Tool Search: CALPADS
The cornerstone for compliance with federal law, as delineated in the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, is increased accountability for student achievement. Schools must be able to show adequate yearly progress (AYP) in academic achievement and increases in graduation rates. California has adopted rigorous academic standards and developed assessments to track whether students are achieving the standards set for them. To fully comply with federal accountability requirements, however, California must be able to track individual student enrollment history and achievement data over time.
The student-level, longitudinal data in CALPADS facilitates program evaluation, assessment of student achievement over time, the calculation of more accurate dropout and graduation rates, the efficient creation of reports to meet state and federal reporting requirements, and the ability to create ad hoc reports and respond to questions. CALPADS provides local educational agencies (LEAs) access to longitudinal data and reports on their own students, and immediate access to information on new students enabling them to place students appropriately and to determine whether any assessments are necessary.
CALPADS Calendar
CALPADS Extracts are reported throughout the year, and divided into three reporting periods, noted below. See the CALPADS Calendar on the Department of Education website for up-to-date information on due dates, reporting schedules and other information related to CALPADS.
CALPADS Files
The student-level, longitudinal data in CALPADS facilitates program evaluation, assessment of student achievement over time, the calculation of more accurate dropout and graduation rates, the efficient creation of reports to meet state and federal reporting requirements, and the ability to create ad hoc reports and respond to questions. CALPADS provides local educational agencies (LEAs) access to longitudinal data and reports on their own students, and immediate access to information on new students enabling them to place students appropriately and to determine whether any assessments are necessary.
The following images provide a sampling of each format available for the CALPADS extracts. The Extracts can be displayed in State Format (Caret Delimited), CSV or HTML. It is recommended information be reviewed in a non-state format prior to submitting in the State Format.
CALPADS HTML Format
CALPADS State Format (Caret Delimited)
CALPADS CSV Format
For the following data elements reported in the CALPADS files, the data may only include alphabetic letters, numbers, periods, hyphens or apostrophes.
Student Legal First Name | Student Legal Middle Name | Student Legal Last Name |
Student Alias First Name | Student Alias Middle Name | Student Alias Last Name |
Birth City | Guardian 1 First Name | Guardian 1 Last Name |
Guardian 2 First Name | Guardian 2 Last Name | Staff First Name |
Staff Middle Name | Staff Last Name | Staff Alias First Name |
Staff Alias Middle Name | Staff Alias Last Name |
Non-Binary Gender Reporting
Schools can assign students a gender of M: Male, F: Female, X: Non-binary. This is done on the Identities tool and/or the Demographics tool.
CALPADS Extracts use the Legal Gender field included in the Protected Identity Information to report student and staff identity information.
To record a gender of X: Non-binary, on the Identities tool:
- Assign the Gender of X: Non-Binary in the standard identify fields.
- Assign the Protected Identity Information Legal Gender of M: Male, F: Female, or X: Non-binary.
- Save the record when finished.
Gender and Legal Gender Assignment