Results
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Secondary Profile
Pasadena Unified’s Academic Performance Index Results Outpace County and State for Second Year in a Row
Pasadena Unified School District, Pasadena, CA
Academic Performance Index (API) results released by the California Department of Education showed Pasadena Unified School District students improving their performance faster than their peers in Los Angeles County and the State of California for the second year in a row. The District’s overall increase in API was 31 points, outpacing a 19-point gain across the County and a 20-point gain statewide.
The California standards-based API tracks a school district’s year-to-year performance on the basis of standardized test results, including students’ performance on the California Standards Tests and California High School Exit Exam.
Overall, this year’s District average API was 689, up 31 points from 2004. “We saw 21 of 32 schools demonstrate double-digit API growth from last year,” said Dr. Younghee Jang, Pasadena Unified’s Director of Student Assessment and Program Evaluation. “That is definitely a trend in the right direction.”
Pasadena Unified’s schools in northwest Pasadena and western Altadena accounted for a significant portion of the District’s performance growth, led by John Muir High School with an 83-point API score improvement. Pasadena High School followed with a 54-point gain. Burbank Elementary School posted the District’s second highest academic performance improvement with an API gain of 70 points. Washington Accelerated Elementary School posted a 68-point gain, and San Rafael posted a gain of 56 points.
“Given all the life challenges faced by students at schools like Cleveland Elementary, Jackson, and Washington Accelerated, it’s clear that the teachers and principals are doing a very good job of alignment and should be praised,” said Pasadena Unified Board of Education member Scott Phelps. “Their hard work is paying off.”
Despite double-digit API increases at 21 of the District’s 32 schools, the District did not meet its federal Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) targets because English Learners and Special Education subgroups fell short of meeting those targets. This year’s AYP targets increased significantly from last year. For example, the targets for meeting AYP proficiency criteria for elementary schools in English-language arts increased from 13.6% in 2004 to 24.4% in 2005; for mathematics, from 16% to 26.5%.
The Annual Yearly Progress report is a component of federal legislation that requires school districts to achieve certain participation and performance thresholds on an annual basis.
“All schools across the country are required to test at least 95 percent of their total student enrollment,” said Jang. “All significant subgroups also must meet the AYP targets. It is remarkable that the District’s Socioeconomically Disadvantaged subgroup exceeded the AYP targets this year, but we have more work to do with English learners and students with disabilities in the months to come,” said Jang.
“We should look at AYP as a resource,” said Scott Phelps. “This will provide special services for our students, including after-school tutoring programs.”
Among Pasadena Unified’s 32 schools, 19 showed an API score above 700 this year. This is compared to 14 schools with API scores over 700 in 2004. The highest API scores were achieved by Don Benito Elementary (851 API), Willard Elementary (790 API), and Sierra Madre School (787 API). The statewide API target is 800.
Six schools previously scoring below 700 exceeded that mark, including Burbank Elementary, Roosevelt Elementary, Longfellow Elementary, Washington Accelerated Elementary, San Rafael Elementary, and Cleveland Elementary. One school, Edison Elementary, dipped from an API of 717 to 682.
“I don’t see how people can make negative comparisons with neighboring districts when we continue to outperform the County and State’s growth rate,” said Phelps. “Everyone needs to be congratulated.”
To learn how CORE along with the Stupski Foundation was an integral part of the success in the Pasadena secondary schools, click here.