MEDIA AVAILABILITY:
For Wednesday, January 9, 2008
CONTACT:
Jessica Nusbaum or Eric Antebi, (415) 901-0111
State of the State: Addressing the Education Information Deficit
On Tuesday, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced the creation of a new education data commission to ensure that California’s parents, teachers, educators and policy-makers have the information they need to make effective decisions about transforming California’s education system so that all students are prepared for college and the workforce (see Governor’s text below).
Members of the Information Alliance for Education, a new coalition working to bring California’s education data system into the 21st century, are available on Wednesday to brief reporters about how quality information is crucial if the state is going to make good on the promise to raise overall student achievement and close the achievement gap. They will discuss how a comprehensive information system is an essential and viable step towards improving California’s K-12 public education system. And while the budget deficit lowered expectations for the “Year of Education,” Information Alliance members will explain why the data initiative may be the one statewide education priority that could move forward in 2008.
By now, it is well known that California’s current information system is too fragmented to allow policy-makers and local educators to compare the effectiveness of different educational programs. Wednesday’s media availability is intended to provide additional background on California’s education information deficit and establish the rationale and direction for moving forward.
WHO: The Information Alliance for Education, a coalition of Children Now, The Education Trust—West and Silver Giving Foundation, are offering the following experts to discuss the Governor’s proposal and California’s need for a comprehensive education information system:
* Russlynn Ali, executive director of The Education Trust —West and a member of the Governor's Committee on Education Excellence
* Ted Lempert, president of Children Now
* Phil Halperin, president of the Silver Giving Foundation and a member of the California P-16 Council
WHEN: Wednesday, January 9, 2007
SCHEDULE A BRIEFING: Please contact Jessica Nusbaum 415-901-0111 x337 or Eric Antebi at 415-901-0111 x328.
READ THE GOVERNOR’S PROPOSAL:
The following excerpt of the Governor’s 2008 priorities for education outlines his plans for addressing the education information deficit. The full text can be found at http://gov.ca.gov/issue/education.
Increasing Transparency with Better Data Delivery and Accessibility.
Information and data drives where parents send their children to school and what policies our elected officials pursue. It enables teachers to respond to the needs of their students with better instruction and curriculum and helps California's schools understand and respond to the specific challenges they face.
But for students, parents, teachers and policy-makers to be empowered by data and information, it must be accurate, integrated, accessible and transparent. For many years in California, this has not been the case. Fortunately, with the roll-out of CALPADS (California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System) and CALTIDES (California Longitudinal Teacher Education Data System) in the next few years, California has the opportunity to drastically improve the delivery and accessibility of California's educational data and information. To build on this potential and to ensure California's education data system improves, the Governor proposes the state:
* Fund, link, and determine additional data elements for CALPADS and CALTIDES.
* Establish the Education Data Commission. The Governor will create a nine-member Education Data Commission by Executive Order to make policy recommendations to him for the development and implementation of an education data system for California public schools. The data commission will include members appointed by the Governor and the Speaker, Senate President Pro Tem and the Superintendent of Public Instruction.