Changes in API criteria will produce better, more holistic evaluations

By Kate Robak
Calender Editor

Last September, California Governor Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 1458, which changed the Academic Performance Index scoring criteria for all California schools. This new bill will effectively redirect the focus of California schools away from simply passing Standardized Tests and toward focusing on education for the sake of learning and creating a better future for students.

Currently, API scores are based primarily on CSTs and are only slightly affected by other factors, such as dropout rates. SB 1458 states that beginning in 2016, California Standardized Tests, such as the STAR Test and the CAHSEE, will compose at most 60 percent of a school’s overall API score. The other 40 percent of the score will be composed of areas concerning the future of California students, like graduation rates and the readiness of students to pursue a successful college life. However, in some ways the bill is vague and does not include exactly what the API score will be made up of.

The bill will ensure that teachers’ and administrators’ attention on the California Standardized Tests will be more equally balanced with their attention on preparing their students for college and a career. The new API scoring system is a beneficial change for Mira Costa and all California schools because API scoring will be extended to other areas that many schools excel in, and will allow for schools to be recognized for successes unrelated to standardized testing.

While the bill gives some specifics about the makeup of the scoring system, it does not comprehensively address what the 40 percent of the API scoring will be comprised of, but State Superintendent Tom Torlakson will report by Oct. 1, 2013 the specific breakdown of the scoring criteria. Although these new methods have not been introduced yet, they will lead to a more holistic approach to the API grading system and back away from the current, closed-minded system which focuses only on test performance.

The new API criteria will also add more weight to science and social science classes. Also, because other subjects, such as foreign language and arts, are not on standardized tests, they have a greater chance of being evaluated once less emphasis in the evaluation process is put on the CSTs.

Some opponents believe that the scoring change will not be effective. However, while the bill may lack specifics now, it has a clear goal and process in which the details of the scoring system will be determined. With these changes, API scores will accurately represent schools’ abilities.

The new API scores will create an advanced and more accurate grading system that rightfully assesses schools by taking the emphasis off test-taking. This is a welcome change that will allow teachers to focus on improving the education of their students and promoting their overall academic experience.