Release: #03-64
October 24, 2003

Contact: Pam Slater
E-mail: communications@cde.ca.gov
Phone: 916-319-0818

LOS ANGELES — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today released the 2002-03 Academic Performance Index (API) Growth reports showing that 90 percent of California's public schools improved their scores, and that 78 percent of schools met their academic performance targets — a 26-point gain from 2002.

"This is terrific news," said O'Connell. "I am very proud of our entire education community and am encouraged by the outstanding academic progress our schools are making. These scores show that when given clear standards, even if they are rigorous, our students can and will learn the curriculum."

The 2002-03 API Growth report contains the results for more than 6,400 California public schools and reflects the schools' performances on student assessments that are a part of the California's Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) program plus results from the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE). This API Growth report marks the fourth year of the completion of an API reporting cycle.

The 2002-03 API Growth reports are available on the California Department of Education's Web site at: API Reports - Academic Performance Index.

The API is the cornerstone of the statewide accountability system for California public schools, established through the Public Schools Accountability Act (PSAA) in 1999. The API is a numeric index that ranges from a low of 200 to a high of 1000. The 2002 results established the current baseline and academic growth targets for each school's academic performance. A school's annual growth target is set at 5 percent of the difference between the school's base API and the statewide performance target of 800.

Each school's 2002-03 API Growth results were calculated based on tests given in spring 2002 and spring 2003 as part STAR program. The same information is included for each numerically significant ethnic and socio-economically disadvantaged subgroup at the school. This is the first year that the API growth results have the majority of the weight on tests specifically geared toward California's high standards. Eighty percent of the API for elementary and middle schools rests on the California Standards Tests (CST); while almost 90 percent of the API for high schools rests on the standards tests and the CAHSEE.

Specifically, the API includes the CST English Language Arts, as well as the CST Mathematics results for grades 2-11, the CST Social Science results for grades 10-11, and the CAHSEE results. The remainder of the weight continues to be placed on the national, standardized norm-referenced California Achievement Test, Sixth Edition Survey (CAT/6) (replacing the SAT/9). By placing limited weight on the norm-referenced test, it is then possible to focus on testing to California's high standards while maintaining the ability to benchmark our students against the rest of the nation's school children.

Over the next few years, the API will continue to add indicators, including the standards-based Science tests as well as the California Alternate Performance Assessment. Eventually, the API will include graduation and attendance rates.

Go to: Reporting the Academic Performance Index Growth for 2002-03 (PDF; 582KB; 73pp.) for more information on indicator weights (pg. 10) and the future performance indicators (pg. 3).

To meet the API growth target, a school must meet its 5 percent schoolwide target and each numerically significant student subgroup at the school must improve at least 80 percent of the schoolwide target. This year 78 percent of schools met both the schoolwide and subgroup targets — more than a 25-point gain over last year when 52 percent of the schools met targets (see Table 1 in attachment below).

"We have had steady and substantial gains over the last four years," said O'Connell. "As more standards tests are included in the API calculations, greater emphasis is given to their results. These tests are aligned to rigorous state-adopted academic content standards that are considered the toughest in the nation."

While this year's overall results are encouraging, especially in the elementary grades, O'Connell stressed that more work needs to be done to improve the scores of the state's middle schools and high schools. About 26 percent of elementary schools were at or above the state's performance target of 800, whereas only 14 percent of middle schools and 7 percent of high schools reached that level (see Table 3 in attachment below).

"It is clear that the best performance came from the lower grades where statewide reforms, such as class size reduction, have been in effect for the past several years," said O'Connell. "We admittedly have a long way to go in realizing comparable gains from our high school students. While they are clearly moving in the right direction, we need to explore ways to extend our successful elementary reform efforts to the secondary level."

High schools, however, did post a solid 24-point gain from their 2002 Base API and have reached a median API score of 668. (see Table 4 in attachment below)

About 1,176 schools did not receive 2002-03 Growth APIs for a variety of reasons (see Table 5 in attachment below). Some school districts are still correcting demographic information through the STAR program. As a result, 2002-03 Growth APIs for about 900 schools will not be available until December.

The API is the centerpiece of the statewide accountability system in California public education. The accountability of California schools and school districts is also reported in Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) reports. These reports are provided as required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) and represent the academic status of a school or school district at one point in time each year. Phase I of AYP reporting took place in August 2003, Phase II will be released mid November, and the final reports will be released in January.

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Attachments

Table 1
Percentage of Schools Meeting Targets

Type	2002-2003	2001-2002	2000-2001	1999-2000
Elementary	82%	60%	64%	79%
Middle	69%	38%	51%	60%
High	67%	29%	27%	41%
All Schools	78%	52%	57%	71%

Table 2
Percentage of Schools With an Increased Schoolwide API

Type	2002-2003	2001-2002	2000-2001	1999-2000
Elementary	92%	74%	78%	93%
Middle	88%	62%	72%	84%
High	89%	58%	53%	72%
All Schools	90%	69%	74%	89%

Table 3
Percentage of Schools At or Above Performance Target of 800

Type	2003	2002	2001	2000	1999
Elementary	26%	23%	23%	20%	13%
Middle	14%	16%	16%	14%	11%
High	7%	6%	6%	6%	5%
All Schools	21%	20%	20%	17%	12%

Table 4
Median Scores on API by School Type

Type	2002-2003 Growth	2002 Base	2001 Base	2000 Base	1999 Base
Elementary	729	699	689	675	629
Middle	685	667	668	657	633
High	668	643	635	636	620

Table 5
Reasons Why Some Schools Did Not Receive 2003 Growth Results

Type	Subtotal	Number of Schools
Schools Receiving 2003 Growth API Report		6,448
Schools With API Growth Report		1,318
Without Target Information
Alternative Schools	1,051
No 2002 API (New school, no valid API, or no 2002 STAR results)	259
API Not Comparable (Reported by District)	8
Subtotal:	1,318
Schools Without 2003 Growth API Report		1,176
Data Corrections Pending from Test Publisher	900
Excessive Parent Waivers	14
Testing Irregularities Reported by Districts in 2003	16
Very Small Schools (fewer than 11 valid scores)	103
Not a Significant Percentage of 2003 STAR Scores in a Content Area	143
Subtotal:	1,176
TOTAL: All Schools, Fall 2002		8,942

October 24, 2003