RE: Question 1: School to work

Yes, California should monitor students' success in making the transition from formal education to gainful employment. It is critical that California develop a comprehensive, user-friendly data collection system that will measure accountability for each of the various programs and delivery systems based on their mission and target population. We should not attempt to compare results across programs and delivery systems that serve different purposes; for instance, adult job training programs cannot be compared to high school career preparation programs, nor can a school district be compared to a workforce investment board in terms of student outcomes. Utilizing social security numbers is not the answer either since schools are limited by confidentiality laws in collecting this type of information. The Master Plan should outline the general parameters of an accountability system for California but cannot define particulars which must be determined in concert with the various state governing agencies. Monitoring could be done through a consistent data collection system that is required by the governing agency for each delivery system (for instance, CDE for K-12 districts)as part of their funding criteria. In other words, once a really comprehensive and high-quality data accountability system is implemented in the state, then funding allocations should be driven by compliance to data submission as well as results. It is critical that state governing agencies and local educational agencies be provided funding and a reasonable implementation period in order to assure that these systems are fulling in place before sanctions can be considered. Often legislation is passed to require accountability systems without providing the necessary funding for implementating a new system. A good example of this was SB645 which required new data collection systems without consideration of both confidentiality laws and local costs for developing new technology for data collection. Programs that are funded strictly on ADA do not have the resources to purchase new equipment and develop computer applications for sophisticated data collection. Costs for teacher and staff development must also be considered since new systems require training prior to implementation.