What is a School Accountability Report Card (SARC)?
Since November 1988, state law has mandated that all public schools receiving state funding prepare and distribute a School Accountability Report Card (SARC). The federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) also has a similar mandate. The goal of the report card is to provide parents and the community with essential information about each public school. A SARC serves as an effective tool for schools to report on their progress toward achieving goals. Additionally, the public can use a SARC to evaluate and compare schools based on various indicators.
What information does the SARC contain?
While there is considerable variation in the design of school report cards, they typically start with a profile that offers background information about the school and its students. This profile usually highlights the school's mission, goals, and achievements. State law mandates that the SARC includes all of the following:
- In addition, ESSA requires that SARCs contain reports concerning the "adequate yearly progress" of students in achieving state academic achievement standards; Title 1 Program Improvement; graduation rates at the secondary level; and, starting with the SARCs to be published in 2004-05, the extent to which "highly qualified" teachers are teaching core academic subjects.
- School safety and climate for learning information
- Academic data
- School completion rates
- Class sizes
- Teacher and staff information
- Curriculum and instruction descriptions
- Postsecondary preparation information
- Fiscal and expenditure data
The School Accountability report cards provided below are from the 2023-2024 school year (published during 2024-2025) and contain both the English and Spanish versions (and Cantonese for Rosemead High School). 
