An Agent of Change in California Education
The goal of public education in California is to provide all students with the knowledge and skills necessary to become proficient in each academic subject and to prepare them for future success in the global economy. To reach this goal, California has adopted challenging standards for what every student is expected to learn, as well as a system for holding schools accountable for teaching these standards and improving achievement of all students. The cornerstone of this accountability system is the Academic Performance Index (API).
How the API Works
Adopted with bipartisan support in 1999, the API is a simple yardstick for measuring school performance, ranking schools based on academic achievement, and comparing schools with similar student populations. Over the past eight years the API has been embraced by the public as a legitimate means of holding schools accountable for student achievement. It has spotlighted both successes and weaknesses, and fostered a culture of accountability in schools that has led to significantly improved student achievement.
The single-number index, which ranges from 200 to 1000, summarizes a school’s performance over a number of indicators, currently consisting of results from statewide tests that are based on the standards for what California students are expected to learn in every grade.
Simply put, the API is calculated by converting a student’s performance on a statewide assessment into points on the API scale. These points are then averaged across all students and all tests. The result is a school’s API. An API is also calculated for groups of students–ethnic groups, students living in poverty, students learning English, and students with disabilities–so that the public can clearly see how all significant groups of students are performing at every school.
Growth or decline in the API determines eligibility for either state awards or intervention programs. A school’s or student group’s annual target for improvement (growth target) is determined by taking 5 percent of the difference between a school’s or group’s current API and the statewide performance target of 800. A school and its student groups must make a minimum five-point gain. This means that lower-performing groups have larger growth targets than higher-performing groups. A school must meet both its school and student group targets to be considered successful.
The API system is based on year-to-year improvement. It measures the success of a school solely on the basis of how much student achievement improves. This model supports reasonable but rigorous targets that are unique to each school. In the API system, lower-performing schools have a larger growth target than higher-performing schools. This recognizes that not all schools start at the same place, and encourages schools to focus attention on students with the greatest needs.
The API has many advantages over the federal Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) system, which relies on a measure with a single standard of success and annual targets that are common to all schools.
Why the API Works Best for California Schools
API supports high expectation
A growth model such as the API supports California’s rigorous standards and a rigorous definition of what constitutes “proficiency.” Since the API values the net improvement of individual districts and schools, there is no advantage to be gained from lowering expectations by redefining what constitutes “proficient.”
API requires continuous improvement
Even a high-performing school will find that test score gains will be reflected in API increases. This constitutes an incentive for continuous improvement for all schools.
API is sensitive to improvement by all students
The API is sensitive to improvement by students across the academic spectrum. For example, the school receives credit not only if a student moves from the basic to proficient levels of performance but also if a student moves from the far below basic to the basic performance level or even from the proficient to the advanced performance level.
API supports closing achievement gaps
Prior to 2007, targets for student groups were 80 percent of the school’s target. Beginning with the 2007 API, growth targets will be calculated separately for large enough student groups within a school and set at 5 percent growth (or a minimum of five points) toward an API of 800. This will require schools to address the achievement gaps that persist between traditionally higher- and lower-scoring groups of students.
API focuses on the lowest-performing students
Because it gives extra points to a school for the improvement of students at the lowest levels of performance, the API encourages schools to focus on the instructional needs of these students.
API is comprehensive
The API incorporates results from a variety of statewide assessments, including the California Standards Tests in science and history/social science. Therefore, it is a more comprehensive measure than the federal system, which focuses solely on percentages of students scoring proficient or above on one assessment in English-language arts and one in mathematics.
API allows for the addition of new measures
The API, which focuses on year-to-year growth, enables the future incorporation of new measures, such as attendance rates and graduation rates, without a fundamental change to the accountability system.
API identifies the right schools for intervention
It makes little sense to identify California schools for corrective action when they are making significant improvement as reflected by the API. By emphasizing growth, the API system enables the state to identify the schools most in need of intervention.
