Claudia Peschiutta
GLENDALE - If you ask the state Department of Education, only a
handful of Glendale's schools have met its expectations. A report
released by the Glendale Unified School District Monday shows 24 local
campuses fell below the target score on the 1999 Academic Performance
Index compiled by the Department of Education. However, among those that
did not reach a high performance level, 18 were ranked average or better.
College View and Allan F. Daily High schools were not included in the
index.
School district officials said the index, which used 1999 Stanford 9
test scores to rank schools from a low of 1 to a high of 10, provides
only a partial view of student performance.
"We all need to keep in perspective that it's just one test," said
Joann Merrick, assistant superintendent of educational services. "I don't
think any ball player would want his whole season evaluated by one time
at bat."
The index is one component of the Public Schools Accountability Act of
1999 and is based only on scores from the Stanford 9, a nationwide exam
given annually to students in grades two through nine. Other performance
indicators, such as another test and graduation rates, will also be taken
into account in future years.
The 1999 index assigned scores between 200 and 1,000 points to all
public schools. Those scores were listed from lowest to highest and
divided into 10 equal groups -- ranked from 1 to 10 -- in elementary,
middle and high school categories. The index also reported how schools
with similar demographics fared.
The state Board of Education has set a performance target of 800
points for all schools.
Dunsmore, Monte Vista and Mountain Avenue elementary schools were the
only Glendale campuses to score above 800.
The following schools scored below 600 points: Cerritos, Edison,
Jefferson and Mann elementary schools, Roosevelt Middle School and
Glendale High School.
District officials took issue with the fact index points were decided
by the Stanford 9 test, a requirement for all students who have been in a
district for at least one year, regardless of their ability to speak,
read and write in English. In the 1998-99 school year, more than 40% of
Glendale Unified students were identified as limited-English proficient.
"We're basing a lot of high-stakes decisions on questionable validity,"
Merrick said.
But Kim Bishop, principal of low-scoring Cerritos Elementary School,
said high percentages of students with limited-English skills or from low
