1999 Decile 1 and 2 Schools That Made Exemplary or Noteworthy Progress
February 2003
These schools were in the bottom 20% of schools based on their 1999 API and have shown consistent high improvement for three years. More information about them is included in the February 2003 EdSource Report, California's Lowest Performing Schools.
Exemplary Progress Schools
Two major caveats are in order regarding the following list of schools.
First, as of 1999 the schools on this list were all in the bottom 20% of California schools and most of them are still in the bottom 20%. Their progress is commendable, but this list should not be confused with a list of high-performing schools.
Secondly, this list is not meant to be comprehensive. In trying to establish criteria that would transcend some of the limitations of the API without abandoning it, EdSource chose to set the year-to-year targets quite high relative to the three-year targets. A school that increased its score by 100 points in the first two cycles and 29 points in the third would not be included in this list, even though many would argue that its improvement is better than that of most of the schools that are on the list. We also were only able to include schools whose 2002 Growth API scores were available in the first release of that data. Several schools that are not on the list might have been if it were based on more recent figures.
That said, the schools on the “exemplary progress” list have done an impressive job. Regardless of one’s opinion of the API it would be very difficult to argue that the situation in these schools isn’t a lot better than it was four years ago. Two of them are even ranked in the top half of all California schools. The schools on this list provide concrete evidence that it is possible for the lowest-performing schools to improve.
- Alameda County
Oakland Unified District
Parker Elementary
San Lorenzo Unified School District
Hesperian Elementary
- Colusa County
Williams Unified School District
Williams Elementary
- Fresno County
Mendota Unified School District
McCabe Elementary
Washington Elementary
- Kern County
Delano Union Elementary School District
Fremont Elementary
- Kings County
Reef-Sunset Unified School District
Avenal Elementary
- Los Angeles County
El Rancho Unified School District
Pio Pico Elementary
Long Beach Unified School District
Garfield Elementary
Tucker Elementary
Los Angeles Unified School District
Aldama Elementary
Ann Street Elementary
Arminta Street Elementary
Bassett Street Elementary
Beachy Avenue Elementary
Belvedere Elementary
Breed Street Elementary
Budlong Avenue Elementary
Burton Street Elementary
Bushnell Way Elementary
Camellia Avenue Elementary
Canoga Park Elementary
Chase Street Elementary
Corona Avenue Elementary
Erwin Street Elementary
Esperanza Elementary
Fair Avenue Elementary
Farmdale Elementary
Fifteenth Street Elementary
First Street Elementary
Fishburn Avenue Elementary
Fletcher Drive Elementary
Garvanza Elementary
Glassell Park Elementary
Glen Alta Elementary
Glenwood Elementary
Grant Elementary
Gridley Street Elementary
Gulf Avenue Elementary
Hamasaki (Morris K) Elementary
Hazeltine Avenue Elementary
Heliotrope Avenue Elementary
Hughes (Teresa) Elementary
Kennedy (Robert F.) Elementary
Kittridge Street Elementary
Langdon Avenue Elementary
Lankershim Elementary
Latona Avenue Elementary
Liberty Boulevard Elementary
Liggett Street Elementary
Lockwood Avenue Elementary
Loma Vista Elementary
Lorena Street Elementary
Marvin Elementary
Menlo Avenue Elementary
Micheltorena Street Elementary
Middleton Street Elementary
Montague Street Elementary
Monte Vista Street Elementary
Ninth Street Elementary
Norwood Street Elementary
Nueva Vista Elementary
O'Melveny Elementary
One Hundred Eighteenth Street Elementary
One Hundred Twenty-Second Street Elementary
Parthenia Street Elementary
Queen Anne Place Elementary
Ranchito Avenue Elementary
Roscoe Elementary
Rowan Avenue Elementary
San Miguel Elementary
South Park Elementary
State Street Elementary
Stoner Avenue Elementary
Strathern Street Elementary
Sylmar Elementary
Tenth Street Elementary
Twenty-Fourth Street Elementary
Valerio Street Elementary
Van Nuys Elementary
Victoria Avenue Elementary
Victory Boulevard Elementary
Walgrove Avenue Elementary
Weemes (Lenicia B.) Elementary
Mountain View School District
Cogswell Elementary
Voorhis (Jerry) Elementary
Pomona Unified School District
Washington Elementary
- Monterey County
Salinas City School District
Roosevelt Elementary
- Orange County
Anaheim City School District
Jefferson (Thomas II) (Elementary)
Capistrano Unified School District
Las Palmas Elementary
Garden Grove Unified School District
Skylark Elementary
Santa Ana Unified School District
Wilson Elementary
- Sacramento County
Sacramento City Unified School District
Oak Ridge Elementary
- San Bernardino County
Fontana Unified School District
Cypress Elementary
Date Elementary
Ontario-Montclair Elementary School District
Sultana Elementary
San Bernardino City Unified School District
Emmerton Elementary
- San Diego County
Escondido Union School District
Lincoln Primary
National School District
Olivewood Elementary
San Diego City Unified School District
Brooklyn Elementary
North Park Elementary
Parks (Rosa) Elementary
- San Joaquin County
Lodi Unified School District
Westwood Elementary
- Santa Clara County
Alum Rock Union School District
San Antonio Elementary
San Jose Unified School District
Lowell Elementary
- Siskiyou County
Butte Valley Unified School District
Butte Valley Elementary
- Tulare County
Woodlake Elementary School District
White (Francis J.) Learning Center (Elementary)
- Ventura County
Santa Paula School District
Webster (Barbara) Elementary
- Yolo County
Woodland Joint Unified School District
Beamer Elementary
The criteria for “exemplary progress” were as follows:
- Cumulative schoolwide API growth over three growth cycles (sum of three individual cycles): 100 points or more
- Schoolwide growth in each cycle: 30 points or more
- Cumulative subgroup growth over three cycles: 80 points or more
- Subgroup growth each cycle: 20 points or more
Only one middle school and one K-8 met these criteria; no high schools did.
EdSource nevertheless wished to identify the middle and high schools which had made substantial progress.
Noteworthy Progress Schools
As a result EdSource developed criteria for “noteworthy progress” for middle and high schools. For a middle school these criteria were:
- Cumulative schoolwide API growth over three growth cycles (sum of three individual cycles): 80 points or more
- Schoolwide growth in each cycle: 24 points or more
- Cumulative subgroup growth over three cycles: 64 points or more
- Subgroup growth each cycle: 16 points or more
For high schools the criteria were the same, except that schoolwide and subgroup growth was only required in two of the three cycles.
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