Dixon Schools Fall Short of State's Test Scores Target

When it comes to education in California, 49 percent of the schools are meeting or exceeding the state’s Academic Performance Index (API) target last year said Tom Torlakson, state superintendent of Public Instruction Wednesday.

No school in Dixon however, except for Dixon Montessori Charter School, has boasted API scores above the state target of 800; two schools within the district have shown improvement from 2010-2011. Overall, average score was at 750, a decline of 1 from its 2010 base score of 751.

showed the highest increase in its API scores at 736, up 23 points from 2010’s base total of 713. came in second with a growth of 14 points, boosting its score to 791 from its 2010 base score of 777.

showed the sharpest decline in its API score at 465, down 26 points from its 491 base score. showed the second sharpest slip in its API score down 19 points at 739 from its 2010 base score of 758.

dipped by five points (744 points from its 749, 2010 base score); was down by two points (774 points from its 2010 base score of 776); and numbers for Dixon Community Day School were not available.

The only school in Dixon to have met or exceeded the state’s target of 800 is , which boasted a score of 836.

Dixon Unified also did not reach the state’s target for Adequate Yearly Progress – the federal No Child Left Behind target for students scoring at or above proficiency — failing to meet proficiency targets in English and math.

However, Torlakson said, schools statewide identified as "failing" are the result of flawed federal standards, rather than academic deficiency. The inconsistencies between rating systems are sometimes highly contradictory. 

"I applaud the hard work our students, teachers, parents, school employees and administrators are doing to improve — even in the face of severe cuts to school funding," Torlakson said. "At school, after school, and among every significant ethnic group, California’s students are performing better than ever. The failure here is in our politics, not our public schools."

California’s 2010-11 Accountability Progress Report, which provides results of both state and federal school accountability systems, came less than a week after Torlakson's letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan requesting immediate relief from the flawed policies of No Child Left Behind.

Both accountability systems are based upon results from the statewide Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program, which showed nine consecutive years of rising scores among California students, and from the California High School Exit Examination.

Implemented in 1998,  is given every spring in grades 2 through 11. The results are used to determine schools' Academic Performance Index scores, which in turn are used to see if schools are meeting federal standards set by No Child Left Behind.  

The report shows that statewide, 55 percent of elementary schools, 43 percent of middle schools and 28 percent of high schools met or surpassed the state API target of 800, with the proportion of schools making the target rising 3 percentage points from last year, from 46 percent to 49 percent. 

While, on average, falling behind the statewide target of 800, the Dixon Unified School District failed to meet its growth goal over 2010's base API, some education experts argue that rigid testing doesn't accurately track students' progress or level of learning.

Mandates set forth by No Child Left Behind, one expert argues, don't show students' full potential, because people learn differently.

"If the federal and state government wants to have an accountability system, and they want to use standardized testing to evaluate schools and districts, what we really should be doing is evaluating how much students are actually learning over the course of a year," said Eric Larsen, a research fellow with the Public Policy Institute of California, in May when last year's Academic Progress Index scores were released.

"For example, the API looks at how well this year's sixth grade class did, and compares it to last year's — so it's not accurately measuring how much a student learns from year to year; it compares one student to the next," Larsen said.

"If the federal and state government wants to have an accountability system, and they want to use standardized testing to evaluate schools and districts, what we really should be doing is evaluating how much students are actually learning over the course of a year," he added.

The problem with comparing grade levels year to year, instead of individuals, is that the demographics have the potential to shift dramatically. 

"Think of it this way: this year's class of sixth graders could be very different than last year's, so it could be biased," Larsen said.

One class could have more English learners; more students with disabilities or a greater social and economic divide, which could skew the numbers.

However, Larsen said it is one way to track how well students are doing, however flawed.

Check your school's API score:

 Elementary Schools: 

• Anderson Elementary: In 2011: 736. In 2010: 713.
• Tremont Elementary: In 2011: 791. In 2010: 777.
• Gretchen Higgins Elementary: In 2011: 739. In 2010: 758.
• Dixon Montessori Charter School: In 2011: 836. In 2010: N/A.

Middle Schools: 

• C.A. Jacobs Intermediate: In 2011: 774. In 2010: 776.

High Schools: 

• Dixon High School: In 2011: 744. In 2010: 749. 
• Maine Prairie High: In 2011: 465. In 2010: 491.

Berkeley Patch Editor Emily Henry and Rohnert Park Editor Angela Hart contributed to this report.