CARE (CALPADS Rules Engine)
Purpose
The CARE (CALPADS Rules Engine) App Portal is designed to help districts monitor the accuracy of CALPADS data by automatically identifying potential data issues through daily validation rule runs. The system provides clear, actionable analytics that support improved data quality at both the district and school levels.
Rules run each morning at 9 a.m., and the CARE Application automatically updates to display totals, trends, and detailed error information.
The CARE Portal provides a clear, user‑friendly view of CALPADS data issues across the district. Through daily automated rule runs, the system supports:
Quick identification of high‑priority errors
Visibility into district‑wide and school‑level trends
Insight into which data categories are most impacted
Efficient review of recent errors and resolutions
Improved accuracy and timeliness of CALPADS submissions
Regular use of CARE helps teams maintain high-quality, compliant student data. For questions or support on the CARE App, please contact support@datazone.org.
CARE currently supports only AERIES and PowerSchool districts
Rule (CALPAD Errors) validation mainly covers the most frequently occurring critical errors.
Please contact us if the rule results are incorrect or if you want coverage for certain rules.
CARE will continue to expand coverage for more rules on an ongoing basis.
Accessing the CARE Application
The CARE Portal can be accessed through the DataZone Application menu.
Once logged in, users can select the CARE Application.
CARE Application
The CARE Application provides a summary of all errors that violate CALPADS rules. The top-level metrics remain visible across all tabs, providing a consistent view of the district’s current data quality indicators.
Top Application Indicators
These four metrics are always displayed at the top of the screen:
Total Errors
Shows the total number of errors generated in the most recent run and indicates the percentage change from the previous run.
Critical Errors
Displays the count of errors identified as critical, including what percentage they represent of all current errors.
Schools Affected
Indicates how many schools had at least one error detected. This block also displays the median number of errors per school.
Resolution Rate
Shows the percentage of errors that have been resolved since the previous run and the total number of resolved errors.
These indicators stay visible while you explore the Trends, Categories, Schools, and Recent Errors sections.
CARE Application Sections
The CARE Application includes four main sections. Each provides a different perspective on the district’s data status.
1. Trends
The Trends section helps understand changes in error volume over time.
Features
Track trends in total error volume and severity across daily rule runs.
Select one or multiple schools.
Filter by Rule Name to focus on a particular validation rule. Only rules enabled for the district will be displayed on the visualization.
Your selected School year and School filters carry over when navigating between screens.
Visual chart displays:
Y‑Axis: Number of errors
X‑Axis: Run date
Multiple trend lines appear when viewing more than one school or rule.
Visualizations only display rules/categories that contain data for the selected schools.
Use this section to identify patterns such as recurring errors, sudden increases, or improvement trends.
[CARE Rules descriptions coming soon]
2. Categories
The Categories section groups errors by CALPADS data domain.
Features
View which data categories (e.g., SENR, SINF) contain the highest number of errors.
Bar chart displays:
Y‑Axis: Rule Category
X‑Axis: Number of errors
Only categories with active errors in the selected schools appear.
This section helps teams understand which domains require additional attention or cleanup.
3. Schools
The Schools section highlights site‑level performance.
Displayed Information
School Name
School Code
Total Errors
Critical Errors
Trend (percentage increase or decrease compared to the previous run)
Last Error (how long ago the most recent error occurred)
Rising Error Trend
A summary panel on the right identifies schools with increasing error trends.
This helps administrators quickly determine where support or follow‑up may be needed.
Use this section to monitor school performance and prioritize assistance.
4. Recent Errors
The Recent Errors section lists each error detected during the latest run.
Displayed Fields
Rule Number
Rule Name
Category
School Name
Severity
Status (Open, Resolved, etc.)
Total Errors
Date Reported
Resolution details
A search bar is available to filter the log by rule number, school, or keywords.
Users may also download the report for research, archiving, or sharing purposes.
Downloading Error Reports
When downloading an error file, CARE provides detailed student‑level data for the selected rule.
Sree clarified the following key updates:
Fields Included in Every Downloaded File
The following four fields always appear, regardless of the rule:
School Name
District Name
Student ID
School Code
These fields allow users to consistently identify the affected student and school.
Rule‑Specific Columns
Additional columns vary depending on the error. CARE includes only the data fields required for that specific rule.
Examples:
Date of Birth
SSID
Enrollment Start/End Date
Grade Level
Program Dates
If a required SIS field is missing, it appears blank in the report.
RBAC (Role‑Based Access Control)
CARE enforces strict data permissions:
District‑level users see errors for all schools in the district
School‑level users only see errors for their authorized schools
This ensures staff can focus on the schools they support while maintaining data privacy.
Rule Numbers
CARE uses CALPADS error numbers as its rule numbers.
In CALPADS, these are called error numbers
In CARE, they function as rule numbers
This allows users to cross‑reference quickly with CALPADS documentation.
A full rule list will be available in a future release.