Administrators cautious about the gains
API scores for schools in San Benito County increased almost
across the board, according to figures released by the state
Department of Education last week.
Administrators cautious about the gains
API scores for schools in San Benito County increased almost across the board, according to figures released by the state Department of Education last week.
In the Hollister School District the overall API score was up by 10, but more impressively every single subgroup exceeded the expectations set upon them by the state. The state’s leading educational index breaks students out into groups based on language ability and socioeconomic status.
Superintendent Ron Crates is still cautious about the results. It is still too early to tell how Hollister School District schools ranked compared to other schools, but Crates said it is likely some schools are above the median and others below.
“We have a lot of quality teachers and administrators [in the district],” Crates said. “I’m pleased with the growth the district has made, but we’re capable of doing much better.”
The Hollister School District had an API score of 728 this year, but ideally Crates would like to see that score be in the neighborhood of 760.
The API scale runs from 200 to 1,000.
“My concern is the same one that everyone in the district has,” Crates said. “Everyone is aware that one-third of students in the district don’t graduate high school. That should be a major concern to the community.”
Crates believes that things will change dramatically when the Democrats do away with No Child Left Behind, a federal education omnibus passed during President Bush’s first term.
He also admits that while the API may not be the perfect marker for measuring student progress, he still feels that it is better than the AYP in terms of measuring continuous student progress. The API, or Academic Performance Index, is California’s benchmark for public schools. The AYP, or Adequate Yearly Progress, is a federal measure. The two are calculated differently, yielding different scores.
Crates wants the district to have a certain level of accountability.
“I’m pleased we’ve made improvements district-wide and that all the subgroups are exceeding the targets, but I’m not satisfied with that,” Crates said. “We have the capacity to do better.”
The 730-student population of North County School District increased 44 points this year to an API score of 790, according to North County Superintendent Evelyn Muro.
North County has increased its API scores 98 points during the last four years. Muro credits several factors to the increases.
“We’ve incorporated Sexton Math and the math scores are high,” Muro said. “We also use targeted instruction to focus in on the kids that are very close to the next point.”
Muro also credited the teachers at North County who continue to work on academic programs and teach the standards.
North County is a K-8 school and that may also contribute to their increase.
“Perhaps that is a contributing factor,” Muro said. “Kids become part of their community. They get more connected with their teachers. It’s a personalized teaching environment.”
San Benito High School scored a 28-point improvement over last year’s scores. The improvement was reportedly the largest of all comprehensive high schools in the Tri-County and Southern Santa Clara County region. In addition to the overall gain, subgroup gains for Latino, socioeconomically disadvantaged, and English learners were up 36, 35, and 39 points respectively. The group gains were also the largest in the region.
“I am very pleased,” said Stan Rose, superintendent of San Benito High School. “That work toward a more rigorous and relevant curriculum and efforts to enhance meaningful relationships with students have translated into greater success on the STAR (California’s Standardized Testing and Reporting system). If we continue to emphasize the standards students need to prepare for college and job placement, and if we continue to grow as a professional community, there is no limit to what our students can achieve.”
Pat McCabe, the director for the policy and evaluation division for the California Department of Education, believes that the API is an arbitrary scale
“It’s just another way of showing student change,” McCabe said. “The API looks at the performance of the students across a spectrum. So if test scores go up, the API goes up. And if test scores go down, the API goes down.”
McCabe explained that the system is quite sensitive, yet there are flaws. With an arbitrary scale, the board sets the preferred targets based on the history of the school. It only aims to take schools to a particular point.
Statistically, improvements tend to come in smaller increments as scores rise. Likened to a 100-point history exam, it may be easier for a student to rise from 60 percent to 70 percent than for another student to rise from 90 to 95 percent.
Schools are looking at other alternatives to assessing student improvements. One of the methods the Hollister School District is implementing is benchmark assessments. Teachers will give students assessments three to four times per year to see how well the students are doing. That way, the results don’t come as a surprise when teachers test the students in the spring.
One of the methods that North County has committed to is improving English Language Development services.
