District schools climb API

Marisa O’Neil

District schools, particularly those on the Westside, showed

substantial improvement in the latest round of test scores released

Thursday, some exceeding by about four times their goals for

improvement.

The 2002-03 Academic Performance Index scores for Newport-Mesa

Unified School District showed that 80% of schools met their growth

targets, which are set each year by the state. Three schools that

last year did not meet standards set by the federal No Child Left

Behind Act far surpassed their goals.

“It’s an exciting time for us,” school board member Dave Brooks

said of the results. “Some schools had to make improvements of only a

few points but made huge jumps. This is very good news.”

The API scores are based on individual student performance in a

variety of standardized tests, including the California Standards

Test and California Achievement Test. The state has set an overall

goal of 800 points, out of a possible 1,000, but sets improvement

levels for each school on a case-by-case basis.

Statewide, 21% of schools made the target of 800. In Newport-Mesa,

34% made it.

Most schools that did not make 800 still met their individual

goals.

Pomona Elementary School, which needed to improve last year’s

score of 570 by 12 points, reported a score of 614. Wilson Elementary

increased last year’s score of 553 by 38 points, greater than the

required 12.

Whittier Elementary School needed to increase last year’s score of

602 by 10 points and increased by 46.

“We’ve been refining programs for five years now,” Whittier

Principal Sharon Blakely said. “Our teachers collaborate, discuss

data and teach to students’ needs. We have a history of being at the

bottom [with test scores], and we’re the poorest school. But our test

scores are rising.”

Whittier, Wilson and Pomona are all listed as Program Improvement

schools based on results of another assessment, the Adequate Yearly

Progress report under the No Child Left Behind Act.

Those three schools, as well as most of the schools that did not

meet the 800 API, are on the Westside and have a large population of

students who are still learning English. Those schools tend to have

lower scores because students are taking tests in languages they have

not yet mastered, Blakely said.

“Our parents are still learning English and learning to read and

write,” Blakely said. “If you come from a Newport Coast home, you

have books since you were in utero and have literate parents who talk

to you. You’re more likely to do a good job.”

Both Whittier and Pomona elementary schools reported that 98% of

their students are socio-economically disadvantaged, meaning they are

eligible to participate in free and reduced lunch programs at school.

More than 50% of parents at Wilson and Pomona did not graduate from

high school, and most are Latino.

At the other end of the spectrum, Andersen Elementary in Newport

Beach had the highest API score, at 911. It has no socio-economically

disadvantaged students, 1% are Latino, 4% are Asian and 56% of

parents attended graduate school.

Some schools did show decreases in their scores. College Park,

which last year made an 84-point gain, dropped by 25 points this year

to 682.

Drops after a major spike are fairly common, said Peggy Anatol,

director of curriculum and assessment for the district. The school

also only tests second- and third-graders, limiting its pool of

testable students.

The overall improvements, however, show that things are working

well in district schools.

“We’ve really been concentrating on teaching to the standards,”

Anatol said. “We’re working together to calibrate the curriculum and

are teaching standards-based math and language arts using and

standards-based report cards. Everyone is stepping up to the bar, and

this is a manifestation of teachers working hard.”

* MARISA O’NEIL covers education and may be reached at (949)

574-4268 or by e-mail at marisa.oneil@latimes.com.