Las Virgenes API Scores Rise

Test scores released by the state Monday delivered good news for Las Virgenes Unified schools, with all 15 meeting the state-set goal.

The Academic Performance Index (API) assigns every school in the state a score between 200 and 1,000 based on the performance of students in grades 2 through 11 on standardized tests taken in the spring. The target score is 800 or better. Las Virgenes scored 882, up from 874 last year.

While all schools serving Agoura Hills residents scored above 800, Willow Elementary and Mariposa Elementary School of Global Education's scores decreased from 914 to 899 and from 833 to 826, respectively. 

Yerba Buena Elementary had the highest score in the district at 934, up from 933 last year. Sumac Elementary came in second, scoring 903, up from 877. Lindero Canyon Middle School scored 893 up from 885 last year. And Agoura High scored 854, up from 842.

"We have incredibly talented teachers. Kids come ready to learn. There are super supportive parents," said Superintendent Don Zimring. "We are always pleased and gratified when we see high scores, but we try to stress, it's not about how high our scores are; it is about how far we bring our students each year."

Statewide, the 2010 Growth API report showed that 46 percent of all California schools are now at or above the overall statewide target API of 800, up four percentage points from the year before, according to a news release by state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell. 

"When we set the target goal of 800 on the API 10 years ago, it was ambitious and it challenged most California schools that had never been held accountable for improving academic achievement," O'Connell said. "California schools are made great by hardworking students, teachers, administrators, paraeducators, school board members and parents."