Charter schools' API scores show mixed bag

BARSTOW • The recently released school performance scores measure not only school districts but charter schools as well, including three schools that Barstow students attend.

According to the California Department of Education’s report, Academic Performance Index numbers show that while some charters are steadily making progress with their scores, others are lagging far behind.

API scores measure how students are performing on standardized tests. Mojave River Academy, a K-12 charter school that about 100 students from Barstow Unified School District attended last year, according to a district official, scores improved but overall remained low on the index’s 200-to-1,000 point scale.

MRA’s score climbed 32 points to 520 — still well below the state’s 800 score benchmark.

For High Desert Academy of Applied Arts and Sciences, a performing arts charter school in Victorville that six Barstow students attended last year, scores plummeted.

The arts school for students grades seven through 12 saw a sharp drop of 47 points this year.

Excelsior Education Center, a Victorville-based charter school that serves 75 local students, according to Director Mike Hayhurst, saw its score climb 26 points. Excelsior is an independent study and home school program for grades seven through 12.

Excelsior, which is chartered by Victor Valley Union High School District, has seen its scores increase for the past five years, according to Bill Flynn, dean of assessment and curriculum.

Bill Lopez, a teacher at Excelsior’s Barstow site, said that the independent study program’s individualized attention helped students to achieve higher test scores. Teachers like Lopez meet one-on-one with students every two weeks to review their progress and give guidance.

However, independent programs require a particular type of student in order to be successful, Flynn noted — “those that have some initiative, have a plan for their future and want to attain it,” he said.

Contact the writer:
(760) 256-4122 or elee@desertdispatch.com

How do charter schools measure up?

• Excelsior Education Center (grades 7-12)
2008 API: 727
2009 API: 753

• High Desert Academy of Applied Arts and Sciences (grades 7-12)
2008 API: 523
2009 API: 476

• Mojave River Academy (grades K-12)
2008 API: 488
2009 API: 520

• San Bernardino county’s average API: 734
• Barstow Unified School District’s 2009 API: 707
• Silver Valley Unified School District’s 2009 API: 746
Source: California Department of Education