The parent field guide
Understand California schools.
Start with the question in front of you. Each guide explains a number or process in plain language and points to the next useful detail.
Initial collection
Start with a guide
Each guide is designed to answer one real parent question in a few focused minutes.
How to read California school test scores
What the percentage means, who takes the test, and how to read a trend.
Read the guideHow to compare California school rankings
What the rank means, how percentiles work, and what gets compared.
Read the guideLow-income, FRPM, and socioeconomically disadvantaged: what the labels mean
How California counts economic disadvantage in enrollment and test data.
Read the guideHow to understand California third-grade reading scores
What the first statewide reading score measures and how to get more detail.
Read the guideStudent-teacher ratio vs. class size
A 20-to-1 ratio can still mean 28 students in one classroom.
Read the guideWhat is a California LCAP?
The district document that connects a goal, an action, and a budget.
Read the guideCalifornia public school options: neighborhood, transfer, magnet, and charter
How the four common public school enrollment paths work.
Read the guideWhy California school data is missing, suppressed, or marked N/A
Why blank and N/A do not mean zero.
Read the guideBrowse by topic
Test scores
Read CAASPP results without confusing a proficiency percentage, score level, rank, and trend.
Rankings
See how California School Trends calculates reading and math ranks, chooses comparison groups, and converts rank into percentile.
Student groups
See how California defines student groups, calculates achievement gaps, and reports results for each group.
Early literacy
Understand California's first statewide reading result and the classroom evidence that shows what a child needs.
Funding and staffing
Understand student-teacher ratios, classroom counts, and the staffing included in each measure.
Boards and LCAP
Find district goals, planned spending, progress measures, and public comment dates in the LCAP.
School options
Compare neighborhood, transfer, magnet, and charter options and find the local rules that control access.
Data methods
See why school values are blank or N/A and how missing results affect public comparisons.