SBCSS News and Press Releases

Median API Base Scores Increase For County Schools

2011-05-05

SAN BERNARDINO - For the 12th consecutive year since the state began its standards measurement program, improvement was made by schools in San Bernardino County in their median Academic Performance Index (API) Base, according to date released today by the California Department of Education.

With an increase of nine points to the median API Base, the county's median for 2010 is a record-high of 776. That still trails the state median API Base of 790.

"I am pleased that our schools continue to show improvement on their API results, and I want to congratulate our students, teachers, administrators and support staff for their efforts to increase academic achievement," County Superintendent Gary Thomas said.

Compared to state median scores, county schools still trail API Base scores at the elementary, middle and high school levels.

Elementary schools in the county have improved their API Base median scores from 629 points in 1999 to 788 in 2010, an increase of 159 points. The state median API Base is 802.

At the middle school level, county API Base median scores rose 26 points. Over the past 12 years, the median API Base has grown from 587 to 743. The state median API Base is 774.

At the high school level, the county API Base rose 12 points to 720. Since 1999, the county API Base has grown 168 points. The state median API Base is 747.

The API Base sets each school's baseline scores for academic performance and annual growth targets. Additionally, the scores establish similar school rankings, with schools ranked by size and student population served. Schools are ranked academically on a scale of 1 to 10 (10 being the highest) and compared to other schools statewide (statewide rankings) and to schools with similar characteristics (similar schools rankings). Small schools, those with student populations of less than 100 students, and alternative schools did not figure in the API Base results.

Results of the 2010 API Base are available at the California Department of Education's website, www.cde.ca.gov.