Test scores off slightly Test scores off slightly (September 03, 2004)

Ranking of local districts still above state average

By Julie O'Shea

Although Mountain View districts saw slight declines on their 2004 state test scores, most schools still managed to reach a federal-mandated academic achievement threshold.

On Monday, the California Department of Education released results for this year's Academic Performance Index (API), a ranking that evaluates schools based on how well they do on a series of standardized tests in math and English.

Overall, scores for both the Mountain View-Whisman and Mountain View-Los Altos Union school districts went down by a few points from last year. While this is disappointing, administrators said they are pleased that most of their schools are continuing to show steady growth.

Scores range from 200 to 1,000 points with a statewide goal of 800.

Mountain View-Whisman scored 755, down three points from 2003. And the high school district received 781, down five points from last year. Both districts are still significantly above the state average of 693 and hovering near the Santa Clara County average of 763.

"I am pleased with the growth I see," Mountain View-Whisman Superintendent Eleanor Yick said. Just three schools, Bubb, Slater and Theuerkauf, saw a decrease from their 2003 performance this year, and Yick said she will study these results closely to find out what improvements need to be made. Landels Elementary improved the most with a 33-point jump to 812, and Huff received the district's highest mark with 934.

Mountain View High's score jumped three points to 799, but the scores for Los Altos High slid by 11 points to 786.

Associate Superintendent Brigitte Sarraf said district officials are "a little disappointed" with the decreases, but noted that 786 is still a commendable score.

Also released Monday were Adequate Yearly Process (AYP) statistics. This federal benchmark is part of President Bush's 2001 No Child Left Behind Act, which mandates that 100 percent of the nation's children be proficient in reading, writing and math by 2014.

All Mountain View schools, with the exception of Castro and Slater Elementary Schools and Alta Vista and Moffett High Schools, met their 2004 goals.

The federal measure requires a 95-percent participation rate on the state's API tests in a number of subgroups, including Hispanics, English language learners and socioeconomically disadvantaged. The measure also requires a certain percentage of each of these subgroups to be proficient or above in the subjects tested. This year, the amount proficient is 13.6 percent for language arts and 16 percent for math.

The two elementary schools that did not reach their AYP, failed because not enough students in certain subgroups showed proficiency in the subjects tested.

Moffett and Alta Vista high schools, both alternative or independent study campuses, failed because they did not make the API growth target. Alta Vista's scores fell by 58 points to 454, and Moffett saw a 126-point decline to 494.

District administrators said they are trying to figure out why both schools saw such a sharp drop.

"We are interested in this," Sarraf said, adding, however, that both schools represent "just a small population" of students and that the district considers these schools' API differently than the traditional schools' API.

E-mail Julie O'Shea at joshea@mv-voice.com

Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District

API scores

2003

2004

Los Altos High 7 797 786

Mountain View High 796 799

Alta Vista High 512 454

Moffett High 620 494

Mountain View-Whisman School District

API scores

2003
2004

Bubb 862 842

Castro 618 632

Crittenden 721 740

Graham 756 765

Huff 919 934

Landels 779 812

Monta Loma 766 780

Slater 742 727

Theuerkauf 725 700

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