Eagle Rock Schools Improve Academic Performance

Editor's Note: This article focuses on Eagle Rock's non-charter public schools; Dahlia Heights Elementary School’s API scores were inadvertently not listed in a previous version of the article.

As students return to Eagle Rock’s public schools Wednesday amid soaring, triple-digit temperatures, let’s reflect on another triple-digit number that all state schools are required by law (since 1999) to keep track of—the Academic Performance Index.

The API is a key measure of a school’s yearly performance—and the results for 2011 show that LAUSD schools in Eagle Rock improved their scores, reflecting the overall progress in academic accountability made throughout the LAUSD family.

According to an Aug. 31 report by the California Department of Education, LAUSD schools in 2011 achieved an API score of 728. Although that’s 19 points higher than last year’s score of 709, the number is well below the state average of 778 and the Los Angeles County average of 762.

The state-mandated API target for all public schools is 800. Schools that fall short of it are required to set growth targets until they meet the goal. Schools that meet or exceed an 800 API are expected to not only maintain the score but improve it by raising students’ academic performance.

The good news for Eagle Rock's non-charter public schools is that four of them—Eagle Rock Elementary, Dahlia Heights Elementary, Rockdale Elementary and Delevan Drive Elementary—already scored at or above the statewide performance target of 800 in 2010. The remaining two schools—Eagle Rock High and Toland Way Elementary—exceeded their targets for this year. (See table at the end of this story.)

Across LAUSD, every ethnic group improved its API score—and none more than the so-called “Two or More Races” classification. Although numbering just 560 students (out of a total of 436,479 students included in the 2011 API), this group achieved a growth of 68 points over its 2010 score of 710.

By comparison, the API scores of “Asians” (numbering 15,777 students) increased by 9 points to a total of 893. Scores for “Hispanic or Latino” students (the second-largest group, numbering 326,969) went up by 21 points to a total of 707 (93 points below the statewide API target). And the API scores for “Whites” (40,392 students) improved by 13 points to a total of 862.

The single-largest classification in the API ranking was the “Socioeconomically Disadvantaged” group, defined as consisting of students who don’t have even one parent who has a high school diploma. Numbering 357,369 students, this group’s API scores increased by 20 points over the 2010 base of 691.

Here are the API results for LAUSD schools in Eagle Rock:

School

2011 Growth

2010 Base

2010-11 Growth

Eagle Rock Elementary

852

843

9

Rockdale Elementary

841

813

28

Delevan Drive Elementary

896

882

14

Toland Way Elementary

787

764

23

Dahlia Heights Elementary

849

845

4

Eagle Rock High

749

740

9