Release: # 05-131
October 27, 2005

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

RIVERSIDE — State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell today announced that 68 percent of California’s public schools met all of their state-required academic growth targets for the 2004-05 school year — a 20-point gain over 2003-04 — indicating significant improvement by schools and by minority groups and socioeconomically disadvantaged students. 

An even greater proportion of schools, 83 percent, showed increases in overall academic growth compared to last year’s 64 percent. In addition, the percentage of schools at or above the statewide performance target of 800 is at an all-time high of 28 percent.

 "These results show our schools are improving in nearly every subject and grade level," O’Connell said. "I am particularly pleased to see progress made by all students and in each subgroup of students. While we clearly still have a long way to go, this shows our schools’ focus on California’s standards-based curriculum is paying dividends in improved student achievement."

These results (posted in Table 1, Table 2, and Table 3 respectively in attachment below) are part of the 2004-05 Academic Performance Index (API) Growth reports that reflect academic growth both schoolwide and for each numerically significant subgroup in the school.

 The reports are part of the state’s accountability system that measures the academic success of a school on the basis of how much it improves. Schools' API performance is based on the 2005 results of statewide assessments, the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program and California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE).

This API Growth report marks the completion of the sixth API reporting cycle.

As in previous years, elementary schools are showing the highest overall performance, with a median API of 752, followed by middle schools with a median API of 716, and high schools with a median API of 696 (see Table 4 in attachment below). High schools, however, posted the highest solid gain of 36 points from 2004 in median API performance.

"It is encouraging to see our high schools are making significant gains," O’Connell said. "I am proud of the hard work of the students, teachers and school officials that has led to improved student performance in our high schools. However, to   better prepare students for the challenges of the global economy of the 21st century we need to continue to focus on reforms at the high school level."

The percentage of schools meeting their subgroup growth targets increased from last year by 17.1 percent for the socioeconomically disadvantaged subgroup, 15.9 percent for the Hispanic subgroup, 14.2 percent for the white subgroup, 11.2 percent for the African American subgroup, and 5.8 percent for the Asian subgroup (see Table 5 in attachment below). The percentage of schools meeting their schoolwide growth targets increased from last year by 17.0 percent (from 64.2 percent in 2004 to 81.2 percent in 2005).

More than 1,600 schools did not receive 2004-05 Growth APIs for a variety of reasons (see Table 6 in attachment below). Some school districts are still correcting demographic information through the STAR Program. As a result, 2004-05 API Growth reports for about 1,200 schools will not be available until January.

The 2004-05 API Growth reports are available on the California Department of Education's Web site at: Academic Performance Index (API) [http://api.cde.ca.gov]. 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 2004 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.

API information released today includes both schoolwide results and student subgroup information. To meet all 2004-05 API Growth targets, a school must meet its 5 percent schoolwide target and each numerically significant ethnic and socioeconomically disadvantaged student subgroup at the school must improve at least 80 percent of the schoolwide target.

 Beginning with the 2005 API Base report to be released in March 2006, two new subgroups will be added:  English learners and students with disabilities. With this addition, the subgroups for state and federal academic accountability will be aligned.

California students are being held to high standards both on the state and federal levels. The API is integrated with the federal Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) requirements mandated by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act. NCLB requires 100 percent of students nationwide to become proficient in English-language arts and mathematics by 2013-14. AYP reporting took place in August 2005 and included school wide API Growth scores.

The 2004-05 Growth APIs released today differ from those provided in the August AYP reporting in four ways: 1.) subgroup results are now included in the API Growth reports; 2.) APIs for schools with late test results are now included in the API Growth release; 3.) APIs have been updated for some schools making CAHSEE data corrections; and 4.) APIs that were previously reported are now being withheld for some schools making data corrections.

# # # #

Attachments

Academic Performance Index (API)
2004-05 Growth Results

Table 1
Percentage of Schools Meeting All Growth Targets
1999-2005

Type of School	2004-05	2003-04	2002-03	2001-02	2000-01	1999-00
Elementary	68%	46%	82%	60%	64%	79%
Middle	66%	55%	69%	38%	51%	60%
High	69%	50%	67%	29%	27%	41%
All Schools	68%	48%	78%	52%	57%	71%

Table 2
Percentage of Schools with an Increased Schoolwide API
1999-2005

Type of School	2004-05	2003-04	2002-03	2001-02	2000-01	1999-00
Elementary	81%	59%	92%	74%	78%	93%
Middle	85%	76%	88%	62%	72%	84%
High	88%	74%	89%	58%	53%	72%
All Schools	83%	64%	90%	69%	74%	89%

Table 3
Percentage of Schools At or Above Performance Target of 800
on API Growth Scores
1999-2005

Type of School	2005	2004	2003	2002	2001	2000	1999
Elementary	33%	27%	26%	23%	23%	20%	13%
Middle	22%	18%	14%	16%	16%	14%	11%
High	13%	8%	7%	6%	6%	6%	5%
All Schools	28%	23%	21%	20%	20%	17%	12%

Table 4
Median Scores on API
1999-2005

Type of School	2005 Growth	2004 Base	2003 Base	2002 Base	2001 Base	2000 Base	1999 Base
Elementary	752	730	728	699	689	675	629
Middle	716	697	685	667	668	657	633
High	696	660	668	643	635	636	620

Table 5
Percentage of Schools Meeting Growth Targets by Subgroup
2004 and 2005

Schoolwide and Subgroups	2005 Number of Schools	2004 Number of Schools	2005 Number of Schools Meeting Growth Targets	2004 Number of Schools Meeting Growth Targets	2005 Percentage of Schools Meeting Growth Targets	2004 Percentage of Schools Meeting Growth Targets
Schoolwide	6,299	7,077	5,112	4545	81.2%	64.2%
African American or Black (not of Hispanic origin)	937	1,228	637	698	68.0%	56.8%
American Indian or Alaska Native	14	28	12	15	85.7%	53.6%
Asian	1,074	1,324	1,018	1,178	94.8%	89.0%
Filipino	201	233	164	184	81.6%	79.0%
Hispanic or Latino	4,705	5,489	3,589	3,316	76.3%	60.4%
Pacific Islander	4	5	2	2	50.0%	40.0%
White (not of Hispanic origin)	4,031	4,790	3,562	3,553	88.4%	74.2%
Socioeconomically disadvantaged	5,080	5,945	3,857	3,495	75.9%	58.8%

Table 6
Reasons Why Some Schools Did Not Receive 2005 Growth Results

Reasons	Subtotal	Number of Schools
Schools Receiving 2005 API Growth and Target Information		6,773
Schools Receiving 2005 API Growth but No Target Information		792
Alternative Schools	466
No 2004 API (New School, No Valid API, or No 2004 STAR Program Results)	320
API Not Comparable (Reported by District) or ASAM in Base	6
SUBTOTAL:	792
Schools Not Receiving 2005 API Growth Report		1,650
Data Corrections Pending From Test Publisher	1,210
Excessive Parent Waivers	18
Testing Irregularities Reported by School Districts in 2005	5
Very Small Schools (Fewer Than 11 Valid Scores)	410
Not a Significant Percentage of 2005 STAR Program scores in a Content Area	7
SUBTOTAL:	1,650
TOTAL: All Schools, Fall 2005		9,215

Note: Tables 1-5 exclude (1) schools making 2005 data corrections through the test publisher (applies to 2005 results only), (2) schools in the Alternative Schools Accountability Model (ASAM), and (3) small schools. A "small school" is a school with fewer than 100 valid test scores. Table 6 includes all schools.