Peninsula schools reach state API goal

Every school in both districts met or exceeded test-score goals set by the California Department of Education.

Burlingame’s McKinley Elementary improved its 2007 score by 13 points and reached California’s target API of 800 out of 1,000, bringing all schools in the six-campus district to the state objective. The Belmont-Redwood Shores School District also has six schools.

About 87 percent of schools statewide scored at least 800.

Across San Mateo County, some 61,015 students at 23 school districts were tested last year. South San Francisco Unified School District saw the biggest improvement from the prior year, with an average score of 760 versus 745 a year earlier.

The Millbrae Elementary School District experienced the largest drop — five points — with an average score of 836 in 2008.

Meaning behind the numbers.

• The Academic Performance Index, or API, is used by the state of California to measure student achievement. The scores set goals for how much a school should improve during the school year.
• Rankings are calculated per school based on students’ collective performance on tests in English, math, history and science. Schools can score as low as 200 and as high as 1,000. The state’s target for all schools is 800.
• Results are released twice a year. Spring results set the base standard from which schools measure how well they are improving test scores. API scores that measure growth scores are released in the fall.

SAN MATEO COUNTY 

Source: California Department of Education