California State Achievement Test of 1999
By Kimberly Slavich
Abstract
The
1999 Academic Performance Index (API) for elementary or middle schools is based
on the Stanford 9 scores in grades two through eight. The Stanford 9 test is given to all students regardless of their
comprehension of the English language.
The API discriminates against the schools that have a larger population
of non-English speaking (Bi-lingual) students. The higher percentage of bi-lingual students, the lower the API
results were for each school. These
results are then used to judge the school performance level against similar
schools based on the number of students per school, family income and
ethnicity. A Low scoring school with
higher bi-lingual percentages have a greater academic challenge than schools
with low percentages of bi-lingual students.
Introduction
When the results of the Stanford 9 test were published in
the Sacramento Bee, I was surprised to read the low scores for the City of Galt
Schools. Knowing the results of many
students I felt that the scores poorly reflected the students of our schools. I believe the test is biased and not a true
reflection of the students in my community. After talking to numerous teachers I then decided to investigate
the API results.
Results
San Juan Unified School District
Sacramento City Unified School District
Galt Joint Unified School District
The above
schools were used as a sampling for the analysis of the bi-lingual influence in
the API results.
Under the
current ranking system, each school is assigned a score, called its Academic Performance
Index, based on student overall performance on the 1999 achievement exam. The score could range from 200 to
1,000. The state set a target goal on
the API to 800. Which would mean most
the students at that school tested above the nation’s 60th
percentile on the achievement exam and none tested below the nation’s 40th
percentile. This slide can be found at http://www.cde.ca.gov/psaa/API/slides?sld005.htm
The above
slide shows the curriculum for which the students are tested. A percentage, or score, is given to each
student. The summary of these results
is then assigned to the school. The
collection of school results is given to the district and placed into an
average for the district. This slide
can be viewed at the following web site http://www.cde.ca.gov/psaa/API/slides/sld007.htm
|
SACRAMENTO
AREA SCHOOLS
|
API
|
ENROLLED
|
BI-LINGUAL
|
PERCENTAGE
|
|
Valley
Oaks Elementary
|
611
|
972
|
246
|
25
|
|
River
Oaks Elementary
|
760
|
676
|
119
|
18
|
|
Marengo
Ranch Elementary
|
716
|
662
|
69
|
10
|
|
Fairsite
Elementary
|
572
|
711
|
292
|
41
|
|
Del Dayo
Elementary
|
888
|
449
|
4
|
1
|
|
Gold
River Discovery Center
|
863
|
704
|
4
|
1
|
|
Kenneth
Avenue Elementary
|
564
|
538
|
5
|
1
|
|
Garfield
Elementary
|
704
|
449
|
8
|
2
|
|
Parkway
Elementary
|
494
|
553
|
82
|
15
|
|
Tahoe
Elementary
|
492
|
471
|
124
|
26
|
|
Crocker/Riverside
Elementary
|
824
|
476
|
33
|
7
|
|
Washington
Elementary
|
540
|
325
|
174
|
54
|
The above
table was designed to demonstrate the following results: The API per school,
total enrollment per school, the R-30 bi-lingual reported numbers, and the
percentage of bi-lingual students per school.
The research schools were chosen to represent the different areas in
Sacramento County. The API results were obtained at the following web site http://www.cde.ca.gov/psaa/api. The enrollment numbers were available on the
following web sites http://www.sanjuan.edu/schools/scholist.htm.
http://www.scusd.edu.
Galt
Joint Unified School District does not post its enrollment on the web. These numbers were obtained at the Galt
Joint Unified School District office.
The R-30 bi-lingual
form is reported per school to the California Department of Education. Each school must account for the students
that are in need of English immersion, to perform to grade level. This is necessary in order for schools to
obtain assistance. It is an actual count of students per school. The R-30 numbers can be found at the
following web site http://dattal.cde.ca.gov/dataquest. In order to achieve a percentage the total
enrollment numbers were divided by the bi-lingual student numbers.
Conclusion
The results of this analysis indicate a direct correlation
between the high percentages of bi-lingual students with lower API scores. The API results show a bias to the
bi-lingual students. Based on this
research the Stanford 9 test falls short of the assessment it was intended for.
Possible Solution
A possible solution to the problem would be to increase the
teaching assistance to the schools with 15% or higher bi-lingual
population. Another possible solution
would be to offer the Stanford 9 test to the bi-lingual students in their
native language.
Administrators at Parkway Elementary sited the instability
that occurs when a school has numerous rental units within its boundaries. The graduating 6th grade class has 4
students that have been in attendance at Parkway Elementary since
Kindergarten. Parkway Elementary has a
15% bi-lingual student population. Parkway Elementary also believes the lack of
consistency for the students reflect upon their low API results. S. Heard (personal communication, April 26,
2000).
References
Telephone Interview
Heard, Susan Parkway
Elementary April
26, 2000
Klux, Kathy Galt
Joint Unified School District April 26,
2000
Robbins, Gale Valley
Oaks Elementary April 27,
2000
California Department of Education (1999), DataQuest,
English Learners, Sacramento County. http://data1.cde.ca.gov/dataquest
California Department of Education (1999), Star test
Results, Public Schools Accountability Act of 1999, Academic Performance Index –
slides 005,007. http://www.cde.ca.gov/psaa/API/slides
Martineau, P. 2000.
Capital area test scores run gamut: State schools fall short of Davis’
goals. The Sacramento Bee, (v.286) A1, A8-A9.
Sacramento City Unified School District (1999), School List,
Departments. http://www.scusd.edu
San Juan Unified School District (1999), Elementary Schools,
List of Schools and Special Programs. http://www.sanjuan.edu/schools/scholist.htm