API will soon lose its clout as shorthand for defining school success

Jennifer Brickey

CA—Curriculum and Assessment

Fensterwald, J. (2013). API will soon lost its clout as shorthand for defining school

success.

Retrieved from

http://edsource.org/today/2013/api-will-soon-lose-its-clout-as-shorthand-for-defining-school-success/40620#.UpuWUqWx18s

Fensterwald explains how for more than a decade the Academic Performance Index (API) has served as the primary measurement that determines a school’s success. This measurement, which is based solely on standardized test scores, has been a major determinate for parents to judge whether or not a school is best for their children. For schools, API drives curriculum and, consequently, the money that often supports the various programs in place. However, with the transition to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) API’s usefulness and appropriateness has come into question. “As a result, for the first time since API was created in 1999, the State Board is likely to vote to suspend it next year” (Fensterwald, 2013). Discussion has also swirled around suspending API for even longer depending on the CCSS implementation.

Although this piece was helpful in gaining an understanding for what will happen regarding API, I found that it raised more questions than provided answers. The document addresses other means of measurement such as graduation rate. Yet, there is an overall assumption policymakers profess---that everything a student learns can be measured. States like New York have begun institutionalizing the new Smarter Balance assessments and with it have experienced a backlash from educators and parents, which

suggests we need to reevaluate just how we measure students’ success.