two integration methods to connect to LMS providers: API (Applic...

 CALPADS Update FLASH #285

 CALPADS Update FLASH #284

Here's a video from the CALPADS team regarding the changes.  https://youtu.be/7hjse9TiDeQ

Hello SDLA members!We've just put the finishing touches on the 7th annual district systems survey.You can find it here: 7th Annual District Systems Survey The URL is https://www.schooldataleadership.org/ca-k-12-school-districts/2022-district-systems-surveyPlease help us compile the best single resource for systems used by California school districts by taking 5-10 minutes to complete the survey. Hint - you can print the list out and use that to review your district's systems, checking them off as you go. The list can also be used to help your district understand what OPTIONS exist within each category.Each year we review the results and update the product pages listed on our site. Our goal i...

 The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights issued two resource collections—one for elementary and secondary schools and one for postsecondary institutions—designed to assist in planning for a successful and equitable return to schools and campuses. The two collections include fact sheets, Q&As, letters to educators, and other materials explaining the obligations that elementary, secondary, and postsecondary schools have under the federal civil rights laws enforced by OCR to provide educational environments free from discrimination. Read the Elementary and Secondary Resource Collection PDF (508K)Read the Postsecondary Resource Collection PDF (356K) As we look forward...

Kahoot! today announced the acquisition of Clever, one of the most widely-used digital learning platforms by U.S. K-12 schools, to make learning awesome worldwide. Oslo, Norway (May 6, 2021) – Kahoot!, a global learning platform company, announced today the acquisition of Clever Inc., a privately-held, California-based company that is one of the most widely-used digital learning platforms by U.S. K-12 schools. The partnership between two of the most popular platforms in education, with distinct and highly complementary offerings, will provide improved learning solutions and offerings to U.S. schools, while accelerating the global expansion of Clever's solutions. Kahoot! Group will acquire 10...

The United States Department of Education on Tuesday April 6, 2021 approved in writing a request from the California Department of Education to waive some accountablity, school identificiation, and related reporting requirements for the 2020-21 school year due to challenges related to the Covid-19 pandemic.   Please note that these accountabilty requirement waivers did NOT extend reporting or testing deadlines nor did they waive the administration of any CAASPP, CAST, CAA, ELPAC, or related state tests.  In addition no extension to testing deadlines were issued. You can read the full report below: 

Be an ESSER III Hero: Three Technologies that Facilitate A Successful Return to School On Thursday, March 11, 2021, the first anniversary of the pandemic declaration, H.R. 1319, the "American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021," was signed and became Law 117-2. The ARPA, a $1.9 trillion plan, included an even larger relief package for ESSER III than ESSER I and ESSER II combined, providing $123 billion for schools to tackle learning loss and prepare to reopen in the fall. These funds provide critical assistance to help schools and districts maintain a high-quality learning environment, continue the establishment of innovative learning methods, and combat COVID-19 related learning loss. Our ...

Jenny Rankin, whose research revealed that teachers drew the wrong conclusion from test data most of the time when using conventional reports.

In ten years, will historians look back at the 30-year effort to get teachers to interpret test data as a failure? I'm impatient. I don't want to wait ten years. Although I'm no historian, here's my verdict. Yes, it was a failure. This long push to make teachers do "data-driven decision-making" has flopped. But of all those who share responsibility for this flop, teachers are the least culpable. Evidence of its failure is everywhere. The tests most teachers favor are the ones they create. Those teacher-created tests often reveal the least about the degree to which students have mastered the subject matter they've studied. State tests are disliked, disrespected and misunderstood. Proof of how...

The California Department of Education has partnered with the Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE) to hold the annual California Assessment Conference on October 6 and 7, 2020, through a virtual conference platform. Details about this professional learning opportunity and registration are available on the conference website at https://www.cdecac.org.

Focusing on the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) System and English Language Proficiency Assessments of California (ELPAC)—and including, when timely, updates on California's other statewide assessments. New Resource! Guidance on Diagnostic and Formative Assessments Today, State Superintendent Tony Thurmond announced the availability of a new resource, "Guidance on Diagnostic and Formative Assessments." This informative document describes how educators can use California's approved assessments to evaluate where students are academically at the start of and throughout the school year. CALPADS and the ELPAC: Changes Beginning July 1, 2020, the California Longi...

Editor's note:  Still not sure if they understand schools or not.  Keeping students 6 feet apart from each other is clearly not a viable option in schools where 40 students are crammed into a single classroom.  Unclear what resources, if any, will actually flow to schools to enable these recommendations to lead to actual implementation.  But here they are . . . . California Releases Guidance on Re-Opening of Schools Stronger Together -  Published June 8, 2020. https://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/he/hn/documents/strongertogether.pdf

Assessment Spotlight Focusing on the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) System and English Language Proficiency Assessments of California (ELPAC)—and including, when timely, updates on California's other statewide assessments. Newly Updated Smarter Content Explorer! The Smarter Content Explorer has recently been updated! Offering new features based on educator feedback, this user-friendly web tool combines the information provided in the Smarter Balanced Content and Item Specifications—key resources used in test and item development—into an easy-to-use search interface. Users can access customized content generated by a quick search by subject, grade, and targ...

It's interesting how so many news reporters, bloggers, and just average citizens can interpret the same data so wildly differently.  This short and extremely informative video explains why this is true when looking at the COVID-19 Country Data.  Interesting to project this same thinking onto K-12 school data.  Even when we collect it accurately, are we also interpreting it accurately? 

Focusing on the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) System and English Language Proficiency Assessments of California (ELPAC)—and including, when timely, updates on California's other statewide assessments. Smarter Balanced Interim Assessments for Distance Learning With the widespread closure of schools in California and the suspension of CAASPP testing due to COVID-19, many local educational agencies (LEAs) are serving their students through distance learning. To aid teachers and other LEA staff during this challenging time, the California Department of Education (CDE) will make available, as an optional resource, the Smarter Balanced Interim Assessments for u...

Focusing on the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) System and English Language Proficiency Assessments of California (ELPAC)—and including, when timely, updates on California's other statewide assessments. California Science Test and California Spanish Assessment: 2018–19 Summary Results The 2018–19 summary results for the first operational administration of the California Science Test (CAST) and the California Spanish Assessment (CSA) were made available to the public on February 4, 2020. The summary results are reported at the state, county, district, and school levels by grade and student groups. The CAST and CSA summary results are located on the Californi...

Postsecondary Status File The CALPADS File Specifications (CFS) includes a new file, the Postsecondary Status (PSTS) file that will be implemented in 2019–20. This file will be used by LEAs to submit survey data to CALPADS that LEAs previously submitted to the CDE through the Perkins Data System (PDS) and the California Special Education Management Information System (CASEMIS), both of which are now retired. LEAs have generally collected the postsecondary status data for Career Technical Education (CTE) pathway completers and concentrators, and students with disabilities (SWD) who have completed secondary education, through a student survey. LEAs will now submit the data they have collected ...

Focusing on the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) System and English Language Proficiency Assessments of California (ELPAC) and including, when timely, updates on California's other statewide assessments. Survey for LEA Coordinators! On September 17, the California Department of Education (CDE) opened its annual local educational agency (LEA) coordinator survey with a link to the survey emailed to a sampling of LEA coordinators. If you received the email, we hope you will take a few minutes to tell us about the resources and training you need to be successful in your role as an LEA coordinator. This short survey asks about your awareness and use of sever...

CAASPP Update Focusing on the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) System, including the Smarter Balanced assessments—a major component of CAASPP—and the California Alternate Assessments and science assessments.  Accessibility Notes: Updated Guide Now Available! The updated  Accessibility Guide for CAASPP Online Testing , which includes a change log (in the appendix), is now available on both the  Student Accessibility Resources and Test Settings  Web page and the  Manuals and Instructions  Web page of the CAASP Portal Web site. March System Downtime Begins Tonight Tonight at 5 p.m. through March 20 at 7 a.m., the Test Operations Management System, Test Administrator Interface, Interim Assessment (IA) Viewer, IA Hand Scoring, Online Reporting System, and the Appeal, Completion Status, and Roster Management systems will be undergoing system maintenance and will not be accessible. March 20—California Alternate Assessments and California Science Tests March 20—the opening of the CAASPP science and alternate assessments administration—is less than a week away! Are you ready? The high school grade-level assignment for the pilot California Science Test (CAST) and the pilot California Alternate Assessment (CAA) for Science can be confirmed by checking the assignment link on the CAASPP Portal  CAST Web page .  Confirm your  CAA version assignments  before you start printing out Directions for Administration (DFAs) or administer the CAA for English Language Arts and CAA for Mathematics. The new CAA for Science pilot test is a performance task (PT) assessment designed to be administered closer to the student’s instructional activity. This innovative assessment allows test examiners (TEs) some flexibility in the administration of the PT. TEs can select familiar materials for students and allow students to demonstrate what they know. A sample training test is available on the CAASPP Portal  CAAs Web page . The training test is aligned with the grade five California Next Generation Science Standards but can be used by students in any of the tested grades to familiarize educators, students, parents, and stakeholders with the testing format of the pilot. This training test is the same type of embedded PT that will be administered during this year’s pilot CAA for Science. Designed to be administered one on one, the training test PT is nonsecure and for use in preparing for the pilot CAA for Science.  Science Fact Sheets The  California Science Test Pilot Assessment Fact Sheet  is now available! It provides a quick and easy “Who, What, When, Why, and How” for the CAST as well as a timeline for implementation through to the operational assessment in 2019. A fact sheet for the California Alternate Assessment for Science will be posted soon. Please share this e-mail with any educators in your local educational agency who would be interested in or benefit from this information.  To join the e-mail list, send a blank e-mail message to  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .  Are you a new subscriber? Visit the CDE  CAASPP Update Web page  to find previous issues.