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California elementary school boosts its API score

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 29, 2012 16:26 PM



While students' primary reason for doing well in school should not be to receive rewards, very few of them are unlikely to refuse a special treat or two when offered. In California, a number of schools are known to provide their pupils with incentives for doing well on the California Standards Tests, which are part of the California STAR Testing Program.

According to the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Victor Hodge Elementary School was among the institutions that decided to reward students for their hard work. Pupils were treated to a performance by a professional BMX riding team, as well as demonstrations from Victor Hodge's cheer squads.

These rewards are well-deserved, considering the fact that when the California Department of Education first introduced the Academic Performance Index (API), Victor Hodge's score was 521. Thanks to students' performance on the California Standards Tests, the school's API is now 854.

"Back then, 800 looked [like] 1,000," Mike Murphy, a fourth-grade teacher at the elementary school, told the news source.

Many California schools had reason to celebrate this year, as 2012 was the ninth consecutive year of improved STAR Testing scores in the areas of English and mathematics, according to a California Department of Education press release.


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