Academic Performance Index (API) Reports for California Public Schools

The Academic Performance Index (API) is a measurement of academic performance and progress of individual schools in California. The API is calculated using results of the STAR (Standardized Testing and Reporting) program and the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE). In 2009–10, STAR consisted of four types of tests, but not all of them were used in the API. The four tests included the California Standards Tests (CSTs) which examine students' proficiency on academic content standards in a variety of subjects. STAR also included the California Alternative Performance Assessment (CAPA) for students with severe cognitive disabilities, the California Modified Assessment (CMA) for students for whom the CAPA and CSTs are not appropriate, and one test (Standards-based Tests in Spanish) taken by certain Spanish-speaking English learner students. The Spanish tests are not part of the API calculation, but the rest are. The weight of each of these tests in a school's API score varies depending on several factors, but the CSTs generally play the lead role.

The test scores for students not continuously enrolled in a school since October of the school year are not counted in the school's API. Special Education students who are exempted and students whose parents requested that they not be tested are also not counted.

API scores ranges from a low of 200 to a high of 1000. The first step in calculating the API is to divide a school's individual student scores in each subject into five performance bands. The performance bands for California Standards Test (CST) results are labeled advanced, proficient, basic, below basic, and far below basic.

The next step is to apply weights to the percent of students with scores in each performance band (least weight for the lowest bands). These are summed to give a value for the subject.

Then each subject area and test is given a weight within the index. The weights depend on which tests are given to each grade in each school. For example, a high school’s Base API includes CAHSEE results.

The Base API scores vary school by school, depending on students’ grade levels and the number of students tested. The calculation also depends on the number of valid test scores at the school.

Finally, the resulting scores are added to become one number for each school—its API. A school district's API is the sum total of all the student (not school) scores.

A caveat: Although the API is meant as a measure of academic growth, it is not intended to track the school’s growth over several years. The meaningful comparison is within each annual API cycle, between the Base API and the Growth API, because the computation of the API is kept as similar as possible within each cycle.

The incorporation of new elements into the index at the beginning of an API base/growth cycle can lead to unintentional or confusing fluctuations in API scores compared with scores from the previous cycle. The state adjusts API scores to compensate for the effect of those new elements. The mechanism for that technical adjustment is called the scale calibration factor. Even so, the CDE warns against tracking the scores year to year. A better comparison is to look at whether a school or district consistently meets its growth targets or to consider the amount of growth year to year. Even within a cycle, the students represented in each year are different. For example, in a K–6 school, you have a group of 2nd–6th graders present in year one, but in year two the 2nd graders are new and the 6th graders from year one are gone.

API County List of Schools
Select County using the Drop-down box.

Select SANTA CLARA COUNTY

Prop 90 survives battle in Santa Clara County

Prop 90 was in danger of being rescinded. However, on June 14, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to keep Prop 90 in place. Under Prop 60 and 110, if a seller or spouse is over age 55 or if a seller of any age is disabled where their original residence is sold, the seller may transfer the base year value of their home to a replacement residence of equal or lesser value within the same county. Prop 90 extended this benefit to seniors and disabled who move to counties that adopted Prop 90 rules. County Assessor Larry Stone wanted to eliminate Prop 90 to increase revenue. The eight counties that currently participate in Prop 90 tax base transfers are Alameda, Santa Clara, San Mateo, San Diego, Los Angeles, Orange, El Dorado, and Ventura. (El Dorado adopted Prop 90 in 2010. Santa Clara opted in 20 yrs ago.)

Apple Computer's Steve Jobs announced new campus to house 12,000 employees

Last month, Apple Computer's Steve Jobs announced to the Cupertino City Council his plan to build a new campus to house 12,000 employees. The new campus is proposed to be located between I-280, Wolfe Road, Homstead, and the Cupertino city boundary with Santa Clara. Apple Computer is in the process of submitting permits and plans to break ground before 2015.

Santa Clara Cupertino School District Eisenhower Elementary Single Family Home Price Trend

One of the more economical ways to get your child into the Cupertino Union School District is to buy in Santa Clara south of Pruneridge Avenue where residents are able to send their children to Cupertino Union School District's Eisenhower Elementary (API=916 and rising). The hyperlink takes you to the Eisenhower Elementary Single Family Home Price Trend. Since price/sqft tends to be lower for larger homes, I separated the homes into three size ranges:

Small: SqFt < 1400
Medium: 1400 < SqFt < 1700
Large: SqFt > 1700

San Jose Rio Vista Avenue Home Price Trend (Price / SqFt vs. Sale Date)

I've put together a Table and Chart showing the San Jose Rio Vista Avenue Home Price Trend (Price/SqFt vs. Sale Date). At first glance you see the price plunged on the last sale, but if you look closely you see a couple things:
1. That sale was back on 11/14/09 when prices were lower.
2. That sale was one of the larger homes (1630 sq ft). Larger homes tend to sell at lower price per square feet because when you add square footage to a home, you don't increase value at a linear rate.


Robert Lei
REALTOR®, e-PRO®
Century 21 M&M and Associates
761 E. El Camino Real
Sunnyvale, CA 94087
Direct: (408) 350-4726
Cell: (408) 893-2410
I'm never too busy for your Silicon Valley real estate referrals
DRE # 01716389
http://www.siliconvalleyhouses.blogspot.com/



http://siliconvalleyhouses.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/riovista.pdf

Sunnyvale School District Boundary Map

Sunnyvale School District Boundary Map :
Shows (1) the outline of the Sunnyvale School District as a whole and
(2) the location of each school, AND (3) the colored regions showing which homes go to which school.

Santa Clara Unified School District Street Directory 2010 - 2011 :
Double-checks the information from (3) above, except you specifically enter the address of the property whose schools you want to look up.

Santa Clara Unified School District Map Boundary

Santa Clara Unified School District Map Boundary :
Shows (1) the outline of the Santa Clara Unified School District as a whole and
(2) the location of each school, but not (3) the boundary of showing which homes go to which school.

Santa Clara Unified School District Street Directory 2010 - 2011 :
Lists the information from (3) above, except in table format not map format.