All ethnic groups increase test scores

Newport-Mesa, a diverse district, saw each of its major subgroups advance at about same rate. Each ethnic group in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District achieved higher test scores in 2005 than it did the year before, according to data released Thursday by the state Department of Education.

Partly as a result, 93% of Newport-Mesa’s schools met all of their state growth targets in 2004-05, an all-time record for the district. Only 68% of public schools in California achieved the same feat.

In August, the state posted progress reports -- a rating system known as the Academic Performance Index, based on a number of standardized tests -- for districts and individual schools. The reports did not, however, break down scores among groups of students. The new statistics Thursday showed how these groups, including major ethnicities and socio-economically disadvantaged children, fared over the last year.

The Newport-Mesa statistics showed that the district’s ethnic groups, give or take a few points, made about identical gains. Thus, while the district still suffered from achievement gaps between different races of students, the numbers showed the groups at least advancing at the same speed.

According to Supt. Robert Barbot, administrators had aimed for districtwide growth when they began pushing for higher student marks last fall.

“I would have been more concerned if they hadn’t been about the same,” Barbot said. “The goal is to get all kids up to where they belong. It shouldn’t be focusing on one group at the expense of another.”

The Academic Performance Index, or API, rates schools and districts on a scale from 200 to 1,000, with 800 the target score for the state. The Department of Education uses standardized test scores as well as high school exit exam results to compile the figures.

Only two ethnic groups in Newport-Mesa, whites and Asians, exceeded the 800 target score last year. However, every group made a significant leap over its mark from 2003-04. Latino and black students, traditionally the lowest-scoring in California, advanced by 33 and 32 points, respectively. Pacific Islanders, a relatively small group, made the biggest gain with 57 points.

In addition, socio-economically disadvantaged students -- who are either eligible for free lunches or have one or both parents without a high school diploma -- saw their API score increase by 30 points from a year ago. Improvements for Asians, Filipinos and whites were all in the 20- to 30-point range.

The Department of Education, as of Thursday, could not provide statewide averages for the different subgroups.

Barbot and assessment director Peggy Anatol attributed their higher marks to the increased attention Newport-Mesa paid to struggling students last year. Beginning last fall, the district began providing teachers with reports showing students’ proficiency levels in English, mathematics, science and social science.

To help students who were falling behind, Newport-Mesa brought in retired teachers, parents and even older students to act as tutors.

In addition, the district implemented new systemwide programs, including a Houghton-Mifflin English textbook series for elementary students, to adhere better to state standards.

“Everyone was on pace together,” Anatol said.

Only two schools in Newport-Mesa did not meet the growth targets for all of their subgroups. Rea Elementary and Sonora Elementary both came up short for Latinos and socio-economically disadvantaged students, although the latter school made growth on the whole.

Newport-Mesa lifted its overall API score 31 points from the year before, bringing its current mark to 760.

In 2003-04, just 54% of Newport-Mesa schools met their state growth targets. Barbot credited the entire school community for the gains over the last year.

“It’s like three little pegs on a stool,” he said. “Without teachers, parents and students working together on that data, it doesn’t work.”

* MICHAEL MILLER covers education and may be reached at (714) 966-4617 or by e-mail at michael.miller@latimes.com.