The 2002-03 Academic Performance Index (API) for the Aromas-San
Juan Unified School District was released Thursday, two months
after the rest of state.
”
I’m ecstatic about San Juan (School’s) rise in scores. They went
up 54 points for Hispanic/Latino students,
”
Superintendent Jackie Munoz said.
The 2002-03 Academic Performance Index (API) for the Aromas-San Juan Unified School District was released Thursday, two months after the rest of state.
“I’m ecstatic about San Juan (School’s) rise in scores. They went up 54 points for Hispanic/Latino students,” Superintendent Jackie Munoz said.
Overall, San Juan School made its API target while Aromas School and Anzar High School did not.
The API is the centerpiece of the statewide accountability system in California public education. The API reflects a school’s performance on student assessments that are part of California’s Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) program plus results from the California High School Exit Exam.
Across the county, numbers show local schools have made huge strides. Only two schools in the county did not make their projected target. Most schools surpassed their target by double digits.
The API report for the Aromas-San Juan Unified schools was not released in October because the district challenged data reported to the Department of Education.
The data changes include inaccurate numbers about the district’s Native American population and English Language Learners. The state also counts the district as having a Gifted and Talented Program which it does not.
For 2003, Aromas came in at 725 – it was expected to grow by four points, but went down by two; Anzar scored 620, improving by eight points, one less than expected; and San Juan earned a 657, up seven more points than expected.
The state API target for all schools is 800. The API ranges from 200 to 1,000. Individual student scores from each indicator are combined into a single number to represent the performance of a school.
Also, the API report breaks scores down by subgroup. The two the state focuses on are Hispanic and socio-economically disadvantaged students.
San Juan School’s Hispanic students increased by 54 points, with socio-economically disadvantaged students up 18 points. Aromas saw Hispanics increase by 10 points, but the socio-economically disadvantaged dropped 43 points. Anzar experienced a decrease in both groups – three for Hispanics and 29 for socio-economically disadvantaged.
“This shows we are making headway in our bilingual program and narrowing the achievement gap,” Munoz said, noting the growth in Hispanic scores while noting the slight decrease at Anzar.
Each school’s API is factored into their Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) – the federal accountability system that’s part of No Child Left Behind. This year, a school must have an API score of 560 or above, or show a gain of at least one point to meet its AYP.
For more information on the API, visit www.cde.ca.gov.
