The California Department of Education on Thursday released the latest state school testing and ranking data. This data, officially known as the 2008 Base Academic Performance Index (API), is based on the testing from last spring. Once again, Weaver is the star of the Los Alamitos unified School District.

The results are released each year at this time and include each school's actual score, plus their statewide ranking. The state data also includes a ranking of each school verses the 100 schools considered to be of "similar educational opportunities and challenges."
The rankings are based on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the best. Schools with a ranking of 10 are in the top 10% of all schools, either state-wide, or the similar 100 schools.

The API scores range from 200 to 1000, with a statewide target of 800. All schools in the Los Alamitos Unified, other than Laurel High, are above the state target of 800. Further, for the last four years, every school in the Los Alamitos Unified School District, other than Laurel, have been ranked either 9 or 10 in the statewide rankings.

The real stand out among the Los Alamitos schools is Weaver Elementary. This school has not only been ranked in the top 10% of all statewide schools for the last four years, it has the additional distinction of being ranked in the top 10% of its similar schools--for the last 4 years running. No other school in the Los Al district can make that claim. Weaver's API for 2008 was 961 (out of a possible 1000), considerably higher than any other Los Al school. The highest elementary API in California for 2008 was 994.

The results for Oak Middle School indicate a steady decline in their similar schools ranking. Oak had been ranked in the top 10 for the statewide rankings for the previous 3 years, but this year they fell to 9. That, however, does not tell the whole story. Other than weaver holding steady in the top 10 ranking, the other Los Al schools have fluctuated between 9 and 10 for the statewide rankings during the last four years.

The Los Al schools, again, other than Weaver, have generally fluctuated between 7 and 9 for their similar schools rankings. Most of these scores were consistent or better than previous years, but the similar schools rankings for Oak show a clear trend in the wrong direction.

For the 2004/2005 year, Oak Middle School was ranked 8 for the similar schools ranking. However, this ranking has fallen every year since then. It fell to 6 the next year and 5 the following year. Then, for 2008, it fell again to 4. It is not that Oak's API scores have fallen; they are actually higher then when they were ranked 8 back in 2004/2005. Their similar schools rankings have fallen because the other schools have improved their API's while Oak has held essentially steady. Hence, Oak's comparative rankings have fallen.

The API reflects a school’s composite academic achievement based on a variety of statewide assessments. The API incorporates test results from the Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Program and the California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE). Subject areas include English-language arts, mathematics, science, and history-social science.