This document describes how school type (elementary, middle, or high) is determined for the Academic Performance Index (API) calculations.
Background
Section 52056 (a) of the Education Code requires that the API statewide ranking and similar schools ranking shall include three categories: elementary, middle, and high. As a result, school type designations impact the calculations of the Base API decile rankings. However, they do not impact the calculation of a school’s API score (for the Base or the Growth) since that is determined according to test and content area weightings rather than school type. API rankings are used in determining API awards, if funding becomes available.
In 2001, specific definitions for school type were developed by the California Department of Education (CDE) according to a school’s grade span and, for certain schools, according to the distribution of a school’s enrollment. These criteria changed for the 2004–05 API reporting cycle. In January 2005, CDE staff agreed to definitions that are aligned to meet the school type purposes for both the API and the county-district-school (CDS) code, commonly referred to as the "school ownership code." Specific questions about CDS code definitions should be addressed to cdsadmin@cde.ca.gov. The school type criteria defined in this document reflect these new definitions for API purposes.
How School Type Will be Determined
School type of elementary, middle, or high for the API is based on "core" grade spans as shown in Table 1.
Table 1
Core Grade Spans for Determining API School Type
| School Type | Core Grade Span |
|---|---|
Elementary |
K-5 |
Middle |
7-8 |
High |
9-12 |
Beginning with the 2005–06 API reporting cycle, grade 6 is left out of the core grade span designations. Because some schools view grade 6 as "elementary" while others view grade 6 as "middle," the process remains neutral on whether grade 6 is considered one or the other. These core grade spans are used as the basis for categorizing a school as elementary, middle, or high according to the following steps:
- Assign School Type Based on Grade Span Served
For schools with a grade span, the API school type is determined according to the specific narrative criteria shown below in Table 2.
Grade span served is determined according to the lowest and highest grades with enrollment. This information is available in the List of California Public Schools and Districts [http://www.cde.ca.gov/ds/si/ds/pubschls.asp]. "Ungraded Elementary" is considered elementary, and "Ungraded Secondary" is considered high for API purposes.
- Assign School Type Based on Enrollment
Schools with a grade span served that crosses the three core grade spans (e.g., K-12 or K-10) will be classified based on enrollment. These schools will be assigned school type according to the largest enrollment in a core grade span served. Enrollment in grades K-12 from the most current California Basic Educational Data System (CBEDS) data collection will be used. (Enrollment and/or testing counts by grade from the most recent Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program reports may be used if CBEDS information is unavailable.) If the enrollment for two core grade spans served is equal, the school type will be the previous year’s API school type. For example, a school with a 4-12 grade span has enrollment of 106 students in the K-5 core grade span served, 192 students in the 7-8 core grade span served, and 52 students in the 9-12 core grade span served. (The enrollment in grade 6 is 30 students but is not used in the calculation because grade 6 is left out of the core grade span designations.) Since the 7-8 enrollment is the largest of the three core grade spans served, the school would be assigned a "middle" school type.
- Schools for Which CDE Does Not Yet Know the Grade Span Served, Enrollment, or Testing Data
A slight number of schools, particularly new schools, may not have current grade span
served, enrollment, or testing data on file at the CDE. In these cases, school type may
be assigned based on the name or characteristics of the school. Absent the pertinent
indicators used to determine a school’s type, a school type of elementary will be
assigned for API purposes.
Table 2
Specific Criteria for API School Type Classification
| School Type | Definition | Grade Span |
|---|---|---|
Elementary |
|
K-K, K-1, K-2, K-3, K-4, K-5, K-6, K-7, K-8 |
Middle |
|
4-8 5-7, 5-8 6-7, 6-8, 6-9 7-7, 7-8, 7-9 8-8, 8-9 |
High |
|
7-10, 7-11, 7-12 8-10, 8-11, 8-12 9-9, 9-10, 9-11, 9-12 10-10, 10-11, 10-12 11-11, 11-12 12-12 |
Determined by Enrollment |
|
K-9, K-10, K-11, K-12 1-9, 1-10, 1-11, 1-12 2-9, 2-10, 2-11, 2-12 3-9, 3-10, 3-11, 3-12 4-9, 4-10, 4-11, 4-12 5-9, 5-10, 5-11, 5-12 6-10, 6-11, 6-12 |
Base API School Type May Differ for API Growth
The school type for the Base API is determined from the prior year CBEDS data. However, the school type for the Growth API in the reporting cycle is determined from next year's CBEDS data in order that the Growth API school type match the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) school type. Therefore, the Base API school type may differ from the Growth API for some schools.
API School Type Different from Previous Year’s API School Type
A small number of schools are assigned API school types that are different from the previous API cycle school types. In these cases, school districts are provided a window of time to submit requests to change school type for the API reporting cycle.
Contact Information
Shuqin Guo, Consultant
Academic Accountability Unit
California Department of Education
1430 N Street, Suite 4206
Sacramento, CA 95814
aau@cde.ca.gov
916-319-0863
