The California State Board of Education, in an effort to develop accountability among students, schools and districts, passed the Public Schools Accountability Act (PSAA) in 1999 as a first step in that direction.
The program includes a student testing system (STAR) and a high school exit exam (CAHSEE).
Test scores, in coordination with academic content standards, are a way to measure progress. The Academic Performance Index (API) is a tool for tracking the numbers.
Under state requirements, if a school meets certain API participation and growth criteria, it may be eligible to become a California Distinguished School, National Blue Ribbon School, or Title I Academic Achievement Awards School.
What is an API score?
The independent research organization EdData describes APIs as follows:
"The Academic Performance Index (API) is an annual measure of test score performance of schools and districts. The California Department of Education (CDE) calculates the API and disseminates the results directly to schools and districts as well as posting them on the CDE website.
"The API is a single number on a scale of 200 to 1,000 that indicates how well students in a school or district performed on the previous spring’s tests. An API is calculated for the whole school, plus its 'numerically significant subgroups,' including socioeconomically disadvantaged students, English learners, and students with disabilities."
What do all these rankings/scores mean?
2012 API Target - Typically, if a school’s API score falls below the state’s minimum target score – which, in California, is 800 – the state will set a goal target for the following year of last year’s score, plus 5 points. If a school’s 2012 target is ‘A,’ that means the school is already scoring at or above the state’s minimum target, and therefore does not have a growth target, other than to remain at or above 800.
2011 Statewide Rank - How a school ranks within a grouping of schools equaling 10 percent of schools statewide of a similar type, with 1 being the lowest and 10 the highest.
2011 Similar Schools Rank – How a school ranks within a grouping of 100 schools of a similar type from throughout the state, with 1 being the lowest and 10 the highest.
2011 API Students Included – How many students from a particular school took the API tests in 2011.
HERE’S HOW SCHOOLS IN THE SAN CARLOS SCHOOL DISTRICT SCORED, IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER:
ARUNDEL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL:
· 2011 Base API: 946
· 2012 API Target: A
· 2011 Statewide Rank: 10
· 2011 Similar Schools Rank: 9
· 2011 API Students Included: 247
BRITTAN ACRES ELEMENTARY:
· 2011 Base API: 870
· 2012 API Target: A
· 2011 Statewide Rank: 8
· 2011 Similar Schools Rank: 1
· 2011 API Students Included: 259
CENTRAL MIDDLE SCHOOL:
· 2011 Base API: 872
· 2012 API Target: A
· 2011 Statewide Rank: 9
· 2011 Similar Schools Rank: 2
· 2011 API Students Included: 622
HEATHER ELEMENTARY:
· 2011 Base API: 917
· 2012 API Target: A
· 2011 Statewide Rank: 9
· 2011 Similar Schools Rank: 6
· 2011 API Students Included: 197
SAN CARLOS CHARTER LEARNING CENTER:
· 2011 Base API: 918
· 2012 API Target: A
· 2011 Statewide Rank: 10
· 2011 Similar Schools Rank: 4
· 2011 API Students Included: 224
TIERRA LINDA MIDDLE SCHOOL:
· 2011 Base API: 922
· 2012 API Target: A
· 2011 Statewide Rank: 10
· 2011 Similar Schools Rank: 8
· 2011 API Students Included: 595
WHITE OAKS ELEMENTARY:
· 2011 Base API: 932
· 2012 API Target: A
· 2011 Statewide Rank: 10
· 2011 Similar Schools Rank: 3
· 2011 API Students Included: 221
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