When the California Department of Education released the 2006
base Academic Performance Index (API) and school rankings Tuesday,
Morgan Hill Unified School District officials found themselves
holding a mixed bag of results, as some schools showed improvement,
while some lost ground in rankings.
Morgan Hill – When the California Department of Education released the 2006 base Academic Performance Index (API) and school rankings Tuesday, Morgan Hill Unified School District officials found themselves holding a mixed bag of results, as some schools showed improvement, while some lost ground in rankings.
The district’s 6,394 students are included in the 2006 API, a numeric index from 200 to 1000 to show school progress. As a whole, the district jumped from a combined score of 755 to 764.
“Through the outstanding efforts of our students, parents and staff, our schools continue to progress toward academic excellence,” MHUSD Superintendent Alan Nishino said.
Nishino was pleased that seven elementary schools scored above the state median API of 758, the district’s two middle schools scored above the state middle school median of 724 and the two comprehensive high schools scored above the high school median of 700.
The state breaks down similar school rankings into four categories: if a school is ranked 9 or 10, the school’s API is well above average for schools with similar characteristics; if a school is ranked 7 or 8, the API is above average for schools with similar characteristics; a school ranked 5 or 6 has an API at about average for schools with similar characteristics; a 3 or 4 indicates an API below average for schools with similar characteristics, and a 1 or 2 ranking denotes an API of well-below average for schools with similar characteristics.
Five of the district’s schools increased their similar school rankings compared to last year, while six of them dropped from last year. The Charter School of Morgan Hill, El Toro Elementary, Los Paseos Elementary, Paradise Valley Elementary and Live Oak High all moved up, while Jackson Elementary, Nordstrom Elementary, Walsh Elementary, Britton Middle , Martin Murphy Middle and Sobrato High fell compared to last year.
“We are working like dogs to make sure we address the needs of lower level students, to do away with the achievement gap,” said School Board Trustee Julia Hover-Smoot. “However, as a board member I don’t want to lose sight of our upper level or middle level students … As a board, as a whole, improving academics for all students is our focus. We don’t just look at scores. Scores are important, but they really aren’t what drive us on a daily basis. What drives us is our desire to make the district as a whole the best it can be.”
Six schools increased their statewide ranking, including Barrett Elementary, Charter School of Morgan Hill, Jackson Elementary, Los Paseos Elementary, Paradise Valley Elementary and San Martin/Gwinn Elementary.
Four of the district’s schools – Burnett Elementary, Walsh Elementary, Martin Murphy Middle and Sobrato High fell in the statewide rankings.
The state also released base API scores and growth targets for 2007. Four of the district’s schools – Charter School of Morgan Hill, Los Paseos Elementary, Nordstrom Elementary and Paradise Valley Elementary – all have base API scores over 800, which is the statewide performance target.
Three schools saw dramatic increases in their scores from last year: Charter School of Morgan Hill, with a jump of 35; San Martin/Gwinn Elementary, moving up 33; and Barrett Elementary, increasing by 21.
“We will continue to push our highest achievers, bringing all students to even higher levels, as we focus our efforts to close the achievement gap that exists between student subgroups, which are defined by ethnicity, socio-economic and disability status as well as whether or not a student is an English learner,” Nishino said. “Then we can say that we have left No Child Behind.”
ONLINE
Check out local school rankings at www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/ar/index.asp
