California Dashboard: Carmel Unified shows strong gains, Petty highlights remaining priorities

Deputy Superintendent Mary Petty presented the 2024–25 California Dashboard to the Carmel Unified School District board, describing districtwide trend data, subgroup performance and next steps for targeted interventions.

Petty walked trustees through the 5x5 color-coded grid and the "distance from standard" metric used by the state. She noted substantial local gains for students with disabilities in English language arts: "statewide, students with disabilities increased by 6.2, but our students with disabilities in Carmel Unified increased by 34.1." She told the board that some student cohorts remain below the proficiency standard (English learners and students with disabilities are 34.4 and 35.2 points below the standard on one indicator) and remain priorities.

Petty also introduced science reporting on the dashboard (informational only this year), discussed the English Learner Progress indicator (ELPAC) and reported that about 60% of English learners showed significant progress in reclassification measures. She highlighted that participation rates on state assessments affect the results and that improved data reporting systems and training have helped the district better reflect student performance.

Trustees asked technical questions about how color changes reflect both current-year status and year‑over‑year changes. Petty and other staff explained that the grid combines status and change metrics and that each domain uses distinct criteria for color assignment. They also described steps taken to make data accessible to site administrators, including CAASPP slide decks and a new data-visualization platform for principals.

Petty said the district will continue focusing professional development and resources on disaggregated cohort data and on improving participation rates to sustain gains. The item was informational; trustees praised the staff's work and recognized remaining areas for improvement.