Features

Berkeley Unified School District Academic Performance Index (API) scores released this week by the California Department of Education contained “no surprises,” according to BUSD Superintendent Michele Lawrence, and show that district schools continue their placement in the mid-to-top level among California schools. 

The Berkeley scores were part of the Education Department’s annual report comparing test scores in more than 8,000 California schools. 

“I was really pleased,” Lawrence said. “It shows we’re doing a pretty decent job despite incredible odds.” 

The API compiles state test scores in a range from 200 to 1,000, with a score of 800 or more considered excellent. The API comparison also lists how schools rank statewide, as well as compared to demographically similar schools, with a rating of 1-10, with 10 being the highest. 

Three Berkeley elementary schools—Jefferson, Emerson, and John Muir—scored above 800. Six other schools—Cragmont, Malcolm X, Oxford, Thousand Oaks, and Whittier elementaries and King Middle School—scored between 750 and 800. Four Berkeley schools—Cragmont, Emerson, Jefferson, and John Muir—scored either 8 or 9 when compared to other schools statewide, and two Berkeley schools—Longfellow Middle School and John Muir—scored 10 when compared to schools with similar demographics. 

Two Berkeley schools performed poorly. Both Leconte Elementary, with a rating of 4, and Rosa Parks Elementary, with a rating of 3, ranked below the midway point when compared with schools statewide. Parks also ranked at the bottom when compared with schools of similar demographics. 

Schools were not listed in the report if less than 95 percent of their students took the state achievement test. 

›