SARC FAQ's

School Accountability Report Card FAQ's

What is a School Accountability Report Card (SARC)?

Since November 1988, state law has required that schools receiving state funding to prepare and distribute a SARC. A similar requirement is also contained in the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The purpose of the report card is to provide parents and the community with important information about each school. A SARC can be an effective way for a school to report on its progress in achieving goals. The public may also use a SARC to evaluate and compare schools on a variety of indicators.

What information does the SARC contain?

Although there is great variation in the design of school report cards, they generally begin with a profile that provides background information about the school and its students. The profile usually summarizes the school's mission, goals, and accomplishments. State law requires that the SARC contain all of the following:

Demographic data
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

How often must a SARC be updated?

How are schools required to distribute the SARC?

State law generally encourages schools to make a concerted effort to notify parents of the purpose of the report cards and to ensure that all parents receive a copy of the report card for the school their child attends. Specifically, schools are required to notify all parents about the availability of the SARC and to provide parents with instructions about how the SARC can be obtained both through the Internet and on paper (upon request). The SARC is available in both English and Spanish.

How can a parent obtain a SARC?