API scores bring request for review
by Bret Bradigan

Academic Performance Index scores from Ojai Unified School District showed declines at every school except Mira Monte Elementary, but district officials aren't buying it.
Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Dr. Tim Baird said he requested a review by the state Department of Education, pointing out several discrepancies in the scores. (See chart on Page A-3).
"Our schools have always tested well," Baird said. "This took us by surprise."
Discrepancies between the number of students tested and special education students points to one factor. Specifically, the district sees evidence that between 30 and 50 special education students at Nordhoff High School took the test without allowed accommodations: "Out of 800 students, that's fairly significant," he said. Another factor was the mobility exclusion for students who moved into the district that year; Baird believes many of those students were also tested.
"We think there's a data error," Baird said. "We tested more special ed students than we ever have in the history of the district."
API scores are assembled from a variety of other tests, including the California Continuing Standards Test taken in May, as well as the Stanford 9. "It's somewhat of a ludicrous concept, but it makes it easier to come up with a number to compare with other schools."
Schools which exceed their API goals receive bonuses, while schools that consistently fail to meet goals face sanctions, including takeover by the state. In Ventura County, 63 percent of elementary schools and 43 percent of middle schools and high schools met their goals.
"We had no major changes in curriculum, and took the same tests," he said. "This just kind of came out of the blue."

© 2002 The Ojai Valley News

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