API SCORES `IN RIGHT DIRECTION' MOST SCHOOLS SURPASS STATE MEDIAN.

Byline: Alex Dobuzinskis Staff Writer

GLENDALE - Twenty-five of the 28 Glendale Unified schools surpassed the state median in Academic Performance Index scores and all of Burbank Unified's main schools cleared the bar.

The California Department of Education placed schools on a 10-point scale, with 5 as the state median. The scores of Glendale Unified schools remained mainly static, with 21 schools receiving the same score they got last year.

Franklin Elementary went from a 7 last year to a 6 this year, the only GUSD school to drop in the ranking category.

``We're pleased that schools are going in the right direction,'' said Superintendent Michael Escalante, adding, ``success is not perfection, it's a process of improvement and I think that's the direction we're going in.''

Schools' API scores are calculated based on standardized tests given to students, including the California Standards Test and, for high schools, the California High School Exit Exam.

Seven Glendale schools got a statewide ranking of 10. Among the district's bigger schools, Keppel Elementary got an 8, Mann Elementary got a 4, Rosemont Middle School got a 10 and Glendale High and Hoover High each scored a 7. Crescenta Valley High and Clark Magnet High each scored a 10.

``Whereas many high schools in the state are struggling with test scores, our high schools are making better progress than other schools in the state,'' said Terry Dutton, GUSD director of assessment and evaluation.

All of Burbank Unified's 16 main schools - excluding Magnolia Park, which tested only 22 students, and two schools that were not ranked - scored a 6 or higher. Ten of those schools went up by 1 point from last year and none of them lost any points, said Caroline Brumm, director of curriculum, instruction and assessment.

Among the top-scoring schools were Jefferson Elementary and Roosevelt Elementary, which each scored a 9. Burbank High got a 7 and Burroughs High got an 8.

``We've built a background of knowledge and skills for students. It's not a case of just preparing for a test,'' Brumm said.

One of the strategies the district uses to bring up test scores involves working with teachers on how to better help students with math and literacy, and designing ``interventions'' for struggling students, she said.

About 20 percent of BUSD students have limited English skills or are learning the language, according to the district. Citing numbers from last year, the GUSD reported that 36 percent of its students are in that category.

The state also ranked schools based on how they compared to schools with similar demographics, factoring in variables such as parents' education level and the percentage of poor students at each school.

Fremont Elementary was the lowest performing GUSD school in the ``similar schools'' category with a score of 4, but it is overall one of the district's better performing schools and meets the state API target.

Four GUSD schools and one BUSD school - Disney Elementary - scored a 10 in that category. Glendale High scored a 9, an 8-point jump from 1999.

Leroy Sherman, a co-principal at Glendale High, said scores rose after a system was implemented whereby students walking into a classroom can see on the blackboard what they will learn that day and what the homework will be.

``It allows students to know in every class what they're going to be doing and it allows that consistency,'' Sherman said.

Schools are also given an API score with 1,000 as the top number, and school districts are given similar scores. The BUSD got an overall score of 747 and the GUSD got a 774.

Alex Dobuzinskis, [phone]

alex.dobuzinskis(at)dailynews.com

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