State Board of Education suspends California Academic Performance Index

The California Board of Education has voted unanimously to suspend the Academic Performance Index for the 2014-15 school year as the state works to develop a more comprehensive accountability system based on multiple measures.

Califonria Department of Education LogoState Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson announced the move on Wednesday. Rather than focusing on test scores, he said, the new system would be designed to reflect multiple performance indicators, such as graduation data and student readiness for college and careers.

Established in 1999, the API relied on student test results to measure academic performance – and to determine which schools needed improvement. Scores for each school were based on a scale of 200 to 1,000, with 800 established as the state’s ideal target.

Though the traditional index has been suspended, Torlakson said results from the state’s new web-based assessments will be reported to districts, teachers, parents and the public.

The Orange County Register has more here.