A measure of academic performance and school growth. Unique to California, the Academic Performance Index (API) is reported on a numeric index from 200 to 1,000, with higher numbers indicating higher performance.

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) requires each state to define Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) goals, or targets, for state test proficiency and other academic indicators. For purposes of NCLB, California uses the API as one of their other academic indicators. To demonstrate AYP, schools and school districts must show improvement of at least 1 point on the API or meet a target designated by the state. In 2003-2004, the target was 560. By 2014, all schools must achieve an API of 800.

The API is calculated by weighting the results of various state assessments. In 2003-2004, the API included the results of the California Standards Tests (CSTs), the California Alternate Performance Assessment (CAPA), the California Achievement Test, Sixth Edition Survey (CAT/6 Survey), and the California High School Exit Examination (CAHSEE).

 Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP):

A measure of improvement on annual academic performance goals. The No Child Left Behind Act requires each individual state to define AYP goals, or targets, for test proficiency and other academic indicators such as attendance and graduation rates. Schools and school districts that receive federal Title I funds (to improve learning among low-income children) that fail to meet AYP targets for two or more consecutive years are considered "in need of improvement" and face a range of consequences. Consequences might include offering public school choice and transportation, providing supplemental educational services, and implementing certain corrective actions.

Important Considerations:

The "progress" in Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) does not necessarily recognize schools' efforts in helping individual students to improve from one grade to the next. Rather, states set a common AYP target each year to steer all schools toward 100% proficiency by the year 2014, as required by the law. These AYP targets do not account for the different starting points of student subgroups and schools. For example, low performing schools in high-poverty areas may have to achieve a rate of progress that is more than double that of the highest performing schools. 

CalWORKs*:

The students (ages 5-17) whose families receive payments from CalWORKs (California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids). This program replaced Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) in 1997 in response to federal welfare reform.

Class Size Reduction*:

A state-funded program for kindergarten through third grade classes with no more than twenty students per teacher. On a given day a class may have more than 20 children, but the average in each class must be lower than 20.4 over the school year to ensure funding. Virtually all 1st and 2nd graders and nearly all kindergarten and 3rd grade students are in the smaller classes. A separate program supports some smaller classes for core subjects in 9th grade.

Economically Disadvantaged:

Students from low-income families. State criteria used to determine a student's economically disadvantaged status may vary. The percent of students from low-income families is an important indicator in the overall analysis of a school system due to the strong relationship between household income and student achievement. 

English Language Learners:

Students who need language assistance services because English is not their first language. English Language Learners (ELL) students may be immigrants or children born in the United States. These students typically participate in instructional programs, such as bilingual education or English as a Second Language (ESL). The population of English Language Learners is important to analyze because these students face unique challenges and may require modified instruction. The precise definition of English Language Learners varies across states. Some states may provide additional information on this student subgroup.

Enrollment:

The number of students registered in a given school, school district, or state at a given time. Enrollment represents the number of students on a headcount basis. As a distribution, Enrollment is the percentage of total enrollment made up of students in a particular student subgroup.

National School Lunch Program:

A federally funded program that assists schools in providing nutritious meals to children at no cost or at a reduced–price. Established under the National School Lunch Act by President Truman in 1946, the National School Lunch Program provides cash subsidies and donated commodities from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to participating schools serving meals that meet Federal nutrition requirements for free or at a reduced–price to eligible children. Children from families with incomes at or below 130 percent of the poverty level are eligible for free meals; those with incomes between 130 percent and 185 percent of the poverty level are eligible for reduced–price meals. 

No Child Left Behind:

The federal education legislation signed into law in January 2002. This law reauthorized and revised the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and is premised on four pillars: accountability, flexibility, parental choice, and researched-based education methods.

NCLB makes a number of requirements of state education systems receiving federal funding, including annual state assessment of student achievement in math and reading in grades 3 through 8 and one assessment in grades 10 through 12, public reporting of school performance, program-specific spending levels, and minimum staff qualifications. 

Non-K-12 Expenditures: 

The amount of money spent to provide services to students, staff, or the community that are not related directly to, or for the support of, K-12 instructional services. As defined by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Non-K-12 Expenditures is a non-instructional expense that includes community services, adult education classes, and other activities such as community college programs not related to K-12 education. Non-K-12 Expenditures include payments from all funds for salaries, employee benefits, supplies, materials, and contractual services related to Non-K-12 Expenditures.

At the school district level, Non-K-12 Expenditures exclude interfund transfers, payments made by states on behalf of school districts, transfers by some school districts in their own retirement system, and capital- and debt-related spending. At the state level, Non-K-12 Expenditures exclude interfund transfers and capital- and debt-related spending, but include payments made by states on behalf of school districts. At the district level, this expenditure includes only money spent on students taught in the district. It excludes money paid to other school systems for the education of students outside the district. Likewise, the enrollment figures used to calculate per student values reflect only students taught in the district.

Throughout this report, we use participation in the Free and Reduced Price Meal Program (or FARM) as an indicator of poverty. Only families with income below 100% of the poverty line are considered to be officially living in poverty. The poverty line is a controversial measure; created in 1964, it is only based on food prices with low inflation, while costs of housing, transportation, etc., have high inflation; 100% of the poverty line is inaccurate.

Families with income below 200% (or twice) the poverty line are low-income families living in poverty. Only students whose family income is below 200% (or less than twice) of the poverty line is eligible in FARM. Participation in FARM underestimates actual poverty: some eligible students do not apply due to embarrassment. We define schools where 70-100% of the students are on subsidized meals as HIGH POVERTY. We define schools where 30-70% of the students are on subsidized meals as AVERAGE. We define schools where 0-30% of the students are on subsidized meals as LOW POVERTY.

Racial/Ethnic Group:

The classification indicating a student's racial or ethnic heritage. The following major racial/ethnic categories are designated in accordance with the U.S. Office of Management and Budget standard classification:

Anglo: A non-Hispanic person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, North Africa, or the Middle East.

Black: A non-Hispanic person having origins in any of the black racial groups in Africa.

Hispanic: A person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.

Asian: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia or the Indian subcontinent. This area includes, for example, China, India, Japan and Korea.

Filipino: A person having origins in the Philippine Islands.

Pacific Islander: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Pacific Islands. This area includes, for example, Samoa.

American Indian/Alaska Native: A person having origins in any of the original peoples of North America and maintaining cultural identification through tribal affiliation or community recognition. 

School Type:

The classification given to a school determined by the lowest and highest grades served by the school. School types are as follows:

Primary: lowest grade served = Pre-K–grade 3; highest grade served = Pre-K–grade 8

Middle: lowest grade served = 4–7; highest grade served = 4–9

High: lowest grade served = 7–12; highest grade served = 12

Other: Any configuration not falling within the previous three, including ungraded schools 

Teacher Certification:

A specified teaching certification, or license. In most states, the usual or traditional process by which one obtains a license to teach is through completion of a college or university teacher education program approved by the State Department of Education. Teachers with National Board Certification have been recognized by the National Board for Professional Teacher Standards as having achieved a level of excellence in teacher skills.

Note: All definitions derived from http://data1.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/ except those with an asterisk, which are from http://www.ed-data.k12.ca.us/Navigation/fsTwoPanel.asp?bottom=/Glossary.asp .