A majority of California schools meet state achievement goals, CDE reports
53 percent score 800 or higher on API; new dashboard of school performance added
Published: October 16, 2012
For the first time since California adopted the Academic Performance Index that scores schools’ effectiveness, the majority has met the state’s target for academic achievement, state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced Oct. 11.
This year 53 percent of the state’s schools attained the target score of 800 or greater. When the API was introduced in 2002, only 20 percent achieved that goal, indicating that a growing number of students are proficient on tests of state academic standards. The API index ranges from 200 to 1,000.
The statewide API average is now 788 – a 10 point increase for 2012 – and all student subgroups made substantial gains:
- Black students and students with disabilities gained 14 points
- Latino students added 11 points
- English learners were up 10 points
- Asian and white students were up 7 and 8 points, respectively
The average API score for elementary schools was up 7 points to 815; middle schools averaged 14 points higher at 792, and high schools gained 11 points for an average API of 752. Detailed results are on the CDE’s Accountability Progress Reporting Web page.
“These scores are evidence of a whole-campus and whole-district focus on student achievement,” said Angelo Williams, Ed.D., CSBA assistant executive director for Policy and Programs. “Maintaining that focus in the face of budget shortfalls adds an additional challenge where districts and school board members need strong support.”
New school quality tool online
Recognizing that test scores are not the only indication of a school’s quality, however, Torlakson this year introduced a new online tool that incorporates a number of other factors about each individual school. The new School Quality Snapshot includes average class sizes, student fitness levels, and graduation and suspension rates, as well as a variety of test scores, for a five-year period.
“Until now, parents had to scan more than a dozen different Web pages to compile this much information about their child’s school,” Torlakson said. “It’s a significant step forward in transparency and accountability for parents and the public.”
The School Quality Snapshot should help the California Department of Education and the State Board of Education keep the public better informed about the progress of their schools while plans proceed to revise the API and the School Accountability Report Card, as stipulated by recently enacted Senate Bill 1458.
School boards will benefit from the way the tool disaggregates and visually presents academic data by specific demographic factors, which they can then use to reflect on their goals for student achievement.
Torlakson unveiled the new tool at an elementary school in Sacramento’s Natomas Unified School District, where CSBA Policy and Programs Senior Director Teri Burns is also a school board member.
“Boards must use data and their budgets to focus on closing the achievement gap, and this new tool allows us to show clearly where we are weak and bring resources to bear, including community support,” Burns said.
Data-driven school board leadership
Research from the Iowa School Boards Foundation identifies specific ways school board members can use data to improve student achievement. “The Lighthouse Inquiry: Examining the Role of School Board Leadership in the Improvement of Student Achievement” concluded that public reports of school progress can:
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Create awareness of the need to improve. Boards can ensure that all district staff understand the status of student achievement and help build a sense of urgency for improving student outcomes.
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Apply pressure for accountability. Boards can work with the superintendent to establish challenging but achievable goals for raising student achievement.
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Demonstrate commitment. Boards can ensure that resource allocations align with their stated goals, and focus board meetings on student achievement.
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Provide ongoing support for quality professional development. Boards can direct resources to sustain the professional development teachers need to meet achievement goals.
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Support and connect with districtwide leadership. Boards can support leadership at all levels and protect the focus on student achievement from distraction or fragmentation.
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Support deliberate policy development. Boards can adopt policies that strengthen support for high student achievement.
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Connect with the community and build the public will to improve achievement. Boards can engage the community in understanding district goals, and encourage community support for and involvement in district efforts.
“Setting a clear direction, monitoring significant data, and agendizing student achievement are but a few of the actions school boards can take to create the conditions for student achievement in their district,” CSBA’s Williams added.
Despite gains, more schools fall short of NCLB goals
Despite the progress on the state’s accountability measure, 699 new schools entered federal Program Improvement status, a paradox not lost on Torlakson and most education policymakers. More than 4,400 schools remain in Program Improvement, despite the fact that many have made API gains.
"California's request for a waiver from the requirements of NCLB is still pending," Torlakson said. "While we're waiting for the flexibility we need, we're not going to allow a flawed system to distract us from the work we're doing to help schools improve."
Changes to NCLB are not expected before well into next year, and no movement on California’s waiver is likely before January; nevertheless, Burns said, “The data in the new School Quality Snapshot tool shows how districts are really progressing in spite of negative titles.”
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