Rohnert Park-Cotati Unified Shows Drop in Federal Test Scores

A record 49 percent of California schools met or exceeded the state’s Academic Performance Index target last year, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced Wednesday. But just three Rohnert Park and Cotati schools boasted an API score above the state target of 800 — Marguerite Hahn Elementary with a score of 825, Monte Vista with 830 and Tech High with 916.

Seven showed a decline in progress over the last year, and six schools fell below the state's goal of 800.

While four schools showed improvement since last year — including Rancho Cotate High School, Technology High, Monte Vista Elementary and Phoenix High, districtwide, progress showed a decline — dropping from an combined average of 757, down from 761 in 2010.

The district also fell below the state target for Adequate Yearly Progress — the federal No Child Left Behind target for students scoring at or above proficiency — failing to meet proficiency targets in English and math.

However, Torlakson said, schools statewide identified as "failing" are the result of flawed federal standards, rather than academic deficiency. The inconsistencies between rating systems are sometimes highly contradictory. 

"I applaud the hard work our students, teachers, parents, school employees and administrators are doing to improve — even in the face of severe cuts to school funding," Torlakson said. "At school, after school, and among every significant ethnic group, California’s students are performing better than ever. The failure here is in our politics, not our public schools."

California’s 2010-11 Accountability Progress Report, which provides results of both state and federal school accountability systems, came less than a week after Torlakson's letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan requesting immediate relief from the flawed policies of No Child Left Behind.

Both accountability systems are based upon results from the statewide Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program, which showed nine consecutive years of rising scores among California students, and from the California High School Exit Examination.

Implemented in 1998,  is given every spring in grades 2 through 11. The results are used to determine schools' Academic Performance Index scores, which in turn are used to see if schools are meeting federal standards set by No Child Left Behind.  

The report shows that statewide, 55 percent of elementary schools, 43 percent of middle schools and 28 percent of high schools met or surpassed the state API target of 800, with the proportion of schools making the target rising 3 percentage points from last year, from 46 percent to 49 percent. 

While, on average, falling behind the statewide target of 800, the Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified School District failed to meet its growth goal over 2010's base API, some education experts argue that rigid testing doesn't accurately track students' progress or level of learning.

Mandates set forth by No Child Left Behind, one expert argues, don't show students' full potential, because people learn differently.

"If the federal and state government wants to have an accountability system, and they want to use standardized testing to evaluate schools and districts, what we really should be doing is evaluating how much students are actually learning over the course of a year,"  said Eric Larsen, a research fellow with the Public Policy Institute of California, in May when .

"For example, the API looks at how well this year's sixth grade class did, and compares it to last year's — so it's not accurately measuring how much a student learns from year to year; it compares one student to the next," Larsen said.

"If the federal and state government wants to have an accountability system, and they want to use standardized testing to evaluate schools and districts, what we really should be doing is evaluating how much students are actually learning over the course of a year," he added.

The problem with comparing grade levels year to year, instead of individuals, is that the demographics have the potential to shift dramatically. 

"Think of it this way: this year's class of sixth graders could be very different than last year's, so it could be biased," Larsen said.

One class could have more English learners, more students with disabilities or a greater social and economic divide, which could skew the numbers.

However, Larsen said it is one way to track how well students are doing, however flawed.

Check your school's API score:

Elementary Schools: 

• Evergreen Elementary: In 2011: 794. In 2010: 835.
• John Reed Elementary: In 2011: 755. In 2010: 756.
• Marguerite Hahn Elementary: In 2011: 825. In 2010: 836.
• Monte Vista Elementary: In 2011: 830. in 2010: 821.
• Thomas Page Elementary: In 2011: 754. In 2010: 782.
• Waldo Rohnert Park Elementary: In 2011: 731. In 2010: 756.

Middle Schools: 

• Lawrence E. Jones Middle School: In 2011: 751. In 2010: 800.

High Schools: 

• Rancho Cotate High: In 2011: 718. In 2010: 717. 
• Technology High: In 2011: 916. In 2010: 882.
• Phoenix High: In 2011: 444. In 2010: 511.
• El Camino High: In 2011: 570. In 2010: 557.

Berkeley Patch Editor Emily Henry contributed to this report.