Fountain Valley fares well on standardized tests

Angelique Flores

The Fountain Valley School District shined in statewide rankings this

week as the newest data regarding the Academic Performance Index was

released Tuesday.

“We’re really excited and very proud of our teachers, principals and

students,” said Fountain Valley School District Supt. Marc Ecker.

The Stanford 9 exams, taken by second- through 11th-graders in spring

1999, test a student’s knowledge of math, reading, language, spelling,

history and science. Schools recently received rankings from one to 10 --

with the latter being the best -- in the two categories for these exams

that make up these API scores. The latest information compares schools

with other campuses in the state that have students of similar

backgrounds.

Also in Fountain Valley, Oka Elementary received the lowest score, an

eight. Courreges Elementary and Fulton Middle schools ranked 10th

statewide. All the other district schools ranked ninth.

The superintendent attributes the high scores to the district’s array

of intervention programs and to the increased awareness by teachers and

parents of the importance of meeting the state’s standards.

Among similar school rankings, Courreges, Tamura and Fulton came out

at the top of the Fountain Valley district with rankings of seven.

Although they received a statewide ranking of nine, Moiola and Plavan

elementary schools ranked third among similar schools. The other six

district schools were split with rankings of fives and sixes.

In the Huntington Beach City School District, Hawes Elementary and

Sowers Middle schools each received a statewide ranking of 10. Peterson

Elementary ranked highest among similar schools with an eight. Smith

Elementary, received an eight and Perry Elementary a four -- the lowest

in the district. The the two schools earned ones among similar schools

rankings.

Ocean View School District’s statewide rankings ranged mostly from

five to 10, with most schools coming in with nines and only one school

receiving a one. Circle View Elementary received a 10, and Oak View Elementary received a one in statewide scores. Oak View, however,

received a nine in similar schools rankings, leaving the Sun View at the

bottom of the district with a similar school ranking of three. Vista View

Middle School topped the district in similar school rankings with a 10.

The district performed better overall in its rankings among similar

schools.

“We’re very pleased and we hope to maintain the high scores,” said

Karen Colby, Ocean View’s director of curriculum and instruction.

Four out of the six schools in Huntington Beach Union High School

District received nines. Westminster High ranked the lowest statewide

with a four, but came in with an eight among similar schools. Ocean View

also fared better with the similar school rankings, leading the district

in these rankings with a nine and dropping in the statewide numbers with

a seven. Other schools’ scores ranged from four to nine in similar school

rankings.