Los Amigos Smashes API Growth Goal

Los Amigos High School met its Academic Performance Index growth goal--and then some--for the 2010-11 school year, with a score of 819, 39 points higher then last year's score.

The 39-point improvement was well above the district's established growth goal of five points, and the overall score of 819 was 45 points higher than the median API for similar schools. High school exit exam numbers for Los Amigos were somewhat less encouraging, with passing rates for the English portion rising slightly to 76.7 percent, and passing rates for the math portion falling by 1.2 percent to 79.8 percent.

Overall the Garden Grove Unified School District, which also includes several elementary schools in Fountain Valley, improved its API to 815, up 13 points from last year's score.

"We remain on course in the right direction with steady gains on the API attributed to the dedication and efforts of our teachers, administrators, support staff, and students," Superintendent Laura Schwalm said. "Although we face challenging circumstances, the district remains dedicated to student achievement and learning as our focus. We will pause to acknowledge our successes, then we will return to the task of examining strategies and best practices to help our students continue to improve in the new school year."

API reflects growth in student achievement from one year to the next. It is determined by results on the California Standards Tests in English, math, history/social science and science, and the California High School Exit Exam. The scores range from 200 to 1,000, with a performance target of 800. According to the state, 49 percent of California schools met or exceeded the 800-point bar in 2010-11, compared to 46 percent in 2009-10.