• The Academic Performance Index (API) Report
• The Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) Report
• The Program Improvement (PI) Report
The California Department of Education (CDE) prepares these reports on each school, school district, and county office of education. The reports are available on the CDE Web site at http://www.cde.ca.gov/ apr/.
API Report
The API Report was made a state requirement by the Public Schools Accountability Act (PSAA) of 1999. This report shows how much a school is improving from year to year based on its API. A school’s API is a number that ranges from 200 to 1000 and is calculated from the results for each school’s students on statewide testing. The state has set 800 as the API target for all schools to meet. Schools that fall short of 800 are required to meet annual growth targets until that goal is achieved. API targets vary for each school. The annual API growth target for a school is 5 percent of the difference between the school’s API and the statewide performance target of 800. Schools that meet or exceed an 800 API are expected to at least maintain that level of achievement and should continue working to improve the academic performance of all students.
There are two API reports: (l) the API Base that is released to schools in March and (2) the API Growth that is released in August. These two reports show results from two different school years. The API Growth is compared to the API Base to show how much a school improved from one year to the next.
Schools must meet API growth targets for the whole school as well as for all “numerically significant” groups of students in the school (see explanation on page 2). Each API Base and API Growth report includes the schoolwide API and the APIs for each numerically significant group of students. The API Growth Report determines whether schools met their targets.
If a school meets certain API participation and growth criteria, it may be eligible to become a California Distinguished School or a National Blue Ribbon School. If a school does not meet or exceed its growth targets and is ranked in the lower part of the statewide distribution of the API Base, it may be identified to participate in state intervention programs. These programs are designed to help the school improve its academic performance.
AYP Report
The AYP Report was made a federal requirement by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001. This report shows how well schools and school districts are meeting common standards of academic performance, measured by whether the school or school district makes AYP. Required AYP targets increase almost yearly until 2013–14 when all schools must have 100 percent of their students performing at or above the proficient level on state tests. By law, all California schools receive annual AYP results.
Note: The CDE also posts API, AYP, and PI reports for school districts and county offices of education, following the same schedule as Accountability Progress Reporting for schools.
Each year, schools and school districts must meet four sets of requirements to make AYP. The requirements reflect minimum statewide performance levels and are the same for all schools and school districts of the same type (see table below). The requirements include
(1) student participation rate on statewide tests,
(2) percentage of students scoring at the proficient lev-el or above in English-language arts and mathematics on statewide tests,
(3) API Growth, and
(4) graduation rate (if high school students are enrolled). Numerically significant groups of students at a school or school district also must meet participation rate and percent proficient requirements.
| Type of School | Participation Rate | Percent Proficient in
English-Language Arts | Percent Proficient in
Mathematics | API Growth | Graduation Rate
(if high school
School students enrolled)
|
| Elementary Schools, Middle Schools, and Elementary School Districts | 95% | 24.40% | 26.50% | 590
OR
1 point growth | N/A |
| High Schools and High School Districts (with grade levels 9–12) | 95% | 22.3% | 20.9% | 590
OR
1 point growth | 82.9%
OR
+0.1% one- year change OR +0.2% two- year change |
| Unified School Districts, High School Districts, and County Offices of Education (with grade levels 2–8 and 9–12) | 95% | 23.0% | 23.7% | 590
OR
1 point growth | 82.9%
OR
+0.1% one- year change OR +0.2% two- year change |
Numerically Significant Student Groups
To be considered numerically significant (large enough) for the API or AYP, a student group must include at least 100 students or at least 50 students who make up 15 percent or more of the school’s total population. Results of numerically significant groups of students for the API and AYP are calculated for the following categories:
African American (not of Hispanic origin)
Pacific Islander
American Indian or Alaska Native
White (not of Hispanic origin)
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged
Asian
Filipino
English Learners
Hispanic or Latino
Students With Disabilities
PI Report
The PI Report supplements the AYP Report by provid¬ing information on the PI status of schools and school districts. A school or school district that receives federal Title I funds is subject to identification as PI if it does not make AYP for two years in a row.
A school identified as PI must notify its parents and guardians about its PI status and offer certain types of required services during each year that it is a PI school. Types of possible services for students, par¬ents, and guardians are outlined in the chart below. A school is eligible to exit PI if it makes AYP for two years in a row.
Categories of Schools Receiving Federal Title I Funds | NCLB Options and Services for Students and Parents and Guardians |
Not in PI | School provides support programs to eligible Title I students |
Year 1 in PI | Parents and guardians are eligible to send their children to a non-PI school and eligible students receive paid transportation
School must revise its school plan within three months |
Year 2 in PI | Same services as Year 1 PI school
Supplemental services, such as tutoring, provided to all eligible students |
Year 3 in PI | Same services as Year 2 PI school
School district provides corrective action to improve the school |
Year 4 in PI | Same services as Year 3 PI school
School must develop a new management plan |
Year 5 in PI | Same services as Year 4 PI school
School must implement its management plan |
More Information
For more information about state and federal account¬ability requirements and the API, AYP, and PI reports, parents and guardians should contact the school or school district office during regular hours. Additional information is available on the CDE APR Web site at http://www.cde.ca.gov/apr/.
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