State Superintendent Tom Torlakson has released the 2012 Academic Performance Index (API) scores for schools across the state, and every school in the Culver City Unified School District has seen an increase.

The API is a numeric index that ranges from a low of 200 to a high of 1,000. School and student group targets are set at 5 percent of the difference between the school or student group's Base API score and the statewide target of 800, with a minimum target of 5 points. All numerically significant student groups at a school must meet their growth targets for a school to meet its API growth target.

“These are very exciting results and they underscore the efforts made by our teachers, students and staff,” said CCUSD Superintendent Dave LaRose. “We will continue to strive for even better results, but these numbers are very impressive.”

Three CCUSD schools – El Rincon Elementary School, Linwood E. Howe Elementary School and Culver City Middle School – saw an API increase of 30 or more points and two CCUSD schools – El Marino Language School and Farragut Elementary School – have notched API scores of 940 or greater. Culver Park High School saw the largest increase, going from a Base API of 44 to a Growth API of 594.

“By providing quality professional development and implementing effective interventions at all school sites, CCUSD teachers have continued to improve student achievement,” said Eileen Carroll, Assistant Superintendent – Educational Servics. “This cycle of continuous improvement is to be commended especially in a time of severe budget challenges. It is especially impressive to see that all of our school sites had gains in their AIP scores.”

Torlakson said the local increases mirror an increase across the state, noting that for the first time, a majority of California's public schools met or surpassed the statewide target for academic achievement on the 2012 Academic Performance Index (API).

Some 53 percent of schools scored at or above the state target of 800, an increase of 4 percentage points over last year, marking a decade of steady growth. Ten years ago, only 20 percent of schools met or surpassed the API target. All five CCUSD elementary schools as well as Culver City Middle School and Culver City High School have surpassed the state target of 800.

“We’ve set a high bar for schools and they have more than met the challenge, despite the enormous obstacles that years of budget cuts have put in their way,” Torlakson said. “The incredible efforts of teachers, administrators, school employees, parents, and students should serve as an inspiration to us all. While there’s still more work to do, California’s schools have earned a vote of confidence.”

Results released by Torlakson show that 59 percent of elementary schools, 49 percent of middle schools, and 30 percent of high schools are now meeting the state benchmark.

(A table of API results for CCUSD schools follows)