MOST GLENDALE SCHOOLS IMPROVE API RATINGS BURBANK SCHOOL DISTRICT SCORES NEED CORRECTIONS, WILL BE RELEASED IN JANUARY.

Byline: Naush Boghossian Staff Writer

GLENDALE - Most Glendale schools improved their ratings on the Academic Performance Index, reports released Thursday showed, but district officials noted the gains are becoming increasingly modest.

Half of Glendale Unified's 28 schools met their API targets for growth, compared with 48 percent statewide. More than half of the schools achieved single-digit gains.

``We're going into a period where we may be seeing a slowing down of growth and a softening of gains, and that's true statewide, as well as in Glendale,'' said Terry Dutton, the district's director of assessment and evaluation.

The Burbank School District's scores are undergoing corrections and will likely be released in January, officials said.

Several Glendale schools distinguished themselves by improving by more than 16 points.

Balboa Elementary increased 37 points to 803, Thomas Jefferson climbed 30 points to 792, Rosemont Middle School increased 20 points to 863, Woodrow Wilson Elementary pushed up 18 points to 799, and Valley View Elementary grew 16 points to 894.

District officials said they would be meeting with staff at Horace Mann and John Marshall elementary schools to determine what may have caused the drop in their API scores and how to prevent it from happening in the future. Horace Mann dropped 11 points to 689, and John Marshall dropped 10 points to 727 - the largest drops in the district.

With an overall district API score of 781 - a 7 point increase from 2003 - it is becoming harder for high-performing schools to improve their scores.

Dunsmore, Monte Vista and Mountain Avenue elementary schools scored above 900, and 11 district schools achieved a score greater than 800.

``The closer you got to 800, the fewer kids you have who aren't achieving grade level,'' Dutton said. ``It's harder to achieve your target.''

For schools performing under 800, the target gains are calculated as 5 percent of the difference between last year's score and 800. The target scores for schools that are over 800 is simply to remain above 800.

Since monetary awards for API performance have not been handed out for two years given the state's budgetary constraints, the reward for the school district is simply improving.

``As long as they're making growth or sustaining, we're grateful,'' said Alice Petrossian, assistant superintendent of education services.

``It's like taking a temperature of the schools and making sure they're in good health, and it's the state's accountability measure, so we do take it seriously.''

Naush Boghossian, [phone]

naush.boghossian(at)dailynews.com

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Source: California Department of Education