Test scores in the Oakdale Joint Unified School District are good, according to Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum Barbara Shook when she delivered an overview of the 2010 Accountability Progress Report for the district to the Board of Trustees at the Oct. 11 regular meeting.

At the start of her presentation, Shook told the board that the new catch phrase everyone is going to be hearing is “College And Career Ready” instead of “No Child Left Behind.”

Shook’s report addressed the district’s Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), which falls under federal oversight and what was initially known as the “No Child Left Behind” (NCLB) Act – it’s now the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). It also included Academic Performance Index (API) results under California oversight, as well as Standardized Testing and Reporting Programs (STAR) that covers multiple tests including the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) and others.

Shook reported that the district’s overall API score was 794, making it the highest for a K-12 district in the county, more than 20 points higher than the next district in the county. That number grew by 40 points over four years and the district still has its sights set on achieving 800.

There are many different subgroups as defined by the government that the tests rank, including socioeconomically disadvantaged, various ethnicities, and learning disabled. Each school has its own significant subgroups whose scores are separated based on goals in these categories.

For elementary schools, Cloverland’s API score was 849, meeting 25 of 25 AYP goals for significant subgroups. Fair Oaks’ API score was 839, meeting 18 of 21 AYP goals. Shook added that Fair Oaks was placed in the first year of “program improvement” this year because last year its ESL students didn’t hit the marks for math and this year its economically disadvantaged students didn’t hit the marks in math. Even though they are different groups, it still put the school in P.I.

Magnolia’s API score is 807, meeting 15 of 21 AYP goals. Sierra View had the highest API of 859, meeting 21 of 21 AYP goals.

Oakdale Junior High School had an API of 761, meeting 14 of 21 AYP goals. Oakdale High School’s API is 792, meeting 16 of 18 AYP goals. East Stanislaus High School’s API is 507, meeting three of five AYP goals. Oakdale Charter High School’s API was 639, a significant jump from last year, and meeting five of five AYP goals.

Shook said that the graduation rate for the district is obviously pending for this year. Districtwide she said it was 90.9 percent, and in 2007-2008 OHS was 97.5 percent.

In Annual Measurable Objectives, the district met 21 of 26 goals.

Shook pointed out that only 19 percent of the districts in California are not in Program Improvement, Oakdale is in that small percentage.

“We’re very pleased overall with the percentages at this point,” Shook said.

Meanwhile, a special board meeting will take place on Monday, Oct. 18 at 6 p.m. at the OJUSD Technology and Staff Development Center on the west end of the OHS campus where the board will consider the Superintendent selection process and also the possible selection of a consultant to assist with the process. The meeting is open to the public.