Here’s to the data system that works
Cal-PASS is attracting attention and foundation dollars
California can’t get a computer system right. Its K-12 longitudinal data system has been a disaster. Post-secondary institutions are squabbling; a P-20 data system, from preschool to post-college, remains a concept.
You’re heard that before; I’ve written it myself.
But that’s not the complete story. Under the radar, Cal-PASS, not to be confused with CALPADS, is working as designed. By sharing data among school districts, communitycolleges, and universities and bringing instructors of all levels together, it’s changing classroom practices and, to an extent, policies.
Run on “budget dust,” as a state finance official calls its budget, it’s attracting smart money – about $4 million from foundations (Hewlett, Irvine, Stuart, Gates, Lumina, Walter S. Johnson) – and is expanding. Next week, it will announce the formal creation of the Institute for