GILROY
– All of Gilroy’s schools exceeded – many three or four times
over – improvement goals set by the state this year, with the
exception of two elementary schools that did not have a target
score set. Based on Academic Performance Index scores released
today, all groups of Gilroy students, especi
ally those at the lowest levels, bettered standardized test
scores.
By Lori Stuenkel
GILROY – All of Gilroy’s schools exceeded – many three or four times over – improvement goals set by the state this year, with the exception of two elementary schools that did not have a target score set. Based on Academic Performance Index scores released today, all groups of Gilroy students, especially those at the lowest levels, bettered standardized test scores.
Some schools exceeded their growth targets by more than 40 points and two of the nine improving schools made the biggest leaps since API scores were first given in 2000.
“This rate of growth throughout the district is extraordinary,” Superintendent Edwin Diaz said. “I am proud of the work that is being done at schools in the district. Everyone continues to work hard to improve the quality of instruction that every child receives.”
Las Animas Elementary School, historically the district’s lowest-performing elementary school, boasts the largest improvement this year, having bettered its score of 584 by 64 points. Its goal was to move up 11 points. The school’s 2003 score is now 648, which brings all Gilroy Unified School District schools above the 600 mark.
All elementary schools have improved in the past three years, Diaz noted.
Las Animas also has the greatest three-year gain of 178 points.
The API is the crux of the state’s accountability system that tracks student performance on California standards-based tests. The scores released today are based on various standardized tests – mostly, the California Standards Test, but also the California Achievement Test and the high school exit exam. The way API scores are calculated, more points are awarded when the lowest-performing students improve.
Scores can range from 200 to 1000, with the state’s target goal being 800.
School improvement, or “growth,” is shown by subtracting a base score taken from 2002 test scores from the current API.
The state also gave a districtwide API score for the second time this year. GUSD raised its score 40 points to reach 683, a bigger step than all but two districts in Santa Clara County.
District officials and school administrators attributed students’ gains this year to fundamental changes implemented throughout the district and a continual focus on improving both instruction and student performance.
Brownell Academy Middle School, which was placed under state sanctions last year after failing to meet its improvement target for two years in a row, improved its API by 43 points to reach 685. The school’s goal from the state had been to reach 650, from a base of 642.
New standards-based textbooks, improved intervention classes and targeted instruction based on students’ test scores contributed to Brownell’s growth, Principal Suzanne Damm said. Positive attitudes helped as well, she said.
“It’s a combination of the kids really caring about how they did and the teacher stressing how important (standardized tests) are … for their future,” Damm said.
The school will need to show one more year of growth before it will be completely clear of state sanctions, but it is unclear how the current program will continue, said Esther Corral-Carlson, GUSD’s director of assessment. She will contact the state for details on the school’s next step.
Antonio Del Buono, which received its second year of API, is tied with Rucker for the district’s second-highest score of 725. Del Buono improved from 677, exceeding its target by 42 points.
“It really had to do with a very laser-like focus on the research-based strategies that have proven over time to result in significant academic achievement,” said Principal Tammy Gabel, who took over at the school this year.
Two elementary schools, Luigi Aprea and Rod Kelley, did not receive growth scores because irregularities in standardized test administration invalidated their base score from last year. Teachers must follow strict rules when giving the tests, such as giving a test all at once or reading certain instructions, Corral-Carlson said. At least one of the test procedures was not followed at both schools.
Meanwhile, Gilroy High School made its best improvement yet, raising its score by 38 points to 654. The school’s goal was a 9-point improvement.
“No one thing can get that kind of change,” Principal Bob Bravo said.
He attributed some of the improvement to intervention courses geared toward helping below grade-level students pass the California High School Exit Exam.
“The same intervention classes could have also been supporting them to do better on the CST (which counts more toward API),” he said. “They serve more than one purpose.”
A 38-point improvement appears rare at the high school level: The average growth in San Jose’s East Side Union High School District, a comparable district, was 6 points this year. Salinas High met but did not exceed its improvement target of 8 points this year, for an overall score of 643.
“I think it is about our students wanting to show how well they can do,” Bravo said.
Live Oak High School in Morgan Hill improved 12 points and has an API of 674. San Benito High School’s 30-point growth was comparable to GHS, and the school’s 2003 API is 670.
School Board Trustee Bob Kraemer said he is not surprised, either positively or negatively, at GUSD’s scores. They are the results of three years of efforts, including focusing on standards and professional development of teachers, he said.
“The results are now beginning to show, which is very appropriate, and … I am surely proud to be a part, in a little way, of the things that are going on. And proud of Superintendent Diaz, and especially proud of our teachers,” he said. “There surely is room for growth … but I think it is rewarding that this progress has been made. It’s spectacular.”
Diaz agreed that there is still room for growth at all schools. Only Luigi Aprea has met the state’s goal of 800 and 1000 points is the maximum possible.
“I believe it is possible, first of all, because we need to, and because we’re not nearly there yet,” Diaz said.
