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On Tuesday, Lake County News looked at the Academic Performance Index and what it does, along with a rundown of local test scores. In this installment, a sampling of local superintendents share reactions to the latest test results.
LAKE COUNTY – With the release earlier this month of the Academic Performance Index, or API, local educators are reviewing how their schools performed and, for the most part, there's satisfaction about how local students tested.
The API is a weighted average of student test scores with a numeric range of between 200 and 1,000, according to Tim Gill, director of curriculum and instruction for the Lake County Office of Education.
The test subjects include English language arts, math, social studies and science, and school scores also include results of the state's high school exit exam, said Gill.
The state's target for schools is a score of 800 and above. Two Lake County schools, Riviera Elementary and Cobb Mountain Elementary, are in that target area.
Schools with ratings of less than 800 have specific yearly goals, and 11 local schools met both schoolwide and subgroup growth targets in the most recent testing.
With the test results being released, educators are assessing their test scores and how their schools performed. Lake County News spoke with three local superintendents to get their reactions to the testing news.
Konocti Unified School District
Konocti Unified School District's new superintendent, Bill MacDougall, said he's pleased with the overall performance of district schools, most of which found improvement.
The district has several schools in the 700 range, which is what the district was looking for, said MacDougall.
All of the schools this year showed a great deal of improvement, he said, adding that he's proud of both students and staff for their efforts to make that happen.
Lakeport Unified School District
Lakeport Unified School District Superintendent Erin Hagberg said she's also pleased with her district's overall performance because they are maintaining scores in the mid-700s.
“I was especially impressed with the growth in scores at both Terrace Middle School and Clear Lake High School,” she said, which improved by 25 and 20 points, respectively.
“As a district, we are concerned about the achievement gap in our Hispanic and Native American student populations and in our socioeconomic disadvantaged students,” she said. “Our teachers and administrators continue to focus on meeting the needs of those particular groups of students.”
Hagberg said she thinks schools should be held accountable for student achievement and the public has a right to know that information.
“It is unfortunate, however, that such an emphasis is placed on only one form of assessment,” she said. “In a successful learning environment, student progress is measured continually by the classroom teacher and monitored by the entire staff. By using a variety of assessments on a regular basis, a teacher can determine a child’s academic strengths and weaknesses and then modify the instruction accordingly.”
Besides state expectations, there are the expectations assigned by federal standards, such as No Child Left Behind (NCLB).
“Because the NCLB proficiency bar is raised significantly each year, it is a struggle to increase student achievement at such an unrealistic rate,” she said.
As a result, she said classroom teachers have to focus more and more instructional time on the core subjects that are tested in Standardized Testing and Reporting.
Because there is a limited amount of time in the school day, Hagberg said less time can be spent on enrichment activities such as art and music in order to meet the standards.
“Creating well-rounded learners has become a tremendous challenge for our teachers due to the NCLB requirements,” she said.
Middletown Unified School District
Schools in the Middletown Unified School District have shown consistent strength in testing over the years.
This year, district Superintendent Korby Olson said what was noticeable for him was a sizable drop in Coyote Valley's score, from 818 to 792.
Scoring for small schools can be volatile, Olson explained. With a kind of measure like the API, the larger the sample size, the less likely there is to be an impact on score due to the performance of any particular group during a year.
He said the school is exploring what was the possible cause of that drop.
Just as interesting is Middletown High's score, which went down one from 719 to 718, but showed 30- and 40-point jumps for socially disadvantaged and Hispanic student subgroups, respectively. “Something went right there,” he said.
The school has always done fairly well on its exit exam results, he said. “It looked to me like we still have pretty strong scores there.”
The highest-scoring school on the API in the district and the county is Cobb Mountain Elementary, where Olson was principal for 10 years. The school's score for 2008 is 855, up from 847 the previous year.
Olson calls the school “a pretty special place” which began placing strong emphasis on state standards beginning in the 1990s. That, coupled with a stable staff, has helped the school succeed.
“Cobb has had the highest API in Lake County since we started measuring,” he said.
The school's score dipped last year but this year regained ground to its level two years ago.
Olson said Cobb Elementary takes a unique approach to education. “Everything is built around the idea that it's OK to be smart.”
That includes having numerous academic competitions which challenge young brains. In turn, the children strive hard to achieve in that welcoming culture.
Olson said there is value to the API measure. However, he said the problem is there are not enough measures of academic achievement, and that the API is a “slice of time” that only looks at performance at a given period. For a standardized test, that's the only way it can be done, Olson said.
He said the state's standards are so high that children who test in the basic category here might be in the proficient range in other states. He said the API system is a much more friendly growth model then federal standards.
Like Hagberg, he has concerns about federal standards, which are going up so dramatically that even schools considered high performing will soon be in the program improvement category.
From now until 2013, every school must advance its scores in the federal government's Adequate Yearly Progress – AYP – measure, he said.
Olson said he doesn't disagree with the goal of constant improvement. However, he's concerned that if high performing schools get lumped into performance improvement, it will water down the importance of improving scores for those schools that really need the help.
To see the testing results for your school and district, visit www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/ar/index.asp.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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THE GEYSERS – A recent stream of quakes measuring 3.0 magnitude and above continued Tuesday, when another shaker was recorded in The Geysers.
The US Geological Survey reported that a 3.0-magnitude quake occurred at 5:59 a.m Tuesday.
It was centered two miles north of The Geysers, four miles west southwest of Cobb and seven miles west northwest of Anderson Springs at a depth of 2.4 miles, the US Geological Survey reported.
Last Saturday, the area was shaken by a 3.3-magnitude temblor followed by a 3.5-magnitude quake Sunday evening, as Lake County News has reported. That seismic activity followed a 3.6-magnitude shaker near Willits last Friday, and a 3.0-magnitude quake near Healdsburg on Sept. 9.
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LAKE COUNTY – How do local schools measure up? Newly released Academic Performance Index, or API, results show how the county's schools are making the grade when it comes to state performance standards.
The API is a weighted average of student test scores, explained Tim Gill, director of curriculum and instruction for the Lake County Office of Education. The testing system rates schools on a numeric index with a low of 200 and a high of 1,000; the statewide target is 800.
Gill said when students take the California standards test, they're given a score: 1,000 for advanced, 875 for proficient, 700 for basic, 500 for below basic and 200 for far below basic. If every student received the top score, the school's API would be 1,000.
The test's subjects are weighted differently, said Gill, with English language arts counting higher than math, which in turn is ranked higher than social studies and science.
“The state and federal accountability reports provide educators, parents, and our communities with important data about student progress in their schools,” said state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell, when he released the results earlier this month. “The results show that our schools are making real progress and that more students in California are meeting the challenge of higher expectations.”
According to O'Connell's office, 53 percent of schools in California made their API growth targets based on 2008 data, an increase of 8 percentage points from 2007. Locally, 11 schools met both their schoolwide and subgroup growth targets, according to test score data.
Thirty-six percent of all California schools are now at or above the target of 800, up 5 percentage points from the year before. In Lake County, two schools, Riviera Elementary and Cobb Mountain Elementary, are among the schools above that target number.
Overall, O'Connell pointed to some narrowing of the achievement gap between white and Asian students and their peers who are black, Hispanic or English learners. O'Connell said the API gives schools more credit for improvement made by the lowest-achieving students, "which encourages educators to focus on improving the achievement of students who struggle the most."
Black students statewide increased their API this year by 14 points and Hispanic students by 17 points; at the same time, white students increased by 10 points and English-learner students increased by 14 points.
California's high school exit exam is a part of the scoring for high schools, said Gill. Students who pass receive 1,000 points, those who don't receive 200 points. "So it's all or nothing."
In general, the county's high school exit exams scores also have been very good and fairly consistent in recent years, said Gill. The test's questions are written to middle school standards.
The most recent scores indicate that 75 percent of students countywide passed the test's language arts component. "That's a fairly high rate of passing," said Gill.
For the math component, test results show 73 percent of county students passed.
Students first take the test in 10th grade. The passing percentages go down considerably, Gill pointed out, as older students who didn't pass the test the first time are retested; those students are part of a group not proficient with standards.
Gill said California's target for all of its schools is an API of 800. For schools scoring below 600, each year they have a 5-percent minimum annual score improvement; schools with scores of 700 or above have a minimum improvement goal of five point. Those above 800 don't have a required annual goal.
Included in the scoring is a measurement for each of certain specific subgroups based on socio-economically disadvantaged students and those belonging to certain ethnic groups or English learners.
Gill said almost all of Lake County's schools have shown dramatic improvement when comparing recent scores to those from 2004-05.
"As a county over the last four or five years, we've seen incredible growth in our API, as has the state," he said. However, comparatively, local schools are about in the same place.
He said it's hard to know if the testing is actually improving the quality of education. The tests are based on content standards of which all teachers and districts are aware.
"What the testing system has done, it has encouraged our schools and districts to pay attention to that set of content standards," he said.
A potential down side of that, said Gill, is less flexibility in the subject matter the schools can teach.
Has the test improved education? "I don't feel like I can answer that question," said Gill.
Gill said some people feel that the test have caused schools to lose a lot, like physical education classes in elementary school and art.
Tomorrow: Local superintendents share their perspectives on the testing.
Local school test scores
Kelseyville Unified School District
Elementary schools
Kelseyville Elementary: 2008 score, 781; 2007 score, 790; growth target, 5; actual growth, -9; did not meet schoolwide or subgroup growth targets.
Riviera Elementary: 2008 score, 819; 2007 score, 811; school scored above state target so there were no stated goals; actual growth, 8; did not meet subgroup growth target.
Middle schools
Mountain Vista Middle: 2008 score, 723; 2007 score, 701; growth target, 5; actual growth, 22; met statewide and subgroup growth targets.
High schools
Kelseyville High School: 2008 score, 701; 2007 score, 683; growth target, 6; actual growth, 18; met statewide and subgroup growth targets.
Konocti Unified School District
Elementary schools
Burns Valley Elementary: 2008 score, 711; 2007 score, 689; growth target, 6; actual growth, 22; met schoolwide growth target but not subgroup growth target.
East Lake Elementary: 2008 score, 720; 2007 score, 756 (API was calculated for a small school; the calculations are less reliable and should be carefully interpreted); growth target, 5; actual growth, -36; did not meet schoolwide or subgroup growth targets.
Lower Lake Elementary: 2008 score, 757; 2007 score, 727; growth target, 5; actual growth, 30; met schoolwide and subgroup growth targets.
Pomo Elementary: 2008 score, 719; 2007 score, 673; growth target, 6; actual growth, 46; met schoolwide and subgroup growth targets.
Middle schools
Oak Hill Middle: 2008 score, 652; 2007 score, 644; growth target, 8; actual growth, 8; met schoolwide growth target but not subgroup growth target.
High schools
Lower Lake High: 2008 score, 626; 2007 score, 646; growth target, 8; actual growth, -20; did not meet schoolwide or subgroup growth targets.
Small schools
Richard H. Lewis Alternative: 2008 score, 745 (API was calculated for a small school; the calculations are less reliable and should be carefully interpreted); 2007 score, 643; growth target, 8; actual growth, 102; met schoolwide and subgroup growth targets.
Alternative Schools Accountability Model (ASAM) schools
Blue Heron: 2008 score, 449 (API was calculated for a small school; the calculations are less reliable and should be carefully interpreted); 2007 score, 465; growth target not applicable; actual growth, -16; schoolwide and subgroup growth targets do not apply.
William C. Carle High (Continuation): 2008 score, 687 (API was calculated for a small school; the calculations are less reliable and should be carefully interpreted); 2007 score, 682; growth target not applicable; actual growth, 5; schoolwide and subgroup growth targets do not apply.
Lakeport Unified School District
Elementary schools
Lakeport Elementary: 2008 score, 751: 2007 score, 787; growth target, 5; actual growth, -36; did not meet schoolwide or subgroup growth targets.
Middle schools
Terrace: 2008 score, 766; 2007 score, 741; growth target, 5; actual growth, 25; met schoolwide and subgroup growth targets.
High schools
Clear Lake High: 2008 score, 747; 2007 score, 727; growth target, 5; actual growth, 20; met schoolwide and subgroup growth targets.
Small schools
Lakeport Alternative (Home School): 2008 score, 696 (API was calculated for a small school; the calculations are less reliable and should be carefully interpreted); 2007 score, 759; growth target, 5; actual growth, -63; met subgroup growth target but not schoolwide growth target.
ASAM schools
Natural High (Continuation): 2008 score, 545 (API was calculated for a small school; the calculations are less reliable and should be carefully interpreted); 2007 score, 520; growth target not applicable; actual growth, 25; schoolwide and subgroup growth targets do not apply.
Lucerne Elementary School District
Lucerne Elementary: 2008 score, 727; 2007 score, 749; growth target, 5; actual growth, -22; did not meet schoolwide or subgroup growth targets.
Middletown Unified School District
Elementary schools
Cobb Mountain Elementary: 2008 score, 855; 2007 score, 847; school scored above state target so there were no stated goals; actual growth, 8; met schoolwide and subgroup growth targets.
Coyote Valley Elementary: 2008 score, 792; 2007 score, 818; school scored above state target so there were no stated goals; actual growth, -26; did not meet schoolwide or subgroup growth targets.
Minnie Cannon Elementary: 2008 score, 732; 2007 score, 721; growth target, 5; actual growth, 11; met schoolwide growth target but not subgroup growth target.
Middle schools
Middletown Middle: 2008 score, 795; 2007 score, 787; growth target, 5; actual growth, 8; met schoolwide and subgroup growth targets;
High schools
Middletown High: 2008 score, 718; 2007 score, 719; growth target, 5; actual growth, -1; did not meet schoolwide or subgroup growth targets.
Small schools
Lake County International Charter: 2008 score, 752 (API was calculated for a small school; the calculations are less reliable and should be carefully interpreted); 2007 growth, 720; growth target, 5; actual growth, 32; met schoolwide and subgroup growth targets.
Upper Lake Union Elementary School District
Elementary schools
Upper Lake Elementary: 2008 score, 704; 2007 score, 701; growth target, 5; actual growth, 3; did not meet schoolwide or subgroup growth targets.
Middle schools
Upper Lake Middle: 2008 score, 681; 2007 score, 672; growth target, 6; actual growth, 9; met schoolwide growth target but not subgroup growth target.
Upper Lake Union High School District
Upper Lake High: 2008 score, 682; 2007 score, 671; growth target, 6; actual growth, 11; met schoolwide and subgroup growth targets.
ASAM schools
Upper Lake Community Day: 2008 score, 430 (API was calculated for a small school; the calculations are less reliable and should be carefully interpreted); the school did not have a valid 2007 Base API and will not have any growth or target information.
Schools that were not listed did not have any testing information reported.
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MIDDLETOWN – The search for an elderly Willits man had a happy ending over the weekend, when a local California Highway Patrol officer found the man tired but otherwise OK.
Charles McEntire, 82, was found walking along Highway 29 by CHP Officer Randy Forslund Saturday evening, following a daylong effort by local law enforcement to locate him.
CHP Officer Brian Engle found McEntire's gray Toyota pickup abandoned and facing the wrong way in traffic on Loconomi Road at Butts Canyon Road shortly before 9 a.m. Saturday, according to CHP Officer Adam Garcia.
Engle searched the immediate area but couldn't find him. Garcia said CHP dispatch also called McEntire's family, but they didn't know his whereabouts.
McEntire's wife told authorities that he had left that morning in an attempt to get a job at one of the local casinos, said Garcia. She also reported that Charles McEntire recently had suffered two strokes.
CHP Sgt. Mike Thomason initiated missing person procedures and alerted all allied agencies of the situation, said Garcia, and local law enforcement began a initiated a maximum effort to find the missing man.
The information about McEntire's case was passed on to CHP's swing shift, which continued the search, said Garcia.
Forslund and fellow CHP Officer Steve Curtis circulated pictures of McEntire to businesses in Middletown, Lower Lake, Clear Lake and Kelseyville. Garcia said they also checked with Redbud Community Hospital, Twin Pines Casino and homes in the area in an attempt to locate him.
At 9:30 p.m. Saturday, after a day of searching, Forslund found McEntire walking along Highway 29 at St. Helena Road in Middletown, said Garcia.
Garcia said McEntire was disoriented and tired, but otherwise in good shape.
Forslund transported McEntire to the hospital for medical clearance and McEntire's family was notified, Garcia said.
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