Schools’ Reward for Achievement Is Frustration

For the fourth year in a row, students at Wilson Elementary in Santa Ana have far surpassed expectations on statewide standardized tests. But once again, the improving school has landed in the academic basement among California’s public schools.

“It’s a slap in the face when you meet these targets and the state tells you you’re still a [low-ranked] school,” said Wilson Principal Robert Anguiano.

His frustration followed the release Tuesday of statistics showing that his campus and 404 others around California have remained stuck in the lowest of 10 positions since state rankings began in 2000.

This disappointing result, school officials said, did not tell the whole story behind these schools on the rise.

Wilson Elementary and dozens of other low-ranking schools across Southern California actually produced some of the biggest test-score gains under the ranking system.

Partly because of the way the state designed the ranking system, these schools have had a hard time separating themselves from many other campuses whose test scores have barely budged or even declined. And schools like Wilson have struggled to move up because many schools in the higher rankings also have improved their test scores.

“It’s a sign that the state isn’t validating all the work you’ve done,” said Anguiano. “[Scores] are going up and up, but we’ve still got this ranking.”

The ranking system is part of the state’s Academic Performance Index, which uses standardized test results in grades two through 11 to measure achievement.

Each year, the academic performance of every California school is measured by the index, in which each school receives a score ranging from 200 to 1,000, and 800 is the target score set for underachieving schools. To compare a school with others, the state also divides campuses into 10 roughly equal groups, whose results were released Tuesday.

Beyond bragging rights, those rankings are used to help identify schools that need extra help or possible shakeups, such as a new principal.

Among Orange County schools, 5.7% were ranked at the lowest level -- compared with 21.9% of the schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District. At the other extreme, 19.1% of Orange County’s schools ranked at the 10th, or highest, level, compared with 4.2% for the L.A. schools.

Schools, like Wilson, that serve mostly low-income and minority children typically wind up in the lowest ranks, while suburban campuses with more affluent students have generally reached higher ranks, according to the test data. And that pattern has held for the program’s four years.

Sixty-two percent of schools that were in rank 1 four years ago are still in the bottom rung. These include 14 schools in Santa Ana, as well as others in Los Angeles, Compton and Lynwood.

Anaheim’s Paul Revere Elementary is among the schools unable to break out of the first rank, despite the fact that its 1,055 students have far exceeded their API targets each of the last four years. In 2002, for example, Revere students jumped 69 points on the API scale, even though state formulas required an increase of only 13 points.

Principal James Gardner said that, in the first years of API testing, teachers and administrators worried more about school rankings. After four years, however, he believes his staff understands the disconnect between Revere’s rank and its progress.

“There was a time when these ranks grated on us,” he said. “But we know that the system isn’t logical. It doesn’t make sense.”

Gardner said he will explain the test results to teachers and ensure that they are not misled by the rankings. In previous meetings he has used the analogy of a sports team: “We don’t need to focus on what place we finish in,” he said. “We need to make sure we have more wins than last year.”

State education officials say the API system is working as intended. “No one is [punishing] any school for being in the first decile,” said William Padia, director of the Office of Policy and Evaluation for the state Department of Education. “It’s just meant to show how they are doing relative to everyone else.”

Along with the state-wide rankings, the API system also compares schools with similar demographics. When placed along side similar schools, for example, Santa Ana’s Wilson Elementary jumps to the fifth rank.

And the system helps identify schools in need of attention -- campuses such as Century High School in Santa Ana.

While the school has showed modest improvement on state and federal standardized testing, poor API scores brought a state intervention team 1 1/2 years ago to make recommendations for improvement.

The state team returned for a follow-up visit recently to evaluate Century’s progress, said Nuria Solis, the district’s student achievement counselor. Solis said state school officials have the authority to take control of a school that continues to underperform, but emphasized that it was highly unlikely Century would suffer this fate.

Teachers and administrators at Valley High School in Santa Ana have also pushed to improve. While failing to meet API expectations for the first three years, Valley High posted an impressive gain last year, surpassing its target.

Principal Antonio Espinosa was brought into the school by district officials in 2001 to make “drastic changes.” To improve general performance and increase test scores, class lessons focus on language improvement and are tightly structured around state standards.

At the other end of the API scale, 79% of schools with a rank of 10 four years ago have consistently stayed on top. These schools are in La Canada-Flintridge, Manhattan Beach, Palos Verdes, Irvine, Laguna Beach and other mainly upper-income communities. Those rankings are touted by real estate agents and community leaders.

Educators say the API system was designed to help schools at the bottom by giving their students some additional credit when they improve their scores. But schools that start out very low have to improve significantly more to rise in the ranks than a school, for example, trying to move from 6 to 7.

“The fact that a school remains a 1 simply means that it is not beating the state’s rate of improvement enough to cross over that next threshold,” said Edward Haertel, a Stanford education professor who helps advise the state on issues related to the test. “What matters is the absolute improvement we see year after year.”

At Wilson Elementary, the API score has shot up from 407 to 587 since testing began. Teachers and administrators are proud of that and say the continued low ranking does not reflect their progress, especially at a school in which 91% of the students are English learners and 90% qualify for the state’s discount lunch program.

The improving test scores, they said, were more telling than the statewide rankings.

“A lot of teachers are frustrated,” said Susan Lear, a 26-year veteran at Wilson. “It can get you down if you let it, but that is not our focus here. Our focus is standards.... We know what we’re doing in our classrooms.”

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How schools stack up

The State Department of Education ranks California schools by their scores on the Academic Performance Index. Rank 1 is the lowest, based on students’ performance on standardized tests. The chart shows the percentage of schools in each rank for school districts in Orange County and for the Los Angeles Unified School District overall.

Percentage of schools in each 2003 rank

No. Rank District schools 1 2 3 4 5 6

Anaheim City 23 17% 30% 30% 13% 9% 0% Anaheim Union High 17 0 18 18 24 12 0 Brea-Olinda Unified 8 0 0 0 0 0 0 Buena Park 7 0 0 14 29 29 0 Capistrano Unified 49 2 2 4 4 2 6 Centralia 9 0 0 0 11 11 11 Cypress 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 Fountain Valley 11 0 0 0 0 0 0 Fullerton 19 0 16 16 11 0 5 Fullerton Jt Union High 6 0 0 17 0 0 33 Garden Grove Unified 63 0 0 8 13 11 21 Huntington Beach City 10 0 0 0 0 0 10 Huntington Bch Un High 6 0 0 0 0 0 33 Irvine Unified 32 0 0 0 0 3 0 La Habra City 9 0 0 11 11 56 11 Laguna Beach Unified 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 Los Alamitos Unified 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 Magnolia 9 0 22 0 11 33 11 Newport-Mesa Unified 29 7 3 7 17 7 7 Ocean View 15 0 0 7 7 0 13 Orange Unified 41 2 12 7 12 7 7 Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified 28 0 7 4 7 4 11 Saddleback Valley Unified 35 0 0 0 0 0 5 Santa Ana Unified 52 44 19 10 8 2 6 Savanna 4 0 0 0 0 25 25 Tustin Unified 24 0 4 8 8 8 4 Westminster 16 0 6 6 19 0 31

All Orange County schools 6 7 7 8 6 9

Los Angeles Unified School District 22 15 14 13 8 9

No. Rank District schools 7 8 9 10

Anaheim City 23 0% 0% 0% 0% Anaheim Union High 17 6 18 0 6 Brea-Olinda Unified 8 13 13 25 50 Buena Park 7 0 29 0 0 Capistrano Unified 49 0 16 37 27 Centralia 9 33 22 0 11 Cypress 10 30 0 50 20 Fountain Valley 11 0 9 64 27 Fullerton 19 0 26 11 16 Fullerton Jt Union High 6 17 0 17 17 Garden Grove Unified 63 25 10 8 5 Huntington Beach City 10 0 20 50 20 Huntington Bch Un High 6 0 33 33 0 Irvine Unified 32 0 0 19 78 La Habra City 9 0 11 0 0 Laguna Beach Unified 4 0 0 25 75 Los Alamitos Unified 9 0 0 33 67 Magnolia 9 11 11 0 0 Newport-Mesa Unified 29 7 17 10 17 Ocean View 15 13 13 40 7 Orange Unified 41 5 7 37 2 Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified 28 0 7 36 25 Saddleback Valley Unified 35 5 17 31 37 Santa Ana Unified 52 4 4 2 2 Savanna 4 50 0 0 0 Tustin Unified 24 8 13 8 38 Westminster 16 13 25 0 0

All Orange County schools 8 11 19 19

Los Angeles Unified School District 7 5 4 4

NOTE: Percentages may not add up to 100% because of rounding Sources: Los Angeles Times analysis of California Department of Education data