Lake Elsinore Unified School District Gets High Marks In Latest State Report

Two Lake Elsinore Unified School District elementary schools ranked among the top 10 percent of schools statewide for academic progress -- and one of the schools ranked highest in the county overall, according to figures released Thursday by the California Department of Education.

The two schools -- Earl Warren Elementary, and Tuscany Hills Elementary -- are among an elite group of just nine Riverside County elementary schools that made the ranking.

The CDE published its 2010 Base Academic Performance Index, with a list
of schools indicating whether they were meeting, exceeding or falling below the
previous year's level of achievement.

The state ranks schools academically on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 representing the top 10 percent, to determine a school's standing compared to other schools around the state. The rankings are based on the school's base API, which is calculated for elementary, middle and high schools based on results of the Standardized Testing and Reporting Program and California High School Exit Exam.

Lake Elsinore Unified's Tuscany Hills Elementary received the highest API score in the county at 948.

The following Riverside County schools received API scores that placed them in the top 10 percent statewide:
   -- George Washington Charter Elementary (922 API), Desert Unified School District;
   -- James Earl Carter Elementary (913 API), Desert Unified School District;
   -- Earl Warren Elementary (918 API), Lake Elsinore Unified School District;
   -- Tuscany Hills Elementary (948 API), Lake Elsinore Unified School District;
   -- Cole Canyon Elementary (916 API), Murrieta Valley Unified School District;
   -- Abby Reinke Elementary (914 API), Temecula Unified School District;
   -- Alamos Elementary (932 API), Temecula Unified School District;
   -- Crowne Hill Elementary (919 API), Temecula Unified School District; and
   -- Vintage Hills Elementary (914 API), Temecula Unified School District.

No middle or high schools in the county received scores that put them in the highest category.

Individual school districts were included in the report, which revealed how they scored in relation to the CDE's target of 800.

The statewide base API was 768. The base for elementary schools was 800, while it was 765 for middle schools and 729 for high schools.

Lake Elsinore Unified School District was one of only five county districts to exceed a score above 800. Corona-Norco Unified (802), Menifee Union (828), Murrieta Valley Unified (837), and Temecula Valley Unified (856) were the other districts to exceed the 800 score.

The report showed all but one school district -- Banning Unified -- exceeded its previous year's level of achievement.

"Today signifies the beginning of a new reporting cycle of testing and reporting under the API, which gives us one measure of school's academic performance,'' Tom Torlakson, the state superintendent of Public Instruction, said Thursday. "This is the jumping-off point where, based on last year's testing results, schools are given a number of points by which they must grow in order to satisfy the requirements of our state accountability system.'' 

Lake Elsinore Unified School District also exceeded 2010 base API scores in nearly all student subgroups. Statewide, the 2010 base API was 851 for Filipino students, 686 for black students, 715 for Hispanics or Latinos, 692 for English Learners and 712 for "socioeconomically disadvantaged'' students.

Districtwide, Lake Elsinore Unified's 2010 base API was 802 for black students, 790 for Hispanics or Latinos, 772 for English Learners and 786 for "socioeconomically disadvantaged" students.

Two subgroups fell below the state's 2010 base API. Statewide, the 2010 base API was 838 for white students and 890 for Asian students.

Districtwide, the 2010 base API was 832 for white students and 887 for Asian students. --City News Service contributed to this report.