New Similar Schools Rankings

[George Sheridan <learn@jps.net>]

http://www.sacbee.com/content/breakingnews/story/14233097p-15055082c.html
Schools making solid gains, O'Connell says
By Laurel Rosenhall -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 9:06 pm PST Tuesday, March 21, 2006

The state Department of Education released a new analysis Tuesday of last 
year's test scores that is meant to more accurately compare schools of 
similar demographics.

As part of California's accountability system, the state annually ranks 
schools twice on a scale from 1 to 10: The "statewide rank" is based on 
test performance alone, while the "similar schools rank" compares a 
school's performance with 100 other campuses considered demographically 
similar.

The state also released the base Academic Performance Index, which is used 
to determine how much schools are expected to improve on the standardized 
tests that students will take in the months ahead.

"These results show that California students are making solid academic 
gains," state Superintendent Jack O'Connell said during a news conference 
at O.W. Erlewine Elementary School in Sacramento.

Each spring the state recalibrates schools' API to come up with a new 
baseline, incorporating more subjects or different standardized tests. And 
each fall - in the API growth results - the state reports how test scores 
have changed from the base. This year the base API is the same as the 
growth API reported in the fall because no new tests have been added to the 
formula.

The similar-schools ranking, however, is different this year: It includes 
six new factors, almost doubling the number of variables used to determine 
which schools are compared with one another.

For the first time, the similar-schools comparison examined how many 
students are enrolled in gifted programs, have disabilities, are migrants, 
attend small classes, and have mastered English despite being non-native 
speakers. It also took into account the grade configuration of schools, 
such as whether a middle school serves sixth- through eighth-graders or 
just seventh- and eighth-graders.

Previously, the similar-schools comparison was based on seven factors 
including student ethnicity and poverty, and the percentage of credentialed 
teachers.

The new formula led to drastic changes in the rankings of some campuses. At 
Tahoe Elementary School in Sacramento, Principal Katie Curry was thrilled 
to learn her similar-schools ranking had jumped to a 7.

"Oh my gosh ... that is great news," she said.

Last year Tahoe Elementary was ranked 1 statewide and 1 among similar 
schools, meaning its performance was in the bottom 10 percent on both 
measures. Now it's considered in the top 40 percent among similar schools, 
though still ranks near the bottom when compared with all schools in the state.

"To know that schools that have the same challenges we do - kids in 
poverty, English learners, all the things they talk about - to know we were 
scoring at the 7 place is exciting," Currie said after shouting the new 
score to her office staff.

The opposite scene was unfolding in the office of Toby Johnson Middle 
School in Elk Grove. Last year the school ranked 7 among similar campuses; 
this year 5. But its overall ranking remained high - a 9 - and its API 
jumped to 823, breaking the state's goal for all schools to reach 800.

"My API went up 25 points and yet my similar-schools ranking went down. I'm 
scratching my head," said Principal Patrick McDougall. "Within our (new) 
cluster, we dropped a little bit."

The changes did little to appease opponents of the state API system, who 
say the data is unhelpful and too complicated.

"If the target keeps shifting each year, how can we know with any certainty 
which schools are actually improving academic achievement? " Jim Lanich, 
president of California Business for Education Excellence, asked in a 
statement.

His group, which represents many of the state's large employers, prefers 
the federal system for measuring school performance. The system established 
by the federal No Child Left Behind law looks at the percentage of students 
scoring at grade level on math and English tests. It does not rank schools 
against one another or measure changes from one year to the next, as the 
California system does.

Others were intrigued by the state's new way of measuring similar schools. 
Mary Perry, deputy director of EdSource, a Palo Alto nonprofit that studies 
the state's education system, said measuring the challenges that schools 
face in educating their students is a complicated task.

"There's always a balance to be struck between throwing so many things in 
that you can't understand it and making sure you have the things in there 
that in fact lead to fair comparison," Perry said.


Check individual school results: 
http://sacbee.greatschools.net/cgi-bin/static/api.html


George Sheridan