Ask an Expert: Jim Cox and Pat Puleo
Measuring Up: A Parent's Guide to Testing, Grades, and Assessments

What would be a better way to compare schools? I don't like this API because it doesn't measure how much students have learned. I do accept the premise of accountability. Isn't there a better way?

California is currently establishing content standards which identify what students should know and be able to do at every grade level. SAT-9 addresses only some of the content standards. Some simply cannot be assessed in this single multiple-choice test.

If we are to focus on standards, and it is essential that we do that, the system for holding educators accountable must also measure how well students meet these standards. If we fail to do this, standards, which are very good for education, will probably go by the wayside. California is currently developing grade level assessments that are aligned with the standards. When the additional questions are added to the SAT-9 which include those standards, it will make possible a more complete and accurate assessment of student achievement.

You are right that the key element missing in the current accountability system is an equitable accounting of the academic growth each student attains. The API will only show increase if students move up to the next achievement band. Students making progress, but stay within a band, will not increase the score. A group of students could make as much as an eighteen-percentile point growth and stay within the same band.

A more accurate assessment would include combining other measures with SAT-9 to present an achievement index for each school.These might include reading skills (including reading out loud), writing samples, and regular old-fashioned grades. Parents would occasionally say, "My child is such a good reader, yet he scored poorly on the SAT-9." How he reads, day in and day out, is a much better indicator of his ability than the score on a single test taken on a single day.

Since this is the first year for the API, let's be patient and not make too much of the initial ratings that are being reported.

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