Academic Performance Index scores released Thursday by the California Department of Education show two of West Hollywood’s three public schools posted significant gains over last year while one fell short of its 2011 score.
The API score for West Hollywood Elementary, located at 970 North Hammond St., was 932, compared with a score of 907 in 2011. The school’s API is substantially higher than the 865 median score of 100 other schools with a similar demographic makeup. The school serves students in kindergarten through sixth grade. Its enrollment averages 290 students.
The API score for Larchmont Charter School was 925, compared with a score of 942 in 2011. Larchmont, located at 1265 North Fairfax Ave., serves students in kindergarten through sixth grade. It has an average of 334 students.
The API score for West Hollywood Community Day School, 1049 Fairfax Ave., was 628, compared with a score of 545 in 2011. West Hollywood Community serves students from seventh to twelfth grade from a wide geographic area who have had problems with truancy or behavior. Its enrollment is 110 students.
The Academic Performance Index (API) is an annual measure of performance of schools and districts. The California Department of Education (CDE) calculates the API and disseminates the results directly to schools and districts as well as posting them on the CDE website.
For elementary and middle schools, the Academic Performance Index is calculated by the state using results from its Standardized Testing Program. The calculation is done on a two-year cycle, with a Base API released each Spring that is calculated from test scores from the previous year, and a Growth API released in the fall that is derived from scores in Spring of the same year. The state provides the scores to meet the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Law, which requires such measurement as a condition of federal education funding.
The statewide API target is set at 800 out of a possible 1,000. Schools are expected to improve their performance by an amount equal to five percent of the difference between each school’s API and the target of 800 points.
