SVUSD Schools All Well Above State Average in API Scores

The California Academic Performance Index base report was released Thursday morning and all four Scotts Valley Unified School District schools scored well above the state average.

The API is a tool that the state uses in order to rate a school's performance on scale of 200 to 1,000. California's benchmark, or expected average is 800.

Brook Knoll Elementary School, home to 374 students, raised its API score from 920 in 2011 to 925. It also raised its scores among its subgroups—Latino students, socioeconomically disadvantaged student, and students with disabilities—with all three surpassing the 800 benchmark.

Vine Hill Elementary School has 395 students, and raised its API score from 882 in 2011 to 911. It also raised its scores among its subgroups—Latino students, socioeconomically disadvantaged student, English Learners and students with disabilities—with two out of the four surpassing the 800 benchmark.

Scotts Valley Middle School, home to 571 students, raised its API score from 902 in 2011 to 918. It also raised its scores among its subgroups—Latino students, socioeconomically disadvantaged student, English Learners and students with disabilities—with three out of the four surpassing the 800 benchmark.

And Scotts Valley High School, home to 565 students, raised its API score from 844 in 2011 to 864. Among its subgroups, the scores for Latino students and socioeconomically disadvantaged students went down, both below the 800 benchmark. The scores for English Learners and students with disabilities went up, but were both below the 800 benchmark.

Statewide, some 53 percent of schools scored at or above the state target of 800, an increase of 4 percentage points over last year, marking a decade of steady growth. Ten years ago, only 20 percent of schools met or surpassed the API target.

"We’ve set a high bar for schools and they have more than met the challenge, despite the enormous obstacles that years of budget cuts have put in their way,” Torlakson said. “The incredible efforts of teachers, administrators, school employees, parents, and students should serve as an inspiration to us all. While there’s still more work to do, California’s schools have earned a vote of confidence.”

Results released by the state show that 59 percent of elementary schools, 49 percent of middle schools, and 30 percent of high schools are now meeting the state benchmark.

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*All API score information gathered from the California Department of Education's website.

**Individual students can fall under multiple subgroups.