Santa Cruz County’s schools showed an improvement in academic performance, based on the results of the 2008 standardized tests.
Santa Cruz County’s schools showed an improvement in academic performance, based on the results of the 2008 standardized tests. Some 40 percent of all schools in the county met or surpassed the Academic Performance Index target score of 800, a 2 percent growth from the previous year. On the other hand, the statewide average increase was 6 percent, from 36 to 42 percent, while there was also a 4 percent drop in the number of schools that met the federal growth target. Only in San Lorenzo County did all schools improve on their API score.
County education officials are unfazed by the news. Assistant Superintendent Theresa Rouse called the results a “snapshot,” and insisted that they do not reflect real improvements in the county’s education system. Since 2006, she explained, the number of schools that scored 800 or higher has grown by 15 percent in Santa Cruz, whereas the average growth throughout the state was only 12 percent.
County education Superintendent Michael Watkins says that much of the problem can be attributed to the budget. Countywide, education budgets have been slashed by 12 percent. “We cannot minimize the influence of California schools being underfunded on student performance,” he said. Read more at the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
