Differences of Three Evaluation Systems in California Public Schools

A good education determines a child's life. When many new immigrants come to America, they are faced with the confusion of how to choose a school for their children. In the United States, there are usually four criteria for evaluating a good middle school: API, Great Schools Ratings, National Blue Ribbon School and US News Gold High School. In this article, I will take you to know more about the public school evaluation system in California-API, and the difference between API and great school rating. Academic Achievement Audit Coefficient (API) is a comprehensive evaluation system for the academic achievement and all-round development of middle school students in California.

API indicators are divided into basic indicators and growth indicators. The calculation of basic indicators is based on the standardized test scores of middle school students and converted into scores between 200- 1000. All schools in California? Target line? It's 800 points, and the higher the score, the better the school's academic performance. The calculation of growth index is based on the change trend of basic indicators compared with the same period of last year, which can reflect the change of school academic performance in a period of time.

The following 10 about API, parents should know.

1.API is not a test.

API is not a simple test result for schools, but a complete and complex comprehensive evaluation system. At the beginning of each school year, the government will set the school performance in that year according to the basic indicators of the school air pollution index. Standard line? And the calculated growth target will be announced at the end of the summer school year. The standardized tests on which the basic indicators are based include CST (California Achievement Test), CMA (Academic Progress Assessment), CAPA (Optional Academic Achievement Assessment) and CAHSEE (High School Graduation Test).

2.API measures the academic performance and development of a school.

API indicators can not only reflect the academic achievements of students in this school in that year, but also show the development trend compared with last year from the growth indicators. Parents should pay attention to two points when inquiring about the school API: one is the gap between the basic index and the target of 800 points, and the other is the growth index value.

3.API is a very important evaluation standard for schools.

Since the government and the media publish the API indicators of all schools every year, California schools attach great importance to improving their API scores. This practice is conducive to the continuous improvement of curriculum construction in schools, but parents are also worried that this blind pursuit of grades will reduce students' extracurricular activities in schools.

4.API only measures academic performance, not all standards.

When choosing a school for children every year, API is a hot topic for parents. However, it is necessary to avoid choosing schools only based on API indicators. Considering a school comprehensively, in addition to API, parents should also know whether the school teachers are experienced, whether they have close contact with parents and whether they can provide rich extracurricular activities.

5.API measurement includes the academic performance of students from all groups.

API is an index to comprehensively measure the academic performance of a school, and its data sources include students of different nationalities and social groups. API can reflect how a school treats special groups of students, such as ethnic minorities, students with financial difficulties, non-native English speakers and disabled people.

6. number six. The API has not been improved, and schools should be helped.

If a school fails to reach the API goal set at the beginning of the year, or unfortunately becomes one of the schools with the lowest API basic indicators. The government will allocate funds or allocate resources to support it. If the bad situation continues, the school will be severely punished, facing sanctions such as changing the principal, restructuring the organization and even forced closure.

7.API can only reflect the overall level of a school or school district.

There is no API index for students to evaluate personally. The API is based on the standardized test scores of CST/CMA/CAPA/CAHSEE of students in the school or campus.

8.API evaluation methods have changed.

In the early days of the establishment of API, API indicators were measured according to students' Stanford 9 test and CAT/6 scores. The focus of these exams is to compare the academic performance of California students with that of students from other States. After changes, the data of API now comes from standard exams such as CST/CMA/CAPA/CAHSEE, and the assessment focuses on what students really learn in class.

Calculation method of 9.9. The API is more complicated.

API is a complex evaluation system. If the previous introduction confuses you, just remember the following points: API scores range from 200 to1000; The target score of all schools is 800 points; API is based on students' test scores; API calculation helps schools pay attention to improving the grades of students with poor grades.

10.API and? Excellent school rankings? It is a different evaluation system.

API is an evaluation system established by California Department of Education, and? Excellent school rankings? (Great School Rating) is evaluated by the independent organization "Great School". The API data comes from four test scores of CST/CMA/CAPA/CAHSEE, while the Great Schools rating is only based on students' CST test scores, and only measures the scores of outstanding students. API focuses on setting standards to improve the overall academic performance of schools, while Great Schools focuses on comparing excellent high schools in different states.