Nearly all parents express confidence that their children will succeed in school and graduate from college one day.

As children begin preschool or kindergarten, this faith is uplifting and right. Every child can succeed in school with effort and support. As children advance through school, however, some of that confidence amounts to wishful thinking. How do we know if our kids are actually succeeding?

We're On Track, right?

Students and their parents really want to believe that school is going to work out OK. Teachers and administrators really want to believe that their schools can give kids the education they need, too. But education is cumulative. When a student comes to a class seriously behind, there is only so much any one teacher can do!

Schools are complex organizations. As students move from grade to grade, weaknesses in the system pile up. Distractions steal a little time here and a little there. It's easy for the definition of "good work" to vary from one class to the next. Students that fall behind often do so gradually, unnoticed, making grades that don't ring alarm bells. If parents complain, it's natural for teachers and administrators to reassure them.

How does a school system honestly determine whether weaknesses are piling up and ensure that students do well academically? And how can parents tell if their kids aren’t doing well?

Three layers of success: the student, the school, and the system

How is Student Success Measured?

California's grade-level educational standards, based on the Common Core, are more than lists of facts to be memorized and regurgitated. They describe what students need to know and be able to do at each grade level in order for college to be a workable option for them.

Three sources of information can tell you whether your child is on track: Teacher conferences, report cards, and standardized tests.

Standardized tests are the system's most objective feedback for parents. Don't ignore them.

Teacher conferences can give you useful insight into how your child behaves at school, and how he or she approaches academic work. Teachers can also help you get a feel for what students are learning in class and how you might be able to help your child succeed. But teachers aren't always candid in their feedback. It can be easy to hear what you want to hear. (For more about parent-teacher conferences, read Lesson 2.4.)

Report cards usually include evaluative feedback from teachers along with a grade, focusing on academic achievement. This feedback might also include information about growth, participation, and/or classroom citizenship. If your student's report card is just a grade, without additional information, ask why. (More on report cards in Lesson 9.2)

Standardized tests provide the most objective feedback you will get about your child's academic progress. Each year, students in California take the CAASPP tests (also known as the "Smarter Balanced" tests). These tests are an antidote to wishful thinking. They evaluate students based on their demonstrated knowledge and skills, coldly benchmarked against grade level expectations. Yes, grades are a more comprehensive evaluation of a student's performance, but they can be subjective. A grade of B in one teacher’s class is not the same as a B in the classroom next door, much less in a different school in a different community. Standardized tests aren't perfect, but they have meaning and they matter.

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted testing across the nation, leading states to skip a year of test administration. In 2021, California officials wrestled to find ways of testing students safely, while keeping an eye on federal law.

If your son or daughter shows a pattern of low scores on the CAASPP tests, hear the alarm bell. Don't ignore it. Don't let yourself be easily reassured. Few students make it to and through college with a pattern of low standardized test scores, even if their grades are OK. Talk to a counselor. Figure out what's standing in the way and do something about it.

How is School Success Measured?

The success of a school is a reflection of the success of its students, both in the short-term and the long term. Successful schools should advance or accelerate the academic achievement of each student, with particular focus on ensuring that specific groups of students are not falling behind.

America's major national education law, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), requires that states evaluate the success of individual schools using indicators such as academic achievement and progress, English language proficiency, and high school graduation rates. Additionally, this evaluation must identify at least the 5% of schools that are farthest behind, either in total performance or in the performance of groups of students. It also requires that the state have a plan to improve these schools.

How is Success for School Systems Measured?

Unlike federal law, which is focused on the success of individual schools, California state law focuses on the success of school districts, which oversee schools and school budgets. In 2017, the state introduced the California School Dashboard, which evaluates the success of its ~10,000 schools and ~1,000 school districts. School system success is measured based on short-term metrics like attendance and test scores, but also long-term ones like graduation rates, college readiness and rates of school suspension. When schools are doing poorly on these measures, the state provides additional support through school districts, perhaps with help from the county office of education.

But let's take it a step at a time. The next lesson focuses on the success of students.

Extensively updated September 2017
Updated December 2017
Updated March 2019
Updated December 2020, February 2021.