SAN FRANCISCO — California schools posted gains on standardized tests for the ninth consecutive year, even as nearly 4,000 campuses face possible sanctions for failing to reach rising federal requirements, the state Department of Education said last week.
A record 49 percent of public schools met or surpassed the state target score of 800 on the 1,000-point Academic Performance Index, or API, up from 46 percent in 2010 and 36 percent in 2009, according to the department’s Accountability Progress Report.
The closely watched API is calculated from results of various standardized tests in math, English and other subjects to give educators, parents and policymakers an easy way to evaluate individual schools as well as the state school system as a whole.
The latest results show the 800-point target was met by 55 percent of elementary schools, 43 percent of middle schools and 28 percent of high schools, the department said.
“At school after school, and among every significant ethnic group, California’s students are performing better than ever,” said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson. “Even in the face of severe cuts to school funding.”
The statewide average API score rose 11 points to 778, with all racial groups making academic gains. But the results showed a continuing achievement gap between students of different races. Average API scores were 696 for Blacks, 729 for Latinos, 845 for Whites and 898 for Asians.
State education officials said 913 more schools could be labeled as failing under the federal No Child Left Behind law for not meeting targets that rise each year. The Bush-era law requires each state to improve student performance on its own standardized tests annually.
