September 6, 2007

Almaden schools show API progress

Leland scores increase 11 points

By Carol Rosen
Editor

Like many of the state’s public school’s Academic Performance Index scores, students from the schools in Almaden scored about the same to a bit higher in some cases, with Leland High School gaining 11 points.

The API is a numeric index that ranges from a low of 200 to a high of 1,000. The 2006 results established the current baseline and academic growth targets for each school's academic performance. A school's school wide annual growth target is set at 5 percent of the difference between the school's base API and the statewide performance target of 800 with a minimum target of 5 points. By law, numerically significant student subgroups within a school must also make improvement for a school to meet its API targets.

“We are so proud of the team effort that surrounds our schools,” said Don Iglesias, the superintendent of San Jose Unified School District. “We can’t do it without everyone working together to make it happen; it takes the combined efforts of our teachers, principals, parents, school and district support staff, central office administrators, community partners and our board members who pour their hearts and souls into making a difference for the students we service.”

Leland scored in the county’s top 25 high schools for API growth at 856 compared with last year’s 845. Also showing slight gains were the area’s two middle schools, Castillero and Bret Harte. Castillero grew three points to 811 and met the 800 target while Bret Harte grew 4 points to 904.

Some performance indicators for the entire state in the APR indicate modest growth, while others show no change, or even a slight decrease. For example, the median API score grew from 745 last year to 751 in 2007, and the percentage of schools at or above the performance target of 800 grew by just 1 percentage point, from 30 percent to 31 percent. The percentage of schools meeting all API targets decreased from 53 percent in 2005-06 to 45 percent in 2006-07.

The slower progress on meeting state accountability targets was also anticipated due to an increase in accountability targets for all statistically significant subgroups that took effect for the first time this year, according to the state Department of Education. In addition to making the overall school growth target, all numerically significant subgroups in a school now must also make a 5 percent or 5-point gain, whichever is larger. The increase in student subgroup targets, a recommendation by O'Connell that was adopted by the State Board of Education in May 2006, allows schools to focus more intensely on narrowing achievement gaps.

"Holding all students to the same high standards ensures a culture of high expectations for everyone," said Jack O'Connell, the state’s superintendent of public instruction. "Now we are holding our schools accountable for closing achievement gaps. As a state, we have a moral, ethical, and economic obligation to address the needs of every group of students. My administration is focused on finding gap-closing strategies. I know our schools share my deep concern about this problem and join me in facing this challenge.

"It is important that we not lose sight of the significant gains that our students and our schools have made, nor should we misinterpret these current data as a decline in overall student or school performance. In particular, these results reflect significant achievement gains by our lowest-performing students, and significant gains by African American, Hispanic, and English learner subgroups,” he said.

"However, it is clear that we will need to redouble our efforts if we are to attain our goal to prepare all students for success in the rapidly changing global economy. We should also use this data to bolster our efforts to address the achievement gap that exists between students who are African American or Latino and their peers who are white or Asian," O’Connell said.