2005 California Education Code Sections 52051-52052.5 Program

52051.  The Public School Performance Accountability Program is
hereby established and shall consist of the following three component
parts:
   (a) The state Academic Performance Index, to be known as the API.
   (b) The Immediate Intervention/Underperforming Schools Program.
   (c) The Governor's High Achieving/Improving Schools Program.
52051.5.  For purposes of this chapter, all references to schools
shall include charter schools.
52052.  (a) (1) The Superintendent, with approval of the State Board
of Education, shall develop an Academic Performance Index (API), to
measure the performance of schools, especially the academic
performance of pupils.
   (2) A school shall demonstrate comparable improvement in academic
achievement as measured by the API by all numerically significant
pupil subgroups at the school, including:
   (A) Ethnic subgroups.
   (B) Socioeconomically disadvantaged pupils.
   (C) English language learners.
   (D) Pupils with disabilities.
   (3) (A) For purposes of this section, a numerically significant
pupil subgroup is one that meets both of the following criteria:
   (i) The subgroup consists of at least 50 pupils each of whom has a
valid test score.
   (ii) The subgroup constitutes at least 15 percent of a school's
total population of pupils who have valid test scores.
   (B) If a subgroup does not constitute 15 percent of the school's
total population of pupils with valid test scores, the subgroup may
constitute a numerically significant pupil subgroup if it has at
least 100 valid test scores.
   (C) For a school with an API score that is based on no fewer than
11 and no more than 99 pupils with valid test scores, numerically
significant subgroups shall be defined by the Superintendent, with
approval by the State Board of Education.
   (4) The API shall consist of a variety of indicators currently
reported to the department, including, but not limited to, the
results of the achievement test administered pursuant to Section
60640, attendance rates for pupils in elementary schools, middle
schools, and secondary schools, and the graduation rates for pupils
in secondary schools.
   (A) The pupil data collected for the API that comes from the
achievement test administered pursuant to Sections 60640 and 60644
and the high school exit examination administered pursuant to Section
60851, when fully implemented, shall be disaggregated by special
education status, English language learners, socioeconomic status,
gender and ethnic group. Only the test scores of pupils who were
counted as part of the enrollment in the annual California Basic
Education Data System's data collection for the current fiscal year
and who were continuously enrolled during that year may be included
in the test result reports in the school's API. Results of the
achievement test and other tests specified in subdivision (b) shall
constitute at least 60 percent of the value of the index.
   (B) Before including high school graduation rates and attendance
rates in the index, the Superintendent shall determine the extent to
which the data are currently reported to the state and the accuracy
of the data.
   (b) Pupil scores from the following tests, when available and when
found to be valid and reliable for this purpose, shall be
incorporated into the API:
   (1) The assessment of the applied academic skills matrix test
developed pursuant to Section 60604.
   (2) The nationally normed test designated pursuant to Section
60642.
   (3) The standards-based achievement tests provided for in Section
60642.5.
   (4) The high school exit examination.
   (c) Based on the API, the Superintendent shall develop, and the
State Board of Education shall adopt, expected annual percentage
growth targets for all schools based on their API baseline score from
the previous year. Schools are expected to meet these growth targets
through effective allocation of available resources. For schools
below the statewide API performance target adopted by the State Board
of Education pursuant to subdivision (d), the minimum annual
percentage growth target shall be 5 percent of the difference between
a school's actual API score and the statewide API performance
target, or one API point, whichever is greater. Schools at or above
the statewide API performance target shall have, as their growth
target, maintenance of their API score above the statewide API
performance target. However, the State Board of Education may set
differential growth targets based on grade level of instruction and
may set higher growth targets for the lowest performing schools
because they have the greatest room for improvement. To meet its
growth target, a school shall demonstrate that the annual growth in
its API is equal to or more than its schoolwide annual percentage
growth target and that all numerically significant pupil subgroups,
as defined in subdivision (a), are making comparable improvement.
   (d) Upon adoption of state performance standards by the State
Board of Education, the Superintendent shall recommend, and the State
Board of Education shall adopt, a statewide API performance target
that includes consideration of performance standards and represents
the proficiency level required to meet the state performance target.
When the API is fully developed, schools must, at a minimum, meet
their annual API growth targets to be eligible for the Governor's
Performance Award Program as set forth in Section 52057. The State
Board of Education may establish additional criteria that schools
must meet to be eligible for the Governor's Performance Award
Program.
   (e) The API shall be used for both of the following:
   (1) Measuring the progress of schools selected for participation
in the Immediate Intervention/Underperforming Schools Program
pursuant to Section 52053.
   (2) Ranking all public schools in the state for the purpose of the
High Achieving/Improving Schools Program pursuant to Section 52056.
   (f) (1) A school with 11 to 99 pupils with valid test scores shall
receive an API score with an asterisk that indicates less
statistical certainty than API scores based on 100 or more test
scores.
   (2) A school shall annually receive an API score, unless the
Superintendent determines that an API score would be an invalid
measure of the school's performance for one or more of the following
reasons:
   (A) Irregularities in testing procedures occurred.
   (B) The data used to calculate the school's API score are not
representative of the pupil population at the school.
   (C) Significant demographic changes in the pupil population render
year-to-year comparisons of pupil performance invalid.
   (D) The department discovers or receives information indicating
that the integrity of the API score has been compromised.
   (E) Insufficient pupil participation in the assessments included
in the API.
   (3) If a school has less than 100 pupils with valid test scores,
the calculation of the API or adequate yearly progress pursuant to
the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (20 U.S.C. Sec. 6301 et
seq.) and federal regulations may be calculated over more than one
annual administration of the tests administered pursuant to Sections
60640 and 60644 and the high school exit exam administered pursuant
to Section 60851, consistent with regulations adopted by the State
Board of Education.
   (g) Only schools with 100 or more test scores contributing to the
API may be included in the API rankings.
   (h) The Superintendent, with the approval of the State Board of
Education, shall develop an alternative accountability system for
schools under the jurisdiction of a county board of education or a
county superintendent of schools, community day schools, nonpublic,
nonsectarian schools pursuant to Section 56366, and alternative
schools serving high-risk pupils, including continuation high schools
and opportunity schools. Schools in the alternative accountability
system may receive an API score, but shall not be included in the API
rankings.
52052.2.  A school that receives an API score with an asterisk shall
be eligible for the Governor's Performance Awards Program, as set
forth in Section 52057 and for participation in the Immediate
Intervention/Underperforming Schools Program, as set forth in Section
52053.
52052.5.  (a) The Superintendent of Public Instruction shall
establish a broadly representative and diverse advisory committee to
advise the Superintendent of Public Instruction and the State Board
of Education on all appropriate matters relative to the creation of
the Academic Performance Index and the implementation of the
Immediate Intervention/Underperforming Schools Program and the High
Achieving/Improving Schools Program.  Members of the advisory
committee shall serve without compensation for terms not to exceed
two years.  The State Department of Education shall provide staff to
the advisory panel.
   (b) By July 1,  2005, the advisory committee established pursuant
to this section shall make recommendations to the Superintendent of
Public Instruction on the appropriateness and feasibility of a
methodology for generating a measurement of academic performance by
utilizing unique pupil identifiers for pupils in kindergarten and any
of grades 1 to 12, inclusive, and annual academic achievement growth
to provide a more accurate measure of a school's growth over time.
If appropriate and feasible, the Superintendent of Public
Instruction, with the approval of the State Board of Education, shall
thereafter implement this measurement of academic performance.