By Joani Gillam
News Editor
Showing a twelve point increase from 2010, Mira Costa’s 2011 Academic Performance Index (API) score of 911 was announced by Costa administration on September 1.
With an API score of 911, Mira Costa surpasses California’s requirement of 800 or more points, ranking Mira Costa in the top 2.5% of all California high schools and among the top ten high schools in California.
“This score is fantastic,” Costa principal Ben Dale said. “It shows that Costa is a great school with high-quality teaching and dedicated students.”
API rankings highlight the growth of California’s schools based various test scores, among which are the California High School Exit Exam, and state-required standardized (STAR) tests. Mira Costa showed great improvement in standardized testing scores, with every subgroup that was tested improving and a lesser number of students scoring below proficient on their STAR tests.
“We are constantly improving here at Costa,” Dale said. “We had better scores on the STAR tests this year, which helped our API score, and I hope we will continue to increase our scores each year.”
Based on information given by the California Department of Education, schools that are similar to Mira Costa are only achieving 883 API scores. Because Mira Costa is ranked 27 points more than these schools, the California Department of Education classifies Costa as a high-performing school.
College admission boards take API scores into consideration when students apply, giving students an advantage if they go to a high school that is classified as top-performing, like Mira Costa.
“When I was choosing a high school, I picked Mira Costa because I wanted to go to a school that colleges saw as high-achieving,” freshman Tyler Summers said.
The administration feels that the scheduling of the STAR tests, which placed STAR tests a few weeks after AP tests, played a decisive role in Costa’s increased API score.
“Moving the California standardized tests after AP tests was a smart move, because students had time to recover from the stress of the AP tests and really focus and pay attention to the STAR tests,” Dale said.
For teachers, the API score demonstrates the quality of their teaching, as well as how effectively they prepared students for the standardized tests.
“Our API score should be celebrated,” said Costa math teacher Tim Kelley. “I’m really proud of the students, and the fact that they really cared about the STAR tests this year. It makes me proud of my hard work, and happy to be a teacher at Costa.”
Despite being ranked as a top-performing school, the Costa administration continues to look for ways to improve the API ranking for next year, so that the community, colleges, and other institutions will see Mira Costa as a place of academic excellence.
“The goal for our API score is 1000—a perfect score,” Dale said. “Here at Costa, we want to set our standards high, and if we find the right combination of great teachers and dedicated students, I have no doubt that we continue raising our API. We have work to do, but right now, we are at a great place.”
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