State Data to Show How Well Schools Met Academic Goals

The state Department of Education today will release the first in a series of calculations to determine whether schools and school districts met state and federal performance targets in this year’s standardized tests.

The results will be available at 10 a.m. on The Times’ website, at latimes.com/schoolscores.

Though only preliminary, the data released today will show schools’ standings on the state’s Academic Performance Index and whether schools and school districts attained proficiency levels prescribed in the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

California’s Academic Performance Index, a number from 200 to 1,000, is an overall gauge of a school’s performance on state standards and other tests. Schools receive annual growth targets based on how far they are below the target of 800.

Federal law requires schools receiving anti-poverty funds to meet fixed performance goals, depending on the type of district. In unified districts, for example, 12% of students must be proficient in English language arts and 12.8% in math, with 95% of students tested.

About 4.8 million public school students in second through 11th grades took the tests last spring. Test results were published in mid-August, showing meager gains over last year.