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Home / Neighborhood / San Gabriel Valley / Pasadena Independent / PUSD Academic Performance Steady, According to API Figures Released Last Week

PUSD Academic Performance Steady, According to API Figures Released Last Week

by Pasadena Independent
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Emphasis on Science, 21st Century Skills Position District for Next Level of Achievement

Student achievement in the Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) remained steady, according to the 2011-2012 Academic Performance Index (API) growth results released today by the California Department of Education (CDE). Washington Accelerated Elementary saw the biggest increase among PUSD schools with a 49 point jump to score an 810 and cross the 800 API score threshold. National Blue Ribbon School Hamilton Elementary scored 901 this year, joining Sierra Madre School as the second school in the district to score above 900. Sierra Madre gained four points to score 912 this year, the highest in the district. The API measures the academic performance and growth of schools across a variety of measures.
“I congratulate the schools that had impressive increases in their API scores, but I recognize that there is still room for improvement, especially among our schools that lost ground this year,” said PUSD Superintendent Jon R. Gundry. “We are taking proactive steps to emphasize science and math and to rewrite the curriculum so that it integrates 21st century learning. However, I am concerned that if Proposition 30 and 38 do not pass, we will have detrimental funding cuts that will impact students, teachers and schools and thwart our five-year forward momentum.”
PUSD has gained 41 points on the API since 2008 and earned an overall score of 761. The API is a numeric index that ranges from a low of 200 to a high of 1000 with a statewide target of 800. Schools must meet school wide and individual subgroup growth targets each year.
PUSD stands to lose $17.8 million in funding including approximately $7.8 million in midyear cuts from the 2012-2013 budget if both Proposition 30 and 38 fail in the November 6 election. Even if Proposition 30 passes, PUSD is still bracing for $10 million – $12 million in cuts from the 2013-2014 budget because of the lapsing of one-time funds and declining enrollment within the district. The disastrous reductions could force the district to take desperate measures, including ending the school year in mid-May 2013.
District schools are poised to move to the next level of achievement as the district introduces a revised curriculum that integrates the national Common Core learning standards, 21st century learning skills and an emphasis on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education. The revamped curriculum transforms teaching from the rote memorization that was best suited for multiple choice “bubble” tests to an approach that makes emphasizes critical thinking, comprehension and enduring skills that can be transferred across subjects during a student’s career. Although the new Common Core standards have not yet taken effect, PUSD teachers are already engaged in professional development this year about the new standards and piloting the new curriculum.
“We are already looking ahead to the new API configuration that will include measures beyond standardized tests to measure the quality of our school,” said Gundry. In September, Governor Jerry Brown signed SB 1458, authored by Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg that will redefine the API by relying less on standardized test scores and more on other important factors such as graduation rates, student readiness for higher education and technical training, skills necessary for entering into a globally competitive job market.
The federal Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) results were also released today. Four PUSD schools, Hamilton Elementary, Jackson Elementary, San Rafael Elementary and Washington Accelerated Elementary, met all components of the increasingly difficult AYP targets.
For the first time, the CDE will be providing School Quality Snapshots. The snapshots gathers a multitude of information, putting test scores, fitness levels, class sizes and other important measures into one, easy-to-read document for each of the state’s 10,000 public schools. PUSD snapshots are available on the CDE website. Please visit www.pusd.us/ for the link.

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