Cal-PASS Plus and California Career Pathways Trust
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Cal-PASS Plus?
Cal-PASS Plus is California’s free K-16 actionable, accessible system of data that links student
level data across all levels of the education pipeline and on to the workplace. It is managed as a
partnership between San Joaquin Delta College, Educational Results Partnership and the San
Joaquin County Office of Education, and is funded by the California Community Colleges
Chancellor’s Office. Cal-PASS Plus members can use the power of data to raise student
achievement, close achievement gaps and increase college readiness and success across the
state. This occurs through increased collaboration and problem solving among faculty and
education leaders, informed by data and evidence of effective practices. Currently all California
Community Colleges (CCC) participate in Cal-PASS Plus, and about half of all K-12 districts, CSU,
and UC institutions. All institutions are encouraged to do so and participation is completely
free.
What Services will Cal-PASS Plus Provide to Pathways Trust Applicants?
Cal-PASS Plus will provide a variety of services free of charge to K-12 systems related to their
proposed California Career Pathways Trust, in addition to the other free services, data analysis
and reporting tools, currently offered for free to Cal-PASS Plus members. Specifically, those
include:
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Access for Cal-PASS Plus members to the official longitudinal system of data for
California that connects student level data across educational and workplace
systems.
Data collection and reporting tools that map K-12 CTE students and pathways
through high school and on to community colleges and universities.
Alignment and inclusion of K-12 CTE pathways and programs into the CA Community
Colleges CTE LaunchBoard data dashboard to track CTE outcomes across the
segments and into the workplace.
Technical support, guides and training materials about CTE data collection and
analysis -- particularly in mapping CTE student cohorts in specifically funded CTE
pathways.
Easy to access reports on required data elements for reporting to CDE and the
Legislature.
Can Cal-PASS Plus help with CTE Pathways Data Analysis and Reporting?
Yes. Cal-PASS Plus will provide free data collection and reporting tools to all funded sites that
will map K-12 CTE students and pathways through high school and on to community colleges
and universities. Cal-PASS Plus will also provide easy to access repots on required data
elements for reporting to the California Department of Education (CDE).
How Should Applicants Include Cal-PASS Plus in Their Proposals?
Applicants are encouraged to state that the partners in a CTE pathway consortium are either
members of Cal-PASS Plus or will become members and submit data to the system. Cal-PASS
Plus will provide the services stated above to support the proposed project. In addition, it is
advised that the consortium consider planning and budgeting for internal data collection and
CTE pathway mapping of participating students so that the data provided to Cal-PASS Plus is as
accurate and able to track as possible.
Can Cal-PASS Plus Help Track Student Outcomes?
Yes. In particular, Cal-PASS Plus will work to support the alignment and inclusion of K-12 CTE
pathways and programs into the California Community Colleges CTE LaunchBoard data
dashboard to track CTE outcomes across academic segments and into the workplace.
Applicants will still need to work for Cal-PASS Plus to “flag” students and “map” CTE pathways
in a way that will lead to data reports that are specific enough for each required data reporting
element.
Will Cal-PASS Plus Provide Technical Support?
Yes. Cal-PASS Plus will provide free technical support, guides, and training materials about CTE
data collection and analysis to all funded sites, with a specific focus on mapping CTE student
cohorts in funded CTE pathways to support data analysis and reporting.
Do Applicants Need to Plan for Building Their Own Data System or Contracting With a
Vendor?
No. Cal-PASS Plus is in the process of finalizing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with
the California Department of Education (CDE) to serve as the official data repository for all
California Career Pathways Trust data from funded sites. Through funding and under leadership
of the California Community College Chancellor’s Office, these services will be free to the CDE
and all funded sites. Cal-PASS Plus can provide the necessary data collection and reporting
services so that applicants do not need to build their own data system or contract with a
vendor – saving you valuable resources that can be allocated directly to support students.
How Do I Become a Cal-PASS Plus - for Free?
To participate in Cal-PASS Plus, you will need to become a member and sign an MOU that
authorizes sharing your data among participating institutions. Membership is free to all K-12
districts, community colleges, and CSU and UC institutions.
If you are unsure if your institution is a current member of Cal-PASS Plus, ask your Institutional
Research department or contact Cal-PASS Plus directly at help@calpass.org.
If your institution is not a member of Cal-PASS Plus but would like to participate, please
contact:
Michele Badovinac
Director of K-12 Outreach
San Joaquin County Office of Education
209-468-9189
michele@calpass.org
Emily Lawrence
Director of College and University Outreach
San Joaquin Delta College
209-954-5820
emily@calpass.org
You will be provided with information about Cal-PASS Plus participation and your institution will
be asked to sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that specifies the terms of use and
outlines the data-sharing agreement. Following this, Cal-PASS Plus will work directly with your
Institutional Research department to upload data directly to the Cal-PASS Plus system.