Gilroy Schools Raise API Scores

The California Academic Performance Index base report was released June 14 and overall, Santa Clara County schools, including Gilroy, did very well.

The API is a tool that the state uses in order to rate a school's performance on a scale of 200 to 1,000. California's benchmark, or expected average is 800.

 had eight of its 14 schools hit this statewide benchmark, with and elementaries as well as being the newest to this group.

The county office said the results also show a trend of higher performance among a broad range of schools in the county, for tests that were taken by students last spring. About 62 percent of county schools met or exceeded the statewide performance target of 800 for the 2011 Base API. That compares with 45 percent statewide.

The base number is compiled between the total API growth (released in September 2012) and the 2011 base. From there, schools and districts are given an expected growth number that's the total they should aim for.

Gilroy Unified School District overall raised its API score by 23 points, from 777 to 800. The highest API score goes to Dr. T.J. Owens Gilroy Early College Academy, with a score of 926 and the lowest API score goes to , with a score of 740.

The biggest jump goes to Rod Kelley Elementary, which raised its API score from 769 to 826—a 57-point gain. The biggest drop happened at , whose API score fell by five points from 836 to 831.

School 2009 2010 211 +/- 767 739 795 +56 767 775 781 +6 Eliot Elementary 780 836 831 -5 757 774 796 +22 Las Animas Elementary 814 826 864 +38 856 852 896 +44 Rod Kelley Elementary 766 769 826 +57 Rucker Elementary 785 787 809 +22 Brownell Middle School 746 783 813 +30 808 814 827 +13 731 758 765 +7 783 796 +13 Dr. T.J. Owens Gilroy Early College Academy 894 892 926 +34 Gilroy High School * 730 740 +10

*2009 Base API cannot be reported because for at least one Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) content area used in API calculations, this school failed to test a significant portion of students who were not exempt from testing in 2009.

**All API score information gathered from the California Department of Education's website.

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