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  • Monday, September 03, 2007

     

    SPECIAL REPORT: OUSD Secondary API Scores take a nose dive

    Villa Park H.S. scores drop 22 points
    VPHS subgroups all drop,
    school first to fall below target 800 API score



    Orange Unified School District Superintendent Thomas Godley had described the OUSD state testing scores as “flat” and comparable with the state wide results. With the release last week of the Academic Performance Index (API) scores it was clear that the 5 point OUSD whole district growth (as a whole the state had a 6 point growth) was misleading when the individual school scores were examined. OUSD can thank the “flat” 5 point growth to elementary and state identified Program Improvement School double digit growth as most of OUSD secondary school scores tanked in both the school wide and in the important federal subgroup categories. The real story was that all OUSD high schools except Orange High had falling scores (however Orange HS still failed in subgroup growth) with Villa Park High School free falling 22 points to become the first OUSD high school to drop below the state’s 800 target score.

    Most of the district’s secondary schools had problems with the required federal No Child Left Behind subgroups. Under the federal law, schools must track progress of subgroups of students to insure that all types of students are achieving at a school. In California, student subgroups scores at a particular school are counted if the school has at least 100 students of a particular subgroup. The rationale is that if particular subgroups fail to meet the improvement goals then the school is leaving students behind. The emphasis on subgroups requires schools to address the ‘learning gap” between high achieving groups (whites and Asians) and the other subgroups. Orange Unified’s diverse population leads to OUSD schools having varieties of unique localized subgroups. Orange Unified’s multimillion dollar, multi-year Trustee approved failed Focus on Results program did not address this basic well-known subgroup dilemma that now threatens to increase OUSD’s state identified Program Improvement Schools by next year as more OUSD schools are failing to meet the subgroup growth requirement. That list of failing schools could grow to again include an OUSD high school, the prestigious Villa Park High School.

    At the August 23rd OUSD School Board Meeting, the Board voted against Trustee Rick Ledesma’s motion to table a generous retroactive pay amendment to OUSD Superintendent Godley’s contract until after this year’s API scores were released. The OUSD Board Majority then later voted to approve that pay hike that raises Godley’s pay to $242,500 a year (both votes were split 5 to 2: Smith, Ortega, Nichols, Moffat, Poutsma-YES; Ledesma, Rocco-NO). Ledesma had argued to wait to factor in this year’s API results into the Godley’s review. Later at the end of the meeting in a tone normally reserved for on-the-outs eccentric Trustee Steve Rocco, members of the Godley Majority of the Board took Ledesma to task for his last minute move to delay the Superintendent’s raise because of test scores.

    Orange Net News has complied the API results for select OUSD schools below (to view a specific school visit STAR RESULTS ) and has included each school’s subgroup scores (note each school has different qualified subgroups). The goal of each school is to score above the API score of 800. Once above that score there are no sanctions. However, a school below that score and failing to reach growth goals two years in a row are designated as Program Improvement Schools with specific yearly improvement sanctions that could theoretically led to a state take over of the school.


    Orange Unified School District Whole District Comparison
    OUSD (total district) API SCORE PLUS: +5
    2007 SCHOOL WIDE SCORE: 782
    2006 SCHOOL WIDE SCORE: 777

    Orange County (all schools) API SCORE PLUS: +1
    2007 SCHOOL WIDE SCORE: 774
    2006 SCHOOL WIDE SCORE: 773

    California (all schools) API SCORE PLUS: +6
    2007 SCHOOL WIDE SCORE: 727
    2006 SCHOOL WIDE SCORE: 721

    OUSD HIGH SCHOOL API SCORES:

    Canyon H.S.
    Canyon’s API score dropped five points to 815 just remaining just above the state target score of 800. All of Canyon’s subgroups scores dropped.

    School Wide Improvement: Yes
    Comparative Improvement: No
    Improvement in Both: No

    API SCORE MINUS: (-5)
    2007 SCHOOL WIDE SCORE: 815
    2006 SCHOOL WIDE SCORE: 820
    SUBGROUPS (+/-):
    Asian (-2)
    Hispanic/Latino (-12)
    White (-1)
    Students with Disabilities (-18)


    EL Modena H.S.
    El Modena API score dropped 14 points and is now 30 points away from the state target score of 800. Only the Hispanic/Latino subgroup showed growth with major drops in its other subgroups.

    School Wide Improvement: No
    Comparative Improvement: No
    Improvement in Both: No

    API SCORE MINUS: (-14)
    2007 SCHOOL WIDE SCORE: 770
    2006 SCHOOL WIDE SCORE: 784
    SUBGROUPS:
    Asian (-23)
    Hispanic/ Latino +8
    White (-9)
    Socioeconomic Disadvantaged (-19)
    English Learners (-19)
    Students with Disabilities (-33)


    Orange H.S.

    Orange H.S. was the only OUSD high school that had a gain in the school API score this year, however it still failed in its subgroup growth. Orange H.S., a former designated Program Improvement School (it no longer is), continued its testing growth with an API increase of 8 points. Strong scores in its Asian subgroup and white’s subgroup (the only high school to have whites improve) offset the Panther’s small losses in the English Learners and Student’s with disabilities subgroups and a miss of growth by Hispanics.

    School Wide Improvement: Yes
    Comparative Improvement: No
    Improvement in Both: No

    API SCORE PLUS: +8
    2007 SCHOOL WIDE SCORE: 695
    2006 SCHOOL WIDE SCORE: 687
    SUBGROUPS:
    Asian +39
    Hispanic/Latino +4 (failed to grow by 7 points)
    White +19
    Socioeconomic Disadvantaged +9
    English Learners (-3)
    Students with Disabilities (-3)


    Villa Park H.S.

    The difficult year at Villa Park H.S. showed in the VPHS API Scores with a whopping 22 point drop, sending Villa Park below the state 800 target score and giving VPHS the distinction of being the first OUSD school to drop below the states mandatory 800 score number. All the high school’s subgroups dropped significantly. Another year like this and the unthinkable could happen: Villa Park High School designated by the state a Program Improvement School. What would happen to property values in Villa Park with the namesake high school designated as a state failing school?

    School Wide Improvement: No
    Comparative Improvement: No
    Improvement in Both: No

    API SCORE MINUS: (-22)
    2007 SCHOOL WIDE SCORE: 791
    2006 SCHOOL WIDE SCORE: 813
    SUBGROUPS:
    Asian (-8)
    Hispanic/Latino (-32)
    White (-16)
    Socioeconomic Disadvantaged (-49)
    Students with Disabilities (-24)

    MIDDLE SCHOOLS API SCORES:


    Cerro Villa M.S.
    CV’s white subgroup’s plus 17 API increase helped saved the school’s API score from going down as the score remained 817 despite a 22 point drop in Hispanic/Latino scores and a 25 point drop in the Socioeconomic Disadvantaged subgroup.

    Schoolwide Improvement: Yes
    Comparative Improvement: No
    Improvement in Both: No

    API SCORE No Change: (zero)
    2007 SCHOOL WIDE SCORE: 817
    2006 SCHOOL WIDE SCORE: 817
    SUBGROUPS:
    Asian (-2)
    Hispanic/Latino (-22)
    White +17
    Socioeconomic Disadvantaged (-25)

    El Rancho Charter M.S.
    The El Rancho Asian subgroup raised 18 points while the school’s White and Hispanic subgroups dropped.

    Schoolwide Improvement: Yes
    Comparative Improvement: No
    Improvement in Both: No

    API SCORE MINUS: (-1)
    2007 SCHOOL WIDE SCORE: 862
    2006 SCHOOL WIDE SCORE: 863
    SUBGROUPS:
    Asian +18
    Hispanic/Latino (-6)
    White (-3)


    Portola M.S. (Program Improvement School Year 5)

    As one of OUSD’s Program Improvement Schools, Portola’s three subgroups all had double digit increases which made Portola one of only three OUSD secondary schools to have increasing school wide scores.

    Schoolwide Improvement: Yes
    Comparative Improvement: Yes
    Improvement in Both: Yes

    API SCORE PLUS: +10
    2007 SCHOOL WIDE SCORE: 684
    2006 SCHOOL WIDE SCORE: 674
    SUBGROUPS:
    Hispanic/Latino +14
    Socioeconomic Disadvantaged +16
    English Learners +18

    Santiago Charter M.S.
    Santiago’s white subgroup helped drop Santiago’s school wide API score by 7 points despite the other three subgroups increasing.

    Schoolwide Improvement: No
    Comparative Improvement: No
    Improvement in Both: No


    API SCORE PLUS: (-7)
    2007 SCHOOL WIDE SCORE: 776
    2006 SCHOOL WIDE SCORE: 769
    SUBGROUPS:
    Hispanic/Latino +1
    White (-8)
    Socioeconomic Disadvantaged +9
    English Learners +2

    Yorba M.S. (Program Improvement School Year 4)
    Long ago rejecting OUSD’s failed Focus on Results program, the Yorba staff focused inward and away from district driven mandates to produce the biggest secondary API jump in OUSD.

    Schoolwide Improvement: Yes
    Comparative Improvement: Yes
    Improvement in Both: Yes


    API SCORE PLUS: +22
    2007 SCHOOL WIDE SCORE: 695
    2006 SCHOOL WIDE SCORE: 674
    SUBGROUPS:
    Hispanic/Latino +32
    White -4
    Socioeconomic Disadvantaged +38
    English Learners +32

    McPherson Magnet K-8
    Well above the state’s 800 API score goal, McPherson’s two subgroups both dropped.

    Schoolwide Improvement: Yes
    Comparative Improvement: No
    Improvement in Both: No

    API SCORE MINUS: (-4)
    2007 SCHOOL WIDE SCORE: 858
    2006 SCHOOL WIDE SCORE: 862
    SUBGROUPS:
    Hispanic/Latino (-14)
    White (-8)

    OUSD’s State Designated Elementary Program Improvement Schools

    Esplanade E.S. (Program Improvement School Year 4)
    Another Program Improvement School to have double digit increases to help save OUSD’s overall district scores.

    Schoolwide Improvement: Yes
    Comparative Improvement: Yes
    Improvement in Both: Yes


    API SCORE PLUS: +24
    2007 SCHOOL WIDE SCORE: 698
    2006 SCHOOL WIDE SCORE: 674
    SUBGROUPS:
    Hispanic/Latino +29
    Socioeconomic Disadvantaged +28
    English Learners +44

    Fairhaven E.S. (Program Improvement School Year 4)
    Two of this Program Improvement Schools’ three subgroups had double digit increases, however not enough to put the school into positive numbers.

    Schoolwide Improvement: No
    Comparative Improvement: No
    Improvement in Both: No

    API SCORE PLUS OR MINUS: (-1)
    2007 SCHOOL WIDE SCORE: 651
    2006 SCHOOL WIDE SCORE: 652
    SUBGROUPS:
    Hispanic/Latino +10
    Socioeconomic Disadvantaged (-4)
    English Learners +12


    Handy E.S. (Program Improvement School Year 3)

    Handy’s huge double digit subgroup increases led to a 34 point jump in school wide API scores.

    Schoolwide Improvement: Yes
    Comparative Improvement: Yes
    Improvement in Both: Yes

    API SCORE PLUS OR MINUS: +34
    2007 SCHOOL WIDE SCORE: 671
    2006 SCHOOL WIDE SCORE: 637
    SUBGROUPS:
    Hispanic/Latino +36
    White +51
    Socioeconomic Disadvantaged +36
    English Learners +28

    Lampson E.S. (Program Improvement School Year 2)
    Lampson’s scores are typical of the “flat” scores described by OUSD Superintendent Godley. Will Lampson’s new principal Cheryl Cohen, OUSD Focus on Results architect and former OUSD Assistant Superintendent, be able to make her infamous “marriage encounter training” philosophy work in OUSD’s outer edges?

    Schoolwide Improvement: No
    Comparative Improvement: No
    Improvement in Both: No

    API SCORE PLUS OR MINUS: (-2)
    2007 SCHOOL WIDE SCORE: 705
    2006 SCHOOL WIDE SCORE: 707
    SUBGROUPS:
    Asian (-12)
    Hispanic/Latino +1
    Socioeconomic Disadvantaged (zero)
    English Learners +3

    Prospect E.S. (Program Improvement School Year 3)
    The 37 point increase doesn’t make up last year’s 60 point drop, but it certainly helps.

    Schoolwide Improvement: Yes
    Comparative Improvement: Yes
    Improvement in Both: Yes

    API SCORE PLUS OR MINUS: (+37)
    2007 SCHOOL WIDE SCORE: 718
    2006 SCHOOL WIDE SCORE: 681
    SUBGROUPS:
    Hispanic/Latino +29
    Socioeconomic Disadvantaged +30
    English Learners +54

    Sycamore E.S. (Program Improvement School Year 5)
    This five year Program Improvement School helped the OUSD average with all three of its subgroups advancing.

    Schoolwide Improvement: Yes
    Comparative Improvement: No
    Improvement in Both: No

    API SCORE PLUS OR MINUS: +9
    2007 SCHOOL WIDE SCORE: 679
    2006 SCHOOL WIDE SCORE: 670
    SUBGROUPS:
    Hispanic/Latino +11
    Socioeconomic Disadvantaged +16
    English Learners +4


    SPECIAL REPORT
    Is a news production of
    OrangeNet.News@gmail.com
    “Independent Local Insight”

    Comments:
    Our public school system is hosed. The scores reflect that they are dropping to the lowest common denominator. Showing the subgroup's increasing or decreasing points is pretty meaningless. What are the baseline scores of these groups that they are improving or decending from? If the subgroup is doing poorly a +2 doesn't mean much. I'm sure in the name of political correctness we can't show that information.
     
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