Sierra Madre School Misses 'Distinguished' Honor

was not honored as a 2012 California Distinguished School, but neighboring elementary school Don Benito Fundamental in Pasadena was.

A total of 387 elementary schools in California made the list for “their innovative education programs that encourage students to learn and help close the achievement gap,” according to a release from the State Department of Education.

Whether or not a school makes the Distinguished Schools list is largely based on Academic Performance Index (API) scores... also known as standardized tests.

SME has the highest API score in the district- an impressive 908 out of a possible 1000 (the district average is 759). However, the score growth for individual “disadvantaged subgroups,” being Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, SocioEconomically Disadvantaged (SED) and English Learners in SME's case, is what really counts when trying to earn the Distinguished School title.

Two of the school's subgroups did not improve their scores enough for SME to be considered for the honor. See the chart below for a full breakdown of the school’s API scores.

SED students improved their API scores by eight points, but needed to improve by 10 points to be considered. Hispanic students improved their scores by 10 points, but needed to improve by 11 points to be considered.

Black students improved their API scores by an average of 26 points, and English Learners improved by an average of 19 points- these improvements would have counted toward Distinguished School eligibility.

SME falls under what the Distinguished Schools Program calls “Category 1,” meaning it has a large population of white or Asian students and one or more other “disadvantaged subgroups.”

Here’s a breakdown of Sierra Madre Elementary School’s API score growth* from 2010-11.

*Specific data was not available for American Indian or Alaska Natives, Filipinos and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students.