“We are at a rare moment of change. If we blow it now, we are not going to have this opportunity again, at least with regard to aligning policy.”Jannelle Kubinec, Director, Comprehensive School Assistance Program

The new Local Control and Accountability Plans (LCAPs) require school districts in California to describe how they intend to meet annual goals for all students, with specific activities to address state and local priorities.

A new accountability system must tie today’s big education shifts, says WestEd’s Jannelle Kubinec in a recent California Political Review article. In this era of Common Core and Next Generation Science Standards, attention has shifted to preparing students to succeed beyond high school.

Kubinec also was quoted in a Cabinet Report article on a WestEd-developed performance rubric intended to measure school district success in meeting California’s education priorities detailed in the LCAPs.

According to the article, numerical data on topics ranging from facilities and teacher assignments to learning climate and test scores would serve as the centerpiece of the LCAP rubric for analyzing how well schools are using state funds to educate students.

The data matrix, outcome analysis, and best practices comprise the three components to the LCAP rubric, set to be reviewed for the first time this month by the California State Board of Education.

“They’re usable as they are but there’s also a sense that they will, if we’re committed to continuous improvement, evolve as we have more data and as we have clarity on the state accountability process,” says Kubinec.

Kubinec serves as Director of the Comprehensive Assistance Center Program at WestEd, contracted by the state to help develop the evaluation system.

In addition, the LCAP rubric, with WestEd cited, was the focus of another Cabinet Report article, SBE OKs Rubric Format But What to Measure?