Minority students make strong gains on standardized tests
Standardized test scores among subgroups of students in the Morgan Hill Unified School District all showed improvement over last year according to revised Academic Performance Index scores released this week.
Used to chart educational growth at local schools and as a benchmark for the federal No Child Left Behind Act, the API scores were a revision of the report released in August, which did not contain subgroup information. According to the API, the district as a whole showed improvement over last year and met its target growth rates at the state and federal levels.
“One of the things we know now is that the overall API is correct, and all the subgroup API scores are correct,” said Pat Blanar, director of curriculum and assessment for the district. “But we won’t see the correction to the socio-economic subgroup until the state’s final release in January.”
Blanar said the company the district hired to “map” the subgroup data made a huge error in calculating the number of socio-economically disadvantaged students in the district. Although the correction was made and submitted to the state before the deadline for corrections, Blanar said, it does not show up in this round of data.
The company reported MHUSD had 6,255 students in the socio-economically disadvantaged category; in reality, Blanar said, that number is considerably smaller, as the total number of students included in the growth calculations was 6,330.
“Another thing that may be affected is the similar schools rankings,” Blanar said, referring to ranking by the state of individual schools compared to schools with similar populations and demographics. “But we won’t know that until January.”
The data on the subgroups – except for the socio-economic – is correct and encouraging, she said.
The district as a whole did well, showing 14 points growth over last year, increasing its score from 741 to 755. The statewide target is 800. Statewide, the median growth score was 736, while in Santa Clara County, it was 781.
The API is a comprehensive measure of school performance on several standardized tests.
Marilyn Dubil covers education and law enforcement for The Times. Reach her at (408) 779-4106 ext. 202 or at md****@mo*************.com.
