Majority of local institutions catapult to top of API score rank
when compared to similar schools
Gilroy – Most local schools managed to reach top shelf ranks when compared to schools with similar demographics. In fact, district officials were so pleased with the results that they held a mini party, complete with noisemakers, to celebrate the success.
But when measured up against institutions across the state those numbers dropped considerably, according to the 2005 Academic Performance Index report.
The data, which was released Tuesday, reveals API base results, growth targets and school rankings for more than 8,700 California public schools, including 12 in Gilroy. The API is based on student assessments included in Standardized Testing and Reporting and the California High School Exit Exam taken by sophomores.
To produce the list of 100 comparable schools, the state calculated a number of factors including demographics, average class size, GATE students, English learners, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, credentialed teachers and students with disabilities.
For the Gilroy Unified School District, which has more than 2,200 English language learners, 3,718 poor students and more than 4,400 Hispanic students, that category helped catapult the majority of its schools to the eight or nine rank, or even a 10 in the case of Ascencion Solorsano Middle School.
That jump was quite a feat for the new school, nestled in a peaceful locale near Eagle Ridge, which received a four in the similar schools sector last year. And, Solorsano failed to follow the prevalent downward trend when statewide statistics are added, only dropping to an eight.
Solorsano Principal Sal Tomasello said the staff and students at his school were happy to hear the good news. His school received an API of 773, almost hitting the state’s goal of 800, so he knew the similar school and statewide ranks would correspond.
API scores can range from a high of 200 to a high of 1,000. Luigi Aprea Elementary School is the local school that’s scored 800 or above. But as new school Solorsano received its first set of scores in 2004 and only sixth and seventh graders were tested last year.
“We know this year is going to be a challenge for us with eighth-graders,” Tomasello said.
In eighth grade, additional assessments including history, social studies and science are added to the test, making it even more difficult.
Also, because the school has slowly added additional classes, Solorsano has grown. In 2004, only 211 students were tested and this year they’re looking at more than 730. The challenge will be to continue to increase and move closer to that “magic number” of 800, Tomasello said.
Las Animas Elementary School also made a giant leap. Last year, Las Animas received a similar schools rank of 4, but this year that number ballooned.
“I informed the teachers that we were an eight in similar schools rankings,” Principal Sylvia Reyes said. “So they were ecstatic. They were very happy. They felt like the hard work that they were doing was finally showing.”
Reyes quickly ticked off a list of reasons that have helped lead the west side school to success. She pointed to assessments, curriculum alignment, fluid dialogue between staff concerning strategy and data.
“It’s the collaboration, the team meetings, the formative ongoing assessments, the analyzing and the peer coaching that we do here at the school,” she said.
Students know where they’re at on the standardized tests and are encouraged to continue moving toward their personal best. Also, teachers stay after school, give up their lunch period and even show up on Saturdays to help boost student achievement, she said.
Still, Las Animas educators work in a challenging environment filled with a hefty lot of native Spanish speakers and students hailing from low-income families. And when compared to the state it shows – they drop to a four when the state’s 8,000-plus schools are a factor.
Although Reyes recognizes the necessity of a statewide comparison, in her opinion, she doesn’t think it’s the essential ingredient.
“I think the most important thing for us is the similar schools because it’s the same type of schools were dealing with,” she said.
Still, without any regard to the school’s rank, Las Animas has steadily improved during the past four year, Reyes said.
“We’re not lucky,” she said. “We’re being very deliberate.”
Eliot Elementary School mirrors Las Animas’ trend, ranking an eight in similar schools and dropping to a three, the district’s lowest along with South Valley Middle School, in statewide comparisons.
Principal Diane Elia acknowledged the disparity but also explained that the vast majority of Eliot students are learning English and come from low-income families. Most students enter kindergarten with little if any English language skills, she said.
Also, Eliot’s sudden jump from two and one similar school rankings in the past, proves that the comparisons weren’t accurate. For almost 25 years, Eliot was a Slingerland magnet school and served children with learning disabilities.
But because the socioeconomics of the students who attended the school more closely reflected Luigi Aprea and Rod Kelley, Eliot consistently clung to the lower runs, Elia said. When the district moved to neighborhood schools, its similar school ranking rose.
“So, now I feel like we’re being more fairly measured,” she said.
That they still lag when compared to the state is a concern, but it’s difficult to place Eliot, which has more than 88 percent English learners, next to a school in, say, Palo Alto, Elia said. The principal said her staff is doing everything they can to bring a group of kids up to the level of those who enter kindergarten with a couple years of preschool and the English language under their belt.
Eliot now offers evening adult English classes, computer programs in English for the students and early morning tutoring. They’re focused on assessments and data, she said. The elementary school’s attendance is the best in the district this year.
And the all-day kindergarten, which is being offered for the first time this year, is already making a difference, Elia said.
“I think that keeping them in a full day so they’re exposed to English for a longer period of time has helped them to retain it better,” she said.
View the Scores
API Base Report scores are available for the GUSD district and for individual schools at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/ap/index.asp
