Travis school district tops in county API scores

Travis school district tops in county API scores
By Reporter Staff
Posted: 05/22/2009

State schools chief Jack O'Connell on Thursday released the 2008 Base Academic Performance Index scores for local schools and set their target scores for this fall.

Release of the base score, which summarizes results from spring 2008 testing of students in core academic subjects, marks the beginning of California's annual reporting cycle of academic growth and achievement.

The 2008 test scores for each school become the baseline against which to compare the 2009 Growth API, which will be released in early September.

The 2008 Base API report includes public school rankings that enable parents to match the performance of their child's school with other California public schools. Based on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the highest), the rankings compare an individual school to all other California public schools of similar type (elementary, middle, and high) as well as to those with similar educational opportunities and challenges.

In Solano County, Travis Unified schools showed the highest marks, with all but two already exceeding the performance target score of 800. Cambridge Elementary and Vanden High School are within just a few points of hitting 800.

In Vacaville Unified, several schools have already hit the 800 target including Alamo, Browns Valley, Cooper, Orchard and Sierra Vista elementaries and Buckingham Charter Magnet High.

In Dixon Unified, no schools have hit the target but C.A. Jacobs Intermediate scored a 777 and has a target this fall of 782.

In the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District, B. Gale Wilson, Cordelia Hills, K.I. Jones, Nelda Mundy, Rolling Hills, Suisun Valley and Tolenas elementaries have achieved the performance target.

Statewide, the percentage of elementary schools at or above the 800 mark is 39.9 percent, up 3.3 percentage points from 2007; middle schools is 30.1 percent, up 5.7 percentage points; and high schools is 17.1 percent, up 2.8 percentage points.

"I am pleased that once again California schools are meeting the high expectations set for them every year. I am especially proud of the spectacular progress made by our elementary schools since the inception of the API. This is momentum we need to sustain and celebrate," O'Connell said.

"This kind of progress happens only through the hard work and focus of dedicated school staff, parents, and students. However, I worry that these real gains in student achievement are in serious jeopardy because funding for our public school system is in serious danger," he said. "What kind of education will we be able to offer next year and the year after that with the kind of drastic and unprecedented cuts now under consideration?"

The statewide report also documents the achievement gap between white and Asian student subgroups on the one hand and Hispanic and African American student subgroups on the other hand.

"For the better part of the last two years, I have focused intently on a plan to close this gap and to lower the number of young people dropping out of school," O'Connell said. "The Base API report provides evidence yet again of why it is so critical that we focus on this challenge. We have implemented important reforms related to high-quality preschool, cultural and climatic dynamics in the classroom, and education data collection. We have a moral and economic imperative to prepare all students with an education that will help them succeed. But this critical work is also likely to be stymied if the massive budget cuts to our schools become a reality."

The 2008 Base API reports, including school rankings and growth targets can be found at the state education department's Web site www.cde.ca.gov.