[OCReg] OCs Best Public Elementary Schools 2012

[irvinehomeowner]

Here it is:
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/schools-327672-school-elementary.html

Los Alamitos and Irvine had the most schools finish with medals.

And yes... there were Santa Ana schools in there too.  :-X

 

[irvinehomeshopper]

This got to be rigged. Both SA and irvine have 2 schools in the top 10. SA has # 2 and 3 while Irvine has # 4 and 10. The maids must be stealing the commercial tutoring study guides in the bookcases from families they work for.

 

[irvinehomeshopper]

I missed  Northwood at #6. Resale prices will likely be increased by 10% today.


here is the gold medal list

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/schools-327672-school-elementary.html?data=1&appSession=36783492950920#article-data

 

[usctrojancpa]

I missed  Northwood at #6. Resale prices will likely be increased by 10% today.


here is the gold medal list

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/schools-327672-school-elementary.html?data=1&appSession=36783492950920#article-data

Wow, that Garden Grove school has a 980 API score and those Santa Ana schools had some big increases in their API scores from 2010 to 2011. 

 

[irvinehomeowner]

test will love this... prices in Central Park West should skyrocket.

 

[irvinehomeshopper]

Doing well in school must first be the dream of children and not the dream of parents. Garden Grove and Santa Ana are homes to immigrants without financial resource. The drive to learn can't be bought with money.

 

[usctrojancpa]

Doing well in school must first be the dream of children and not the dream of parents. Garden Grove and Santa Ana are homes to immigrants without financial resource. The drive to learn can't be bought with money.

But it sure can be "encouraged" with the threat of a good belt whipping in the behind. 

 

[irvinehomeshopper]

No tramatized belt experience in Irvine only bamboo stick. Belt such Gucci, Burberry or Armani is considered a reward for good grades.

Doing well in school must first be the dream of children and not the dream of parents. Garden Grove and Santa Ana are homes to immigrants without financial resource. The drive to learn can't be bought with money.

But it sure can be "encouraged" with the threat of a good belt whipping in the behind. 

 

[Liar Loan]

I missed  Northwood at #6. Resale prices will likely be increased by 10% today.


here is the gold medal list

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/schools-327672-school-elementary.html?data=1&appSession=36783492950920#article-data

Wow, that Garden Grove school has a 980 API score and those Santa Ana schools had some big increases in their API scores from 2010 to 2011.

That Garden Grove school is located in Fountain Valley.
http://www.ggusd.k12.ca.us/allen/

 

[irvinehomeshopper]

Good catch!

The school was once situated on Garden Grove farmland but during the 50's FV's tract expansion surrounded the school thus the residential land was incorporated into FV. The school however was not due to its district boundary. Central Park is another classic case where the Santa Ana school district is unwilling to let go her tax revenue.

John Wayne Airport is technically and still is SNA airport(Santa Ana-Anaheim) because back then no one knew where the hell Irvine was.

South Coast Plaza was built strategically along Bristol in Santa Ana where May Company and Sears insisted having the Santa Ana address because no one have heard of Costa Mesa in the 60's. Late 70's expansion toward Costa Mesa's Bear street came Bullocks and Nordstrom. The mall officially changed its city to Costa Mesa when Santa Ana was in decline.

Streets from Santa Ana that crossed over to Irvine were all renamed.

Newport Heights pretty much swallowed Santa Ana Heights.

An unincorporated portion of Santa Ana is renamed to North Tustin.

South Santa Ana has a catchy name: South Coast Metro.

Floral Park wants to be like Laguna Woods.

Santa Ana Mayor is now one of the Irvine Company presidents.

I missed  Northwood at #6. Resale prices will likely be increased by 10% today.


here is the gold medal list

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/schools-327672-school-elementary.html?data=1&appSession=36783492950920#article-data

Wow, that Garden Grove school has a 980 API score and those Santa Ana schools had some big increases in their API scores from 2010 to 2011.

That Garden Grove school is located in Fountain Valley.
http://www.ggusd.k12.ca.us/allen/

 

[irvinehomeowner]

For ps9:

 

[Liar Loan]

Good catch!

The school was once situated on Garden Grove farmland but during the 50's FV's tract expansion surrounded the school thus the residential land was incorporated into FV. The school however was not due to its district boundary.

Many people don't realize that Garden Grove still borders Fountain Valley on the north side of Mile Square Park.  I remember being surprised to learn this as an adult after having grown up in Fountain Valley.  Garden Grove might be the most awkwardly-shaped city in all of OC.  It has little fingers that stick out in every direction.

 

[Irvinecommuter]

It's an old debate but the methodology is very flawed to me since it's based solely on test score.  OCR's explanation of their methodology.

ACADEMICS

The Register uses the Academic Performance Index as its primary calculation for academic strength this year.
2011 API: Half of the academic score comes from a school's Academic Performance Index, an aggregate of standardized test scores issued to campuses by the state each summer. The API is the state's main component of measuring school academic achievement.

2010 API similar schools score: The state ranks each school's API performance against 100 schools of similar demographic makeup. Schools that perform in the top 10 percent of their comparison set receive a score of 10; those that perform in the bottom 10 percent receive a 1. The 2010 similar school score is the most recent ? the 2011 ranking is released in May. This equals one-sixth of Academics score.

2010-2011 API score change: Measures whether schools improved their API score over the past year. This score equals one-sixth of the Academic score.

2011 No Child Left Behind target: Measures whether schools met all federal testing targets required by the 2001 act. This score equals one-sixth of the Academic score.

One good example is Sunnyside Elementary in Garden Grove.  It was a Blue Ribbon winner in 2010 (one of 21 in the state) and was 10th in the academic ranking in 2011 but is now 168? 

 

[traceimage]

It's an old debate but the methodology is very flawed to me since it's based solely on test score.  OCR's explanation of their methodology.

ACADEMICS

The Register uses the Academic Performance Index as its primary calculation for academic strength this year.
2011 API: Half of the academic score comes from a school's Academic Performance Index, an aggregate of standardized test scores issued to campuses by the state each summer. The API is the state's main component of measuring school academic achievement.

2010 API similar schools score: The state ranks each school's API performance against 100 schools of similar demographic makeup. Schools that perform in the top 10 percent of their comparison set receive a score of 10; those that perform in the bottom 10 percent receive a 1. The 2010 similar school score is the most recent ? the 2011 ranking is released in May. This equals one-sixth of Academics score.

2010-2011 API score change: Measures whether schools improved their API score over the past year. This score equals one-sixth of the Academic score.

2011 No Child Left Behind target: Measures whether schools met all federal testing targets required by the 2001 act. This score equals one-sixth of the Academic score.

One good example is Sunnyside Elementary in Garden Grove.  It was a Blue Ribbon winner in 2010 (one of 21 in the state) and was 10th in the academic ranking in 2011 but is now 168?

Maybe they wanted that ranking because it's such a lucky number?

But seriously, how else could OCR do it? I don't care much about the OCR's rankings because their methodology for overall rankings includes fluff criteria like fitness test results and diversity. But for the academic score, OCR doesn't have many options other than to use test scores. Maybe they could hire an independent panel to evaluate teachers' lessons at each school, but I'm sure they don't have the resources to do that.

 

[Irvinecommuter]

It's an old debate but the methodology is very flawed to me since it's based solely on test score.  OCR's explanation of their methodology.

ACADEMICS

The Register uses the Academic Performance Index as its primary calculation for academic strength this year.
2011 API: Half of the academic score comes from a school's Academic Performance Index, an aggregate of standardized test scores issued to campuses by the state each summer. The API is the state's main component of measuring school academic achievement.

2010 API similar schools score: The state ranks each school's API performance against 100 schools of similar demographic makeup. Schools that perform in the top 10 percent of their comparison set receive a score of 10; those that perform in the bottom 10 percent receive a 1. The 2010 similar school score is the most recent ? the 2011 ranking is released in May. This equals one-sixth of Academics score.

2010-2011 API score change: Measures whether schools improved their API score over the past year. This score equals one-sixth of the Academic score.

2011 No Child Left Behind target: Measures whether schools met all federal testing targets required by the 2001 act. This score equals one-sixth of the Academic score.

One good example is Sunnyside Elementary in Garden Grove.  It was a Blue Ribbon winner in 2010 (one of 21 in the state) and was 10th in the academic ranking in 2011 but is now 168?

Maybe they wanted that ranking because it's such a lucky number?

But seriously, how else could OCR do it? I don't care much about the OCR's rankings because their methodology for overall rankings includes fluff criteria like fitness test results and diversity. But for the academic score, OCR doesn't have many options other than to use test scores. Maybe they could hire an independent panel to evaluate teachers' lessons at each school, but I'm sure they don't have the resources to do that.

I understand that test data is basically all they have but it's a vicious loop.  People think a school is "good" because of articles like this, which results in pushing test score as the only measure of success.

 

[irvinehomeshopper]

This is precisely why Irvine is such a FCB magnet. All of the rated "10" schools are solely based on API score. Like you have stated test score is not the only factor or measurement of a school's superiority. Trace also suggested observation of teachers' attitude. Many good teachers are inspirational to kids at disadvantaged schools like "Tina" who responded on the OCRegister blog.

It is unfortunate that FCBs value only result and not the process. To achieve their goal selfishness, cheating, and ruthlessness dictate the indidviduals character.

It's an old debate but the methodology is very flawed to me since it's based solely on test score.  OCR's explanation of their methodology.

ACADEMICS

The Register uses the Academic Performance Index as its primary calculation for academic strength this year.
2011 API: Half of the academic score comes from a school's Academic Performance Index, an aggregate of standardized test scores issued to campuses by the state each summer. The API is the state's main component of measuring school academic achievement.

2010 API similar schools score: The state ranks each school's API performance against 100 schools of similar demographic makeup. Schools that perform in the top 10 percent of their comparison set receive a score of 10; those that perform in the bottom 10 percent receive a 1. The 2010 similar school score is the most recent ? the 2011 ranking is released in May. This equals one-sixth of Academics score.

2010-2011 API score change: Measures whether schools improved their API score over the past year. This score equals one-sixth of the Academic score.

2011 No Child Left Behind target: Measures whether schools met all federal testing targets required by the 2001 act. This score equals one-sixth of the Academic score.

One good example is Sunnyside Elementary in Garden Grove.  It was a Blue Ribbon winner in 2010 (one of 21 in the state) and was 10th in the academic ranking in 2011 but is now 168?

Maybe they wanted that ranking because it's such a lucky number?

But seriously, how else could OCR do it? I don't care much about the OCR's rankings because their methodology for overall rankings includes fluff criteria like fitness test results and diversity. But for the academic score, OCR doesn't have many options other than to use test scores. Maybe they could hire an independent panel to evaluate teachers' lessons at each school, but I'm sure they don't have the resources to do that.

I understand that test data is basically all they have but it's a vicious loop.  People think a school is "good" because of articles like this, which results in pushing test score as the only measure of success.

 

[traceimage]

It's an old debate but the methodology is very flawed to me since it's based solely on test score.  OCR's explanation of their methodology.

ACADEMICS

The Register uses the Academic Performance Index as its primary calculation for academic strength this year.
2011 API: Half of the academic score comes from a school's Academic Performance Index, an aggregate of standardized test scores issued to campuses by the state each summer. The API is the state's main component of measuring school academic achievement.

2010 API similar schools score: The state ranks each school's API performance against 100 schools of similar demographic makeup. Schools that perform in the top 10 percent of their comparison set receive a score of 10; those that perform in the bottom 10 percent receive a 1. The 2010 similar school score is the most recent ? the 2011 ranking is released in May. This equals one-sixth of Academics score.

2010-2011 API score change: Measures whether schools improved their API score over the past year. This score equals one-sixth of the Academic score.

2011 No Child Left Behind target: Measures whether schools met all federal testing targets required by the 2001 act. This score equals one-sixth of the Academic score.

One good example is Sunnyside Elementary in Garden Grove.  It was a Blue Ribbon winner in 2010 (one of 21 in the state) and was 10th in the academic ranking in 2011 but is now 168?

Maybe they wanted that ranking because it's such a lucky number?

But seriously, how else could OCR do it? I don't care much about the OCR's rankings because their methodology for overall rankings includes fluff criteria like fitness test results and diversity. But for the academic score, OCR doesn't have many options other than to use test scores. Maybe they could hire an independent panel to evaluate teachers' lessons at each school, but I'm sure they don't have the resources to do that.

I understand that test data is basically all they have but it's a vicious loop.  People think a school is "good" because of articles like this, which results in pushing test score as the only measure of success.

They don't just do straight test scores, though, even for their academic rankings. Straight-up API is only 50% of the schools's academic ranking. The rest is how the school performed against schools with similar demographic makeup, API score change, and No Child Left Behind target performance.

 

[Irvinecommuter]

It's an old debate but the methodology is very flawed to me since it's based solely on test score.  OCR's explanation of their methodology.

ACADEMICS

The Register uses the Academic Performance Index as its primary calculation for academic strength this year.
2011 API: Half of the academic score comes from a school's Academic Performance Index, an aggregate of standardized test scores issued to campuses by the state each summer. The API is the state's main component of measuring school academic achievement.

2010 API similar schools score: The state ranks each school's API performance against 100 schools of similar demographic makeup. Schools that perform in the top 10 percent of their comparison set receive a score of 10; those that perform in the bottom 10 percent receive a 1. The 2010 similar school score is the most recent ? the 2011 ranking is released in May. This equals one-sixth of Academics score.

2010-2011 API score change: Measures whether schools improved their API score over the past year. This score equals one-sixth of the Academic score.

2011 No Child Left Behind target: Measures whether schools met all federal testing targets required by the 2001 act. This score equals one-sixth of the Academic score.

One good example is Sunnyside Elementary in Garden Grove.  It was a Blue Ribbon winner in 2010 (one of 21 in the state) and was 10th in the academic ranking in 2011 but is now 168?

Maybe they wanted that ranking because it's such a lucky number?

But seriously, how else could OCR do it? I don't care much about the OCR's rankings because their methodology for overall rankings includes fluff criteria like fitness test results and diversity. But for the academic score, OCR doesn't have many options other than to use test scores. Maybe they could hire an independent panel to evaluate teachers' lessons at each school, but I'm sure they don't have the resources to do that.

I understand that test data is basically all they have but it's a vicious loop.  People think a school is "good" because of articles like this, which results in pushing test score as the only measure of success.

They don't just do straight test scores, though, even for their academic rankings. Straight-up API is only 50% of the schools's academic ranking. The rest is how the school performed against schools with similar demographic makeup, API score change, and No Child Left Behind target performance.

Which are all based upon API scores.

 

[traceimage]

It's an old debate but the methodology is very flawed to me since it's based solely on test score.  OCR's explanation of their methodology.

ACADEMICS

The Register uses the Academic Performance Index as its primary calculation for academic strength this year.
2011 API: Half of the academic score comes from a school's Academic Performance Index, an aggregate of standardized test scores issued to campuses by the state each summer. The API is the state's main component of measuring school academic achievement.

2010 API similar schools score: The state ranks each school's API performance against 100 schools of similar demographic makeup. Schools that perform in the top 10 percent of their comparison set receive a score of 10; those that perform in the bottom 10 percent receive a 1. The 2010 similar school score is the most recent ? the 2011 ranking is released in May. This equals one-sixth of Academics score.

2010-2011 API score change: Measures whether schools improved their API score over the past year. This score equals one-sixth of the Academic score.

2011 No Child Left Behind target: Measures whether schools met all federal testing targets required by the 2001 act. This score equals one-sixth of the Academic score.

One good example is Sunnyside Elementary in Garden Grove.  It was a Blue Ribbon winner in 2010 (one of 21 in the state) and was 10th in the academic ranking in 2011 but is now 168?

Maybe they wanted that ranking because it's such a lucky number?

But seriously, how else could OCR do it? I don't care much about the OCR's rankings because their methodology for overall rankings includes fluff criteria like fitness test results and diversity. But for the academic score, OCR doesn't have many options other than to use test scores. Maybe they could hire an independent panel to evaluate teachers' lessons at each school, but I'm sure they don't have the resources to do that.

I understand that test data is basically all they have but it's a vicious loop.  People think a school is "good" because of articles like this, which results in pushing test score as the only measure of success.

They don't just do straight test scores, though, even for their academic rankings. Straight-up API is only 50% of the schools's academic ranking. The rest is how the school performed against schools with similar demographic makeup, API score change, and No Child Left Behind target performance.

Which are all based upon API scores.

I'm not sure if the NCLB results are based on API scores or on some other standardized test performance.

I don't think it's articles like this that make people think test scores are the only measure of success. I actually think the opposite is true. The overall #2 and #3 schools, for example, have good API scores, but not as high as Turtle Rock Elementary (for example). I think the OCR's rankings actually encourage people to look beyond just straight API scores. So even though the OCR uses test scores (the only data they have), they tweak it in such a way that they are not the only criteria.

 

[Irvinecommuter]

I'm not sure if the NCLB results are based on API scores or on some other standardized test performance.

I don't think it's articles like this that make people think test scores are the only measure of success. I actually think the opposite is true. The overall #2 and #3 schools, for example, have good API scores, but not as high as Turtle Rock Elementary (for example). I think the OCR's rankings actually encourage people to look beyond just straight API scores. So even though the OCR uses test scores (the only data they have), they tweak it in such a way that they are not the only criteria.

From wiki:

No Child Left Behind requires all government-run schools receiving federal funding to administer a state-wide standardized test annually to all students. This means that all students take the same test under the same conditions. The students' scores determine whether the school has taught the students well. Schools which receive Title I funding through the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 must make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in test scores (e.g. each year, its fifth graders must do better on standardized tests than the previous year's fifth graders).

If the school's results are repeatedly poor, then steps are taken to improve the school.

Schools that miss AYP for a second consecutive year are publicly labeled as being "in need of improvement" and are required to develop a two-year improvement plan for the subject that the school is not teaching well. Students are given the option to transfer to a better school within the school district, if any exists.

Missing AYP in the third year forces the school to offer free tutoring and other supplemental education services to struggling students.

If a school misses its AYP target for a fourth consecutive year, the school is labelled as requiring "corrective action," which might involve wholesale replacement of staff, introduction of a new curriculum, or extending the amount of time students spend in class.

A fifth year of failure results in planning to restructure the entire school; the plan is implemented if the school fails to hit its AYP targets for the sixth year in a row. Common options include closing the school, turning the school into a charter school, hiring a private company to run the school, or asking the state office of education to run the school directly.

It's nice that OCR talks about looking at other aspects but I can guarantee that a majority of the people go straight to the academic marker.