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June 6, 2008 - Evidence of Value-Added Achievement (PDF).

Since opening its charter schools five years ago, St. HOPE has provided significant value-added academic achievement to the students in Oak Park, an inner-city community in Sacramento, California. St. HOPE’s elementary school (PS7) is the highest performing elementary school in the area, posting significant gains in ELA and math proficiency rates and a 111 point gain over four years on California’s Academic Performance Index (one of the largest gains of any school in the region). Likewise, St. HOPE’s high school, Sac High, has seen significant improvement in high school exit exam results and college-going rates. Specifically, 82% of 2007 seniors met the University of California college entrance requirements, compared to just 39% before St. HOPE began operating the school. Additionally, 73% of the 2007 graduating class was accepted to a four year college.

Both charters were recently awarded five-year renewals by Sacramento City Unified School District (the authorizing entity), validating St. HOPE’s ability to implement an educational program that produces academic results and operate charter schools that are viable fiscally, legally and organizationally.

PS7 RESULTS

Over the last five years, PS7 has produced undeniable results. These results, when presented in the school’s charter renewal application, led the Board of Trustees for Sacramento City Unified School District to vote unanimously to approve charter renewal.

Academic Performance Index (API). The API measures the academic performance and growth of California schools on a variety of measures, with standards-based tests being weighed most heavily. PS7 has seen tremendous growth in its API scores, meeting or exceeding the growth target set by the state each year. Specifically, over the last four years PS7 has documented a 111 point growth in API scores. The chart below lists yearly API scores and cumulative growth.

Also important to note is that PS7 is one of the two highest-performing schools in the surrounding community. An API comparison is provided below.

Similar Schools. As part of its accountability system, California provides schools with a statewide ranking and a similar schools ranking, with 1 being the lowest 10% of schools statewide and 10 the highest 10%. As illustrated, PS7 ranks 9 when compared to schools serving students with similar student populations.

Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). The No Child Left Behind Act requires that each state ensures all schools and districts make Adequate Yearly Progress. AYP is based on participation rates on standardized tests as well as student progress towards proficiency on academic standards as a whole as well as by major subgroups. PS7 has met AYP for four consecutive years. It is also important to note how PS7 compares to other schools in the surrounding community. PS7 is one of only four schools in the area that met the AYP target in 2007 and is one of three schools that is not a Performance Improvement (PI) School.

Standardized Test Data. PS7 students have made significant gains on the California Standards Tests (CST). PS7 students also consistently outperform their peers in surrounding schools, the district and the state. A series of charts are presented below that highlight these comparisons and the school’s continued improvements in student performance.

CST Proficiency 2007
State, District and PS7 Comparison

As the chart above indicates, PS7 students outperform state and district averages by as much as 8% in English Language Arts and 9% in mathematics.

English Language Arts Proficiency 2007
Area Schools Comparison

The graph above shows PS7’s proficiency rates compared to schools within close proximity to PS7. As illustrated, PS7 outperforms these schools in all grades with the exception of third.

Mathematics Proficiency 2007
Areas Schools Comparison

PS7’s results are even more significant in mathematics. Again, comparing PS7 to other area schools shows that PS7 has positively impacted student achievement in just four years.

SAC HIGH RESULTS

Over the last five years, Sac High has made a significant, positive impact on student outcomes; documenting a value-added benefit to students. The school has created a safe, orderly, structured and disciplined learning environment complemented by a culture of high expectations and a college-going mindset. Academic achievement has steadily increased while disciplinary issues have steadily decreased. Four-year college acceptance rates have soared as have the numbers of students meeting University of California and California State University “a-g” college entrance requirements.

Academic Performance Index (API). The API is the cornerstone of California’s Public School Accountability Act of 1999 and measures the academic performance and growth of schools on a variety of measures, with standards-based tests being weighed most heavily. Sac High’s API score is currently the highest in the School’s history. As illustrated in Table 1 above, Sac High has posted a 60-point increase over the last four-years, exceeding growth targets by 24 points.

Similar Schools (SSI). As part of its accountability system, California provides schools with a statewide ranking and a similar schools ranking, with 1 being the lowest 10% of schools statewide and 10 the highest 10%. As illustrated below, Sac High earned a similar schools rank of “8” out of “10” in 2007, which puts them in the top 30% of similar schools. The year before Sac High became a charter, the similar schools ranking was a 2-- the bottom 20% of similar schools. While all Sacramento area high schools are not grouped in the same “similar school” category, the ranking nevertheless puts Sac High as having the second highest similar school ranking of all high schools in Sacramento City Unified School District, only behind West Campus.

Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). The No Child Left Behind Act requires that each state ensures all schools and districts make Adequate Yearly Progress. AYP is based on participation rates on standardized tests as well as student progress towards proficiency on academic standards as a whole as well as by major subgroups. Sac High met its AYP in 2007. Of the five comprehensive high schools in the district only one made AYP targets.

CAHSEE Passage. Passage rates on the California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE) have increased a total of 16% in ELA and 11% in math over the last five years, with 79% of sophomores passing the ELA portion of the exam in 2008 (compared to 63% in 2004) and 76% passing the math portion (compared to 65% in 2004).

College Going Rates. In order to be considered for acceptance to the University of California or California State University institutions of higher learning, students are required to successfully complete a set of college preparatory courses called “a-g requirements,” certified by the university system. Prior to St. HOPE taking on the management of Sac High (class of 2003), only 38% of seniors were “a-g” eligible. In 2007, 82% of the graduating seniors met “a-g” and 83% of the class of 2008 is on track to meet these requirements.

Perhaps our greatest accomplishment, however, is the college-going culture that has been created at the school, with over 70% of 2007 graduates being accepted to at least one four-year college and over 75% of the class of 2008 being accepted to at least one four-year college. The graph below shows the steady increase in college acceptance and “a-g” eligibility over the last five years.

4-Year College and A-G Eligibility Rates
2004-2008

Sac High students have been accepted to the nation’s elite public universities and private colleges including Stanford, MIT, Duke, UC Berkeley and UCLA.