Most district schools show progress in test scores
Sep 4, 2008 - Staff Reports
School district officials are more than pleased with results from the Adequate Yearly Progress accountability system, which show several schools scored positively on state tests.
Two types of results were released Wednesday by the California Department of Education.
The Adequate Yearly Progress, or AYP, is a federal measure, under the No Child Left Behind Act, that looks at the percentage of students proficient or better in state tests. Growth targets are set based on AYP scores. The Academic Performance Index, or API, is determined by the percentage of students in each of the five performance levels on state tests, according to Morgan Hill Unified School District spokesman Dan Ehrler. Both the state API and the federal AYP are calculated using the annual results of the state's Standardized Testing and Reporting Program and the California High School Exit Exam.
Just four schools met the federally set growth targets during the 2007-08 school year: Charter School of Morgan Hill and Los Paseos, Nordstrom and Paradise Valley elementary schools. Ehrler noted that "there are 38 ways in which the district can fail to meet the AYP targets - 19 participation targets and 19 academic performance targets."
Three schools, Burnett, Jackson and P.A. Walsh elementary schools, have been identified as Program Improvement schools for a third year. El Toro Elementary School will enter its first year as a Program Improvement school and Central High School its second. Program improvement schools fail AYP for two consecutive years in one or more subgroups. To be removed from the Program Improvement category, a school must meet its federal goal for two consecutive years, according to the California Department of Education's Web site.
"As the district almost doubled the required growth target with a nine-point increase on the 2008 API, our target of 800 is an attainable target," Superintendent Alan Nishino said in a statement released Thursday. "We have aligned our curriculum to the state standards and have been working hard to provide a rigorous program for all our students. Through continued outstanding efforts of our staff, students, and families, I am confident that the district will hit the mark in the coming years."
Eight schools made double-digit growth in their API scores: Barrett, Burnett, El Toro, Los Paseos and Paradise Valley elementary schools, Martin Murphy Middle School and Ann Sobrato and Central high schools.
"We are thrilled because we are a hard working team of students, parents and teachers," Martin Murphy Principal Barbara Nakasone said.
The average API growth of these schools for the 2007-08 school year's results compared with the 2006-07 school year was 32.9 points. The average API growth for the 372 schools in Santa Clara County with API results for 2007-08 was just 10.3 points over the 2006-07 school year.
Five of the district's 15 schools have achieved the state's goal of an 800 API: Barrett, Los Paseos, Nordstrom and Paradise Valley elementary schools and Charter School of Morgan Hill. Five schools are within striking distance of 42 points or less: El Toro, Jackson and San Martin/Gwinn elementary schools and Lewis Britton and Martin Murphy middle schools.
API results for Ann Sobrato, Live Oak and Central high schools are being finalized, according to District Director of Curriculum and Instruction Esther Corral-Carlson
District Curriculum Director Pat Blanar said in a statement that the district's work isn't done until all student and student subgroups, are proficient on all state standards.
"During September, site and district personnel will work together to review specific information on the performance of student subgroups, which is critical for appropriate analysis and curriculum and program alignment," Blanar said.
District officials noted that each year the federal target for improvement is raised and that 20 percent of Morgan Hill students are English language learners, making the struggle to remove Program Improvement schools that much harder.
"Although we are pleased with the progress and improvement our students have made this year, we must continue to focus on raising the bar for all students as well as closing the achievement gap between the highest and lowest performing student population," Nishino said.
To view the entire results of API and AYP, visit http://ayp.cde.ca.gov or http://api.cde.ca.gov
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