What is a School Accountability Report Card (SARC)?
Since November 1988, state law has required that schools receiving state funding to prepare and distribute a SARC. A similar requirement is also contained in the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The purpose of the report card is to provide parents and the community with important information about each school. A SARC can be an effective way for a school to report on its progress in achieving goals. The public may also use a SARC to evaluate and compare schools on a variety of indicators.
What information does the SARC contain?
Although there is great variation in the design of school report cards, they generally begin with a profile that provides background information about the school and its students. The profile usually summarizes the school's mission, goals, and accomplishments. State law requires that the SARC contain all of the following:
School safety and climate for learning information
School completion rates
Teacher and staff information
Curriculum and instruction descriptions
Postsecondary preparation information
Fiscal and expenditure data
How often must a SARC be updated?
School report cards must be updated annually and published by February 1.
How are schools required to distribute the SARC?
State law generally encourages schools to make a concerted effort to notify parents of the purpose of the school accountability report cards and to ensure that all parents receive a copy of the report card for the school their child attends. Specifically, schools are required to notify all parents about the availability of the SARC and to provide parents with instructions about how the SARC can be obtained both through the Internet (if feasible) and on paper (upon request). If 15% or more of a school's enrolled students speak a single primary language other than English, state law requires that the SARC also be prepared and made available to these parents in the appropriate primary language.
How can a parent obtain a SARC?
Parents with Internet access can go to the CDE Find a SARC web page. This web page contains SARC Reports that have been provided to the California Department of Education (CDE) by the schools/local educational agencies (LEAs). For purposes of the SARC, an LEA is a school district or a county office of education or a direct funded charter school or a nonpublic nonsectarian school.
The SARC Reports are posted in either of the following two forms: (1) an online SARC Report template completed via the SARC Web Application or (2) an accurate uniform resource locator (URL) to the website address where the SARC Report is posted on the school/LEA website.
On the CDE Find a SARC web page, in the Search box type in the school name, or the district name, or the name of the county office of education, then select the “Search” button and you will view a list of results. Selecting the school will take you to the school’s summary web page. To view the school’s SARC, select the “View Full SARC” button located in the bottom left corner of the summary web page.
If a school's SARC Report or web link to their SARC report is not available on the CDE Find a SARC web page, contact the school or district. To obtain a hard copy of a SARC Report, contact the school or district.
How can a parent find out more about California's schools?
If you have questions or need information about a specific school, you can call or write to the school or the district office. You can also schedule an appointment to visit the school and meet with the school's administrators and staff.