Mike Sciacca, Independent
They are beaming with pride on the Oak View Elementary School campus
-- and for good reason.
When the state released the latest Academic Performance Index scores
on Monday, Oak View students had made an astounding 100 point increase
from the previous testing period.
It was the greatest gain in all of Orange County.Principal Karen
Catabijan attributes the success to hard work on the part of teachers,
students and their parents.
"The most important thing we did was focus on literacy, speaking
English and attaining and elevating math skills," said Catabijan, whose
campus has a 99.9% Latino population, many of whom are learning the
English language. "Our teachers are always looking at standards, they
collaborate with one another and do a lot of planning as a group. Our
students have taken learning to heart and our parents in the community
are committed to the success of their children."
The Academic Performance Index is the system mandated by Gov. Gray
Davis' Public Schools Accountability Act of 1999 that ranks each public
school based on student performance.
Statewide, 6,700 schools received a score between 200 and 1,000, based
on the results of the Stanford 9 test taken by students in spring.
The state has set a target score of 800 for every school. Each school
ranked below 800 is required to improve their score by a fixed percentage
each year until they reach 800. Schools that receive 800 or higher are
expected to maintain or improve each year.
With a score of 490 last year Oak View needed to bring its score up by
16 points to meet the growth target set for the school by the state. The
school met it and then some, scoring 590 this year.
Oak View was part of an impressive showing by schools in the Ocean
View School District where all 15 schools met the statewide growth
target, said Karen Colby, director of curriculum and instruction for the
district.
"We are very pleased with what these tests reported," Colby said. "We
continue to improve in all areas. Last year, we had 14 schools meet the
target. This year, both Mesa View and Spring View middle schools exceeded
the statewide performance target."
While all of the schools in the Huntington Beach Union High School
District remain below the 800 mark, all but two of the six schools met
and surpassed their growth target. Huntington Beach High, Marina, Ocean
View and Westminster saw an increase while Edison and Fountain Valley
fell.
"Overall we are pleased with what the numbers show us," said Jerry
