The following calculation notes pertain to how our indicators are calculated and to the fourth year annual report published by Bright Futures in March of 2020. Data sources are listed at the back of the report.
Goal 1: Early Care & Education
The percentage of licensed sites rated by QRIS is calculated by dividing the number of rated sites reported by QRIS by the total number of licensed sites reported by the California Child Care Resource and Referral Network. The California Child Care Resource and Referral Network reports licensed centers and family child care homes every other year.
The percentage of children of children ages 0-5 who have access to a licensed child care space or a transitional kindergarten (TK) space is calculated by adding the number of licensed spaces reported by the California Child Care Resource and Referral Network to TK participation reported by the California Department of Education. The sum is then divided by the number of children ages 0-5 in Monterey County, which is reported by the California Child Care Resource and Referral Network. The California Child Care Resource and Referral Network reports licensed centers and family child care homes and the number of children ages 0-5 every other year.
Affordability is calculated by averaging the cost of full-time infant and preschool care in Monterey County, which is reported by the California Child Care Resource and Referral Network. This average cost number is doubled for the two children affordability metric. Because the US Department of Health and Human Services states that a family should not be spending more than 10 percent of their annual budget on childcare, we use the average cost calculation multiplied by 10 to determine the income level for which a family would be spending 10 percent of their income on childcare. We then use census data to determine the number of families in Monterey County that are at or above that income level.
Goal 2: Kinder-Ready
The social and emotional readiness data are calculated by combing scores of 4 and above on the self-regulation and self and social development domains on the DRDP-SR. The data reported as 2015 in the line graph represent the most recent available data during our baseline year. However, the data were collected in 2012 and reported in 2013. The 2016 data in the graph were collected in 2015 and reported in 2016. DRDP-SR data representative of the County has not been collected since 2015. There are plans to collect the data in 2020-2021.
Goal 3: Language & Literacy
The 3rd grade English Fluent category includes English Only (EO), Initial Fluent English Proficient (IFEP), and Reclassified Fluent English Proficient (RFEP) students. The State definition of these groups can be found here. The 5th grade metric includes Reclassified English Proficient (RFEP) students. These two metrics use Smarter Balance Assessment Consortium (SBAC) data that is downloaded from the State. “On grade-level” is defined as meeting or exceeding the standard. Due to rounding, the downloaded SBAC data often differs from the data reported on the California Dashboard by one to two percentage points. The reclassification by 5th grade metric is calculated by dividing the number of reclassified by the number of Ever-EL students who have been English Learners for at least four years. This removes students who have more recently begun to learn English and would not be expected to be fluent.
Goal 4: Critical Thinking
These two metrics use Smarter Balance Assessment Consortium (SBAC) data that is downloaded from the State. “On grade-level” is defined as meeting or exceeding the standard. Due to rounding, the downloaded SBAC data often differs from the data reported on the California Dashboard by one to two percentage points.
Goal 5: Youth Development and Engagement
Data for safety, connectedness, and adults with high expectations come from the California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS). Several school districts do not participate in the survey, and many of those that do participate only do so for some years. Although the annual sample typically includes a majority of students in the County, it may not include all groups of students proportionate to their actual percentage of the population. Additionally, the sample of schools that participated in a given year may not be the same as the schools that participated the previous or following year. Therefore, year-to-year progress should be interpreted cautiously. The percentages should be interpreted as a good estimate, rather than a representative sample or the actual percentage who answered a survey item in a particular way.
Goal 6: College or Career Ready
The two 11th grade metrics use Smarter Balance Assessment Consortium (SBAC) data that is downloaded from the State. “On grade-level” is defined as meeting or exceeding the standard. Due to rounding, the downloaded SBAC data often differs from the data reported on the California Dashboard by one to two percentage points. The manner for calculating A-G completion changed in 2016-17. The percentages for 2017, 2018 and 2019 use the Four-Year Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate report. Prior to 2017 this report did not include A-G completion. The percentages for 2015 and 2016 use the One Year Graduation report. The denominator for the older report only includes seniors and is therefore smaller than the newer four-year report, which represents a cohort. The newer numbers are therefore slightly smaller than they would be if the calculation methodology remained consistent. We estimate that the current percentages are one to two percentage points lower than they would be using the previous methodology.
Goal 7: Post-High School Completion
College enrollment is calculated within 16 months of graduation. The college enrollment numbers represent all high school completers in Monterey County. Retention and completion metrics are calculated based on local averages weighted by enrollment for CSU Monterey Bay, Hartnell, and Monterey Peninsula College (MPC). They therefore only represent students who remain local. CSUMB only includes Monterey County students. Local students for Hartnell and MPC are defined as students under 20 when they enroll. A small percentage of students under 20 may enroll from outside of the County and be included in these calculations.
Progress towards 60% Credential Completion
Six data sources are combined to produce this estimate. Although accessibility, reliability, and validity are used as criteria in the selection of these sources, the calculation should be interpreted as a good estimate, rather than the actual percentage of local students who completed a credential.