In order to be eligible to apply for the 2013 California Distinguished School Awards, middle and high schools must meet requirements in the following areas:
- Eligible Grade Levels
- Previous Distinguished School Status
- Number of Years in Operation
- Accountability as Measured by:
- Academic Performance Index (API)
- Closing the Achievement Gap (CTAG)
- Schools in Program Improvement (PI) Year 1 are eligible. Schools may not be identified as PI Year 2, 3, 4, or 5.
- Intervention or Sanction Status
Eligible Grade Levels
The California Department of Education (CDE) has developed standard criteria to define schools as elementary, middle, or high for the API. For the purposes of the California Distinguished School Awards Program, schools are required to use the school type assigned to them by those criteria. A school defined as “middle” or "high" on its API Report has met the grade level eligibility requirement for the 2013 cycle. Information regarding school type designations may be found in the 2011–12 Academic Performance Index Reports Information Guide available on the CDE API Web page [http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/ap/].
Previous Distinguished School Status
2011 Distinguished Middle and High Schools are not eligible to apply this cycle. They may apply for recognition again in the 2015 cycle.
Number of Years in Operation
Schools must have been operating since 2010–11 in order for growth results to be calculated for the API and be eligible.
Accountability Results
In order to apply for the Distinguished School Award, schools must meet the API and CTAG eligibility criteria:
1. API Eligibility
Schools must meet all of the following requirements:
- Schools must meet or exceed the schoolwide 2012 Growth API target: middle ≥ 820; high ≥ 782.
- Schoolwide 2012 Growth API must meet or exceed the school's growth target.
- All numerically significant subgroups must make their growth targets.
2. CTAG Eligibility
In addition to the API eligibility criteria above, schools must also meet the specific CTAG criteria based upon the school’s student population as described below:
Category 1: Schools with one or more numerically significant disadvantaged subgroups* and a numerically significant white and/or Asian subgroup.
Category 2: Schools with only numerically significant disadvantaged subgroup(s)* and no numerically significant white and/or Asian subgroups.
Category 3: Schools with no numerically significant disadvantaged* subgroups.
Category 4: Schools in which all numerically significant subgroups have a 2012 Growth API at or about the 90th percentile: middle ≥ 912; high ≥ 869.
*Disadvantaged subgroups, for CTAG purposes, are defined as Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Socioeconomically Disadvantaged (SED), or English learners (ELs).
Category 1: Category 1 schools must meet the both A and B CTAG criteria to be eligible to apply for the California Distinguished School Award.
- All numerically significant disadvantaged subgroups improved equal or greater than the average statewide 2012 API growth for their subgroup:
Black or African American ≥ 14 points
Hispanic or Latino ≥ 11 points
SED ≥ 11 points
ELs ≥ 10 points
AND
- At least one of the numerically significant disadvantaged subgroups grew more than the white or Asian numerically significant subgroup by more than the average statewide API growth: ≥ 10. (If the white or Asian subgroup growth declined, the “more than” growth calculation is made from zero.)
Category 2: Category 2 schools must show that all numerically significant subgroups grew more than the average statewide API growth for that subgroup. The average statewide 2012 API growth for each subgroup is:
Black or African American ≥ 14 points
Hispanic or Latino ≥ 11 points
SED ≥ 11 points
ELs ≥ 10 points
Category 3: Category 3 schools must have a schoolwide 2012 Growth API and any numerically significant subgroup 2012 Growth API (i.e. white, Asian, etc.) above the API 75th percentile for the school to be eligible: middle ≥ 857; high ≥ 816.
Category 4: The schoowide and all numerically significant student groups have a 2012 Growth API at or above the 90th percentile: middle ≥ 912; high ≥ 869.
Intervention or Sanction Status
Schools that are subject to the School Assistance and Intervention Team interventions are not eligible to apply for this program. Schools that are subject to federal Program Improvement (PI) sanctions (PI year 2, 3, 4, and 5) are likewise, not eligible to apply for this program.
Schools in the Process of Correcting Data
The 2012 API reports were released for public information in the fall of 2012. Districts may, on behalf of their schools, make data corrections for API. Schools for which districts are making data corrections may begin the 2013 Middle and High School Application process if their district offices are confident the schools will ultimately meet the eligibility criteria based on the final API reports released in February 2013. It is the responsibility of these schools to determine if they are willing to submit an application by the December 10, 2012, deadline, knowing that final eligibility for these schools will not be determined until February 2013.
Schools With Testing Irregularities
Schools for which districts have concluded that an adult testing irregularity occurred are ineligible to apply.
Schools With Outstanding State and Federal Issues of Non-Compliance
While outstanding issues of non-compliance do not affect a school’s eligibility, districts should be aware that any school with an unresolved compliance issue, defined as a required action issued by the CDE as a result of a Uniform Complaint Procedure Appeal investigation, may be prevented from receiving the California Distinguished School designation.