California Governor Urged To Fund Student Tracking System

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- A California lawmaker and prominent business group are calling on Gov. Jerry Brown to restore funding to develop statewide data systems to track student and teacher performance.

State Sen. Joe Simitian and the Bay Area Council on Monday urged the Democratic governor not to cut funding for the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System, CALPADS, and its sister program to track teacher performance, CALTIDES.

They say the two systems are key tools for improving California's public schools.

Brown's revised budget plan calls for suspending about $8.5 million in federal funding for the CALPADS and CALTIDES systems and using that money for other education expenses.

Asked about that decision, Brown last week said he believes education is a local responsibility and local educators can use existing data to improve student achievement.

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