Melissa Giaimo
Assistant Perspectives Editor
Although Malibu public schools earned high marks in California’s annual school assessment, the California education system and API evaluation method is in disarray.
Last Tuesday, March 27, California’s Department of Education released the revised 2006 Academic Performance Index (API) and state rankings. API measures academic performance and growth of schools on a scale of 200 to 1,000, and state rankings evaluate schools from 1 to 10, from worst to best.
The state’s target API score was 800. All four of Malibu’s public schools scored above 800, with Malibu High earning an 830. All but Juan Cabrillo Elementary, which received a nine, earned tens. The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District also made a 10-point jump since the previous year in API scores.
But nationally, California public schools earn F’s, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s state-by-state report card on education effectiveness. The report concludes California “ranks among the lowest in the nation on academic achievement,” as the ninth worst state in America to attend school.
California received F’s in academic achievement statewide and among low-income and minority students. Fourth-graders are nine points behind the national reading exam average, and only 10 percent of Hispanics reach the national reading average. Given that California spent $66 billion, almost half of its state budget on education last year, the report gave the state a D on return on investment.
But California does earn two A’s. Continuing to lead the nation in educational progressivism, the state scores top marks for its 21st century teaching force, as well as school freedom and flexibility.
A $3 million research project conducted at Stanford University comprised of 20 studies confirms the poor state of California’s school system. The study concluded that California needs to reform what it describes as “California’s irrational, complex and restrictive school finance governance system.”
The study revealed the achievement disparity in education quality across the state. Sadly, a district’s race and economic status profoundly affect its school quality. Although Malibu scored 830 API, nearby Los Angeles Unified, scored 655. Usually, only predominately white and Asian American districts earn top APIs.
Money cannot solve most of school system’s problems; drastic change is necessary. “Even if we do put more money into the system – it probably will take more money to make the changes that we want – they’ll only be effective if we use the resources well,” said study director Susanna Loeb.
If money was the main factor, then California’s schools would earn an A. California has the nation’s fifth highest economy, according to the Kauffman Foundation’s 2007 New State Economy Index. However, the other states ranking among the top six strongest economies, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Washington and Connecticut, receive A’s in academic achievement. But instead, California scores with the six states with the worst economies, Kentucky, Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi and West Virginia, which receive D’s or F’s in academic achievement.
Although money cannot solve all of California’s school problems, it can help avoid many of the problems. Malibu’s high status, tax revenue and wealth allow the city to skirt many of the issues plaguing most of the state’s public schools. In addition, Malibu’s citizens and local legislators are extremely committed to managing their public schools, unlike other districts where PTOs have no influence. Wealth, taxes, demographics and the city’s commitment to education explain its higher API scores.
California exaggerates the improvements in its education system, because API is a faulty measure of scholastic success. When Jack O’Connell, state superintendent of schools, released the API reports, he said the state’s schools are heading in the right direction, He applauded California’s schools for improving three percentage points from the previous year.
The API is a limited judge of scholastic success because it relies almost solely on standardized test scores, ironically highly subjective, to judge students. It is difficult to receive an accurate picture on the quality of schools by using one testing method.
The Chamber of Commerce affirms the poorness of API, failing it for efforts to collect and report quality education data because it does not compare individuals’ test records from year to year or collect graduation and dropout data.
Until now, the API has held students to different standards, depending on if they are poor, black, Hispanic, or not proficient in English. But at last, education officials have learned that holding students to lower standards is not the most productive method to improve students’ work ethic.
Regardless of whether one takes the API seriously, only 34 percent of California schools reached the 800 success marker, a pitiful number for a state with one of the finest university systems in the country. California Institute of Technology, Berkeley, UCLA, UC San Diego, UC Irvine, UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara, UC Santa Cruz and UC Riverside place among the top U.S. national universities, according to U.S. News and World Report, the most top universities for any state.
It is time for California public schools, kindergarten through twelfth grade, to meet the same standard of California universities, and not only in wealthy Malibu. California’s lackluster scores reveal the state’s greater problems of racial and economic disparities.
May these embarrassing education assessments motivate educators to reform the school system so that all students, no matter race, language or economic background, can receive the first-rate education California education they deserve.
04-05-2007