Burbank API scores show widespread gains
Irma Lemus
BURBANK -- Things are looking up for Burbank Unified School District.
Academic Performance Index scores for 2000 released Tuesday showed
gains reaching across all grade levels including several examples of
dramatic improvement in Burbank schools. All but one of the 16 Burbank
schools tested scored higher than last year and all but two met or
exceeded improvement targets set in 1999, the first year the new
evaluation system was implemented.
Statewide API scores -- in which Burbank’s progress can be measured
against other schools -- will be released today by the California
Department of Education.
Class size reduction, more effective literacy programs and staff
development were among the factors contributing to the higher scores,
Supt. David Aponik said.
“I’m very pleased with the scores. We have some challenges ahead, but
overall this is good news,” Aponik said.
Adding to the good news, Aponik said the gains could pay off with up
to $1.6 million in additional funding from the state.
The API measures overall student performance at all California public
schools. API scores partially determine the amount of money individual
schools receive. The state has set an index of 800 as the target schools
should strive to meet.
The Stanford 9 exam given to students in grades 2-11 each spring is used to determine a school’s Academic Performance Index score.
Although none of Burbank’s schools met the 800 state target, students
at nearly every campus exceeded their growth targets, a fact that makes
those schools eligible for state reward money.
David Starr Jordan Middle School and Burbank High School were the only
schools that did not meet growth targets. Jordan’s score of 685 was eight
points lower than in 1999. Burbank High’s 2000 score actually improved
three points from 650 to 653 but failed to meet the target score of 658.
Aponik said it was too early to say why scores at Jordan and Burbank
dipped but he said curriculum and student outreach could be part of the
equation.
“It’s hard to predict a school’s improvement from looking at one year.
There can be many factors to why a school’s scores might dip,”
On Tuesday, school administrators preferred to look at the bigger
picture.
Caroline Brumm, coordinator of Student and Program Evaluation, said
Walt Disney and Providencia elementary schools, which had the lowest
scores in the district on the 1999 API, improved significantly.
Disney jumped from 603 last year to 697 in 2000, exceeding its 613
growth target by 84 points. Providencia’s 2000 score of 670 was a major
improvement from last year’s 587.
“We’re delighted. It’s absolutely great news and I’m really proud of
everyone,” Brumm said.
2000 ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE INDEX SCORES
Listed are 1999 test scores, individual school improvement goals,
20000 test scores and the overall difference between 1999 and 2000.
1999*Goal*2000*Difference
ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
Bret Harte: 709*5*731*+22
Walt Disney:603*10*697*+94
Thomas A. Edison:664*7*721*+57
Ralph W. Emerson:708*5*742*+33
Thomas Jefferson:742*3*776*+34
William McKinley:613*9*644*+31
Joaquin Miller: 642*8*698*+56
Providencia: 587*8*670*+83
Theodore Roosevelt: 738*3*765*+27
Robert Louis Stevenson: 668*7*741*+73
George Washington: 700*5*708*+8
MIDDLE SCHOOLS
Luther Burbank: 653*7*696*+43
John Muir:669*7*712*+43
David Starr Jordan:693*5*685*-8
HIGH SCHOOLS:
John Burroughs: 638*8*648*+10
Burbank:650*8*653*+3