The Hollister and San Benito High School districts both saw
overall improvement in student achievement on the annual Academic
Performance Index scores for 2006-07, although many individual
schools had decreases and failed to meet state-designated
goals.
For a complete list of schools’ scores, see below.
Hollister – The Hollister and San Benito High School districts both saw overall improvement in student achievement on the annual Academic Performance Index scores for 2006-07, although many individual schools had decreases and failed to meet state-designated goals.
The California Department of Education on Friday released API scores – which measure a school’s academic performance and progress in several state-standardized tests. Overall in San Benito County, results were varied with some schools experiencing growth and others dropping in scores from previous years.
“Basically, we did not improve as much as we had hoped,” San Benito County Superintendent Tim Foley said. “Certainly we have a lot of people out there working very hard, and I think we’re going in the right direction.”
The API – measured on a scale of 200 to 1,000 – is based on an array of standardized tests given throughout the 2006-07 school year. A school’s success is measured through growth targets identified through previous scores. The state target is 800, which all schools are expected to meet.
San Benito High School received a score of 703, a 28-point improvement from the 2006 base score of 675. This marked the largest increase of high schools in the Tri-County and Gilroy area.
District administrators were pleased with the improvement. Despite progress, though, the high school has yet to meet state targets.
“I think we’re moving in a good direction in terms of trying to pump the rigor up for kids,” Superintendent Stan Rose said. “It’s not any one thing. It’s a whole bunch of things happening together. Obviously, the hope is that we keep moving forward next year, too.”
Rose said the high school’s teachers and administrators will continue striving to reach the state target.
“I think if we just keep doing what we keep doing we’ll continue to see improvements,” he said. “The goal of every school is to reach that (800) mark and go beyond if you can.”
Some schools have reached the state goal. Southside School has continually achieved the 800 mark, and for the first time a Hollister School District school reached the goal.
Cerra Vista saw a 61-point improvement from the 2006 base score and achieved a score of 846.
“We were all really excited. We had to work extremely hard last year to make sure we were meeting everyone’s needs and pushing them to perform their best,” said Cerra Vista Principal Pam Little. “We accomplished this because of our teachers, but also our students have parents who support them and really value education.”
Hollister School District Superintendent Ron Crates said he was pleased with the large jump at Cerra Vista and at the district’s overall growth in scores.
“The continuous growth is exciting and important for our district,” Crates said.
But that enthusiasm was tempered by some disappointment. Although the district’s overall API improved 10 points, from 718 to 728 – and both middle schools improved – most of the elementary schools saw decreases in their scores.
Sunnyslope, R.O. Hardin, Gavilan Hills and Calaveras all saw API scores slip from the 2006 base, and only Cerra Vista and Ladd Lane improved.
“I don’t want to send the message that I’m satisfied, because I’m not. We need to take a look at the data and have conversations,” Crates said. “We have to focus on every individual kid. We have to have a sense of urgency.”
Crates pointed out, however, that while Calaveras School did not meet its overall API target for growth, every subgroup at the school met its target. Besides getting an overall goal for growth, schools are also given growth targets for different subgroups – white, Hispanic, socio-economically disadvantaged and English learners.
“The thing that’s really unique is that every subgroup hit their target,” Crates said. This was also true of the district overall.
Hollister teachers’ union president Ronna Gilani, who teaches at Calaveras, said she was frustrated by the state standards. She said it’s difficult to compare a school like Calaveras, where many of the students are English learners, to other schools. The fact that each subgroup met its target at Calaveras, but not the school overall, was a good example of this, Gilani said.
“That just shows you, the kids that are learning English, they are making progress but that’s just not being acknowledged. And some of them are making leaps and bounds, and just because they aren’t proficient or advanced yet it doesn’t show, but they are,” Gilani said.
Local scores:
Calaveras
2007 score: 658
Growth from 2006 base: -10
Cerra Vista
2007 score: 846
Growth from 2006 base: 61
Gabilan Hills
2007 score: 705
Growth from 2006 base: -14
Ladd Lane
2007 score: 764
Growth from 2006 base: 2
RO Hardin
2007 score: 644
Growth from 2006 base: -3
Sunnyslope
2007 score: 699
Growth from 2006 base: -24
Aromas
2007 score: 711
Growth from 2006 base: 6
San Juan
2007 score: 665
Growth from 2006 base: -22
Southside
2007 score: 868
Growth from 2006 base: 27
Spring Grove
2007 score: 790
Growth from 2006 base: 44
Maze Middle
2007 score: 736
Growth from 2006 base: 27
Rancho
2007 score: 726
Growth from 2006 base: 5
Anzar High
2007 score: 709
Growth from 2006 base: -18
San Andreas
2007 score: 488
Growth from 2006 base: -14
San Benito
2007 score: 703
Growth from 2006 base: 28
