Most area schools are progressing, report says

Jeff Benson

Annual progress reports were released to school districts nationwide

Monday, and Newport-Mesa Unified School District met nearly all

expectations.

The Annual Yearly Progress report, used to measure compliance with

the federal No Child Left Behind Act, showed 68% of district schools

met all federal targets for progress. The report evaluates schools on

performance on the Standardized Testing and Reporting test, the

California High School Exit Examination, English and math proficiency

and on updated statewide Academic Performance Index scores, also

released Monday.

The district satisfied all 38 of its own yearly progress goals for

the 2003-2004 school year for English as a second language, minority,

disabled and socio-economically disadvantaged students, according to

Peggy Anatol, director of curriculum and K-12 assessment.

“We did well,” Anatol said. “The API and the [Annual Yearly

Progress report] use different criteria. The state criteria is

rigorous, but the federal criteria is still pretty rigorous because

of its strict demands. It’s kind of a parallel accountability for our

schools.”

Newport-Mesa high schools’ graduation rate of 94.1% last year is

well above the state target of 83%.

According to the Annual Yearly Progress report, every Newport-Mesa

school tested at least the required 95% of students and surpassed

California’s API standard of 590. But six elementary schools and two

middle schools failed to achieve the expected state-mandated

proficiency standards in target areas, of 13.6% in English and 16% in

math, the report showed.

Anatol said district administrators will meet in November to

discuss individual school plans and remedies for improvement in those

areas.

“First, we’ll look to identify individual kids who need help,”

Anatol said. “Second, we need to look into what types of skills were

missed on the tests. This includes individual assessment and

differentiation. We’ll do everything and anything it takes to get

every child proficient.”

District schools’ average 2003-04 API scores went up slightly to

735, well above the statewide average of 693, but fell short of the

Orange County average of 743, according to the report. The state

requires a 5% growth in API scores each year for schools that score

below the target of 800.

Newport-Mesa schools that posted the greatest improvements over

last year’s API numbers included Kaiser Elementary, which needed

three points but rose 44; Newport Elementary, which spiked 37 points;

Lincoln Elementary, which experienced a 36-point growth; and Sonora

Elementary, which needed five points but jumped 30.

Newport Coast Elementary School Principal Monique Van Zeebroeck

was elated that her school had an eight-point API increase and met

all Annual Yearly Progress criteria. Newport Coast’s API of 890 is

well above the statewide goal of 800 for each school.

“In terms of our scores, we’re pleased to continue to make steady

growth year after year,” Van Zeebroeck said. “Even though we’re

scoring well, we look at what we can fine-tune more. We use API as

one measure. It’s a very public score, and we want to have our school

be the best of the best.”

On Aug. 16, Newport-Mesa received its California High School Exit

Examination results and its Standardized Testing and Reporting

scores, which included the California Achievement Tests and Sixth

Edition Survey, or CAT/6, tests. These results factored into the API

scores.

* JEFF BENSON is the news assistant and may be reached at (949)

574-4298 or by e-mail at jeff.benson@latimes.com.