District will focus on lowest performing schools, superintendent
says
As a whole, the Morgan Hill School District performed better on standardized testing last year, according to the preliminary results of the Academic Performance Index released last week.
Though some schools showed significant gains in California’s system of measuring school performance, others still show a need for improvement, Superintendent Alan Nishino said.
“Although we are pleased with the progress our students have made this year, we must continue to focus on increasing overall student achievement as well as closing the achievement gap between the highest and lowest performing student population,” Nishino said in a statement released Thursday. “The goal for each of our schools is to ensure that all students master the knowledge and skills they need to succeed. Our staff, students, parents and community leaders will continue working together to make sure this goal is reached.”
The API is based on test results from the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR), a group of tests held each spring, and high school exit exam results. Schools in California have a growth target for each year, based on their score the previous year. The district as a whole increased from 741 to 755, a growth of 14 points, while the statewide score just topped 700; the state score increased by 20 points, from 689 to 709.
The goal is for all California schools to eventually top 800; MHSD has three schools at 800 or above, Charter School of Morgan Hill at 831, Nordstrom Elementary at 870 and Paradise Valley Elementary at 830. Four elementary schools are approaching 800: Barrett at 769; El Toro at 767; Jackson at 790; and Los Paseos at 796.
The district’s two middle schools saw big growth this year. Britton jumped 36 points, from 716 to 752, while Martin Murphy students surged closer to 800 with an increase of 39 points, from 737 to 776.
Six schools in the district made double-digit increases: Barrett, with 49; Nordstrom, with 11; Paradise Valley, with 31; P.A. Walsh, with 14; and the two middle schools.
Central High had the biggest gain 121 points, from 348 to 469.
“The students, staff and community of these schools are certainly to be commended for this outstanding growth,” Nishino said.
However, the scores at four local schools decreased this year: Burnett Elementary lost five points, El Toro Elementary lost 19 points, Los Paseos Elementary lost five points, and Live Oak High lost 11 points.
Nishino cautioned that the data released last week is preliminary. School districts now have the opportunity to send in corrected or omitted data, and the API scores will be adjusted by October.
“While the new Accountability Progress Report responds to our need to receive this important information in a timely manner, the information is not complete and in some instances is not accurate,” Nishino said. “We know that the socio-economic information is not correct due to an error made by the data company that provides pre-identification demographic mapping for the district, and there is a strong possibility there will be some significant changes once these corrections are made.”
The API scores and AYP, or adequate yearly progress, are both components of the federal No Child Left Behind legislation, which requires that schools meet targets which increase over time. If a school does not meet targets for two years in a row, it becomes a program improvement school and must provide special programs to improve student achievement. None of the schools in the district is classified as program improvement, and eight of the 14 schools in the district met their AYP goals this year: Barrett, Charter School, El Toro, Los Paseos, Nordstrom, Paradise Valley, Martin Murphy and Central.
Nishino said he looks to see improvement, particularly in student subgroups.
“Schools in the school district have an estimated 1,250 English learners whose primary language is other than English,” he said. “These students comprise 22 percent of the students who must take the STAR Program tests and the CAHSEE in English, and these results are also included in API and AYP calculations. As our English learners become more proficient in English, they will improve their performance on these tests. This, in turn, will help raise the academic performance of the schools they attend.”
Marilyn Dubil covers education and law enforcement for The Times. Reach her at (408) 779-4106 ext. 202 or at
md****@mo*************.com
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