Oakland's API Scores Rise Again!
For Immediate Release
Contact: Holly Babe Faust, Executive Director, 415-412-2230
OSSF Network Schools See Academic Performance Index Growth
September 15, 2009
Oakland, CA – Public schools in the Oakland Small Schools Foundation's network improved their Academic Performance Index (API) scores by an average of 35 points in 2008-09, outpacing both district and state averages (19- and 14-point improvements, respectively).
Highlights by the numbers:
• The two most improved schools in Oakland are both OSSF schools: Futures Elementary had the district's greatest API growth, jumping 118 points to 701, and East Oakland Pride Elementary rose 112 points to 657.
• Think College Now, an East Oakland elementary school and founding member of OSSF, jumped 80 points to reach 848, making it the first OSSF school to break 800.
• This year 12 of the network's 31 schools topped 700, compared to five in 2007-08. Click here to see a chart of scores for every school in our network. For a map showing API progress from 1999 to 2009, click here.
"It is no surprise to see this type of success in Oakland's flatlands schools," says Executive Director Holly Babe Faust. "Our school leaders and teachers are working hard every day to narrow the achievement gap in Oakland, and these API scores show that it's happening. OSSF is proud to be a part of it."
The scores, released by the California Department of Education today, echo OSSF schools' improvement on last month's California Standards Test (CST), and reflect an encouraging district-wide trend: Oakland is the most improved large (20,000 students or more) urban school district in the state of California over the last five years.
About the Oakland Small Schools Foundation
Founded in 2003, OSSF is dedicated to promoting excellence in Oakland's public schools so that all our students have the opportunity to achieve. OSSF is the only private organization focused on securing and managing resources and providing expert operational, communications, and fundraising services for those Oakland public schools that serve primarily low-income students, are results-oriented and data-driven, are led by innovative, entrepreneurial leaders, and emphasize personalization, collaboration, and family involvement.