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The State of California has a new way to measure the performance of schools in the Glendale Unified School District and public schools throughout California. It's called the Academic Performance Index (API). The API is one of several reforms mandated by the Public Schools Accountability Act of 1999, adopted by the State Legislature and signed into law by Governor Gray Davis.
Public schools, beginning in January 2000, are being "ranked" annually on the basis of how well their students perform on a statewide standardized test and, in the future, by such indicators as primary language tests, a new high school exit exam, student attendance and graduation rates.
According to the State Department of Education, the API is intended "to provide an objective way to measure a school's academic success." Each school annually receives an API number and a target number for future improvement.
Public schools in Glendale and throughout the state will be held accountable for improving the academic achievement of students. Schools that reach their annual targets will be rewarded by the state.
Schools that do not meet their targets will be eligible for state intervention or subject to state sanctions.
"Reality Check"
API results for 1999 and 2000 will be based solely on one measure, which is students' performance on the Stanford 9, a nationally-normed test not yet aligned with academic standards in California. When this alignment occurs and other measures are factored into the API, it will produce a more accurate picture of how a school is performing.
Here are some questions and answers with more details about the API and its significance.
What is the Academic Performance Index?
The API is a measurement tool with two primary uses:
* to rank a school's current academic performance.
* to determine a growth target for each school.
The API score is shown on a numeric index or scale that ranges from a low of 200 to a high of 1,000. Every school will receive a single API number annually beginning with the year 1999.
The state has set a goal of 800 as the API score schools should strive to meet. A score of 800 is considered a "high level of performance." Schools that fall short of this level will be required to meet an annual growth target and improve their scores by at least 5% annually until they attain the goal.
Schools that already meet or exceed 800 API need to maintain their academic performance, while working especially to improve their lower-performing students.
How are schools ranked?
Based on the API score, each school is ranked in one of 10 categories (called deciles) from 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest). An equal number of schools statewide are contained in each decile. A school's API score and ranking are compared two ways - to schools statewide and to schools with similar demographic characteristics.
What was used to calculate the API ?
Only the results of the Stanford 9 test, given in the spring to students in grades 2-11, were used to calculate a school's API for the year 1999. In future years, the API also will be determined by additional criteria, including primary language tests, high school exit examination, student graduation and attendance rates.
What does the API measure?
In grades 2-8, the API is an indicator of performance in four content areas with "weighting" as follows: math (40%), reading (30%), language (15%) and spelling (5%).
In grades 9-11, the API is an indicator of performance in five content areas with "weighting" as follows: math (20%), reading (20%), language (20%), history-social science (20%), and science (20%).
Why is 800 API the statewide target for schools?
A school score of 800 or better on the API, on a scale of 200 to 1,000, indicates that students are achieving at what the State Department of Education considers is a "high" level. Scores in the 600 to 700 range are average to good.
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