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Schools

MBUSD's Ranking Jumps from Fifth to Third in State

More good news for the district, as school officials credit recent improvements in standardized testing scores.

The Manhattan Beach Unified School District's (MBUSD) ranking on the California Academic Performance Index (API) jumped from fifth to third place out of all K-12 schools in both California and Los Angeles County.

The district's leap, from an API growth score of 914 last year to 926 this year, is a direct result of improved Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) program scores in schools across the district.

The California Accountability Requirement, which is the standard API goal set by the state, is 800. MBUSD surpasses it by 126 points.

Manhattan Beach Middle School (MBMS) and Mira Costa High School led the scoring gains, adding six and 26 points, respectively, to the district's overall API score, which went up 12 points.

"When I heard the news, I was over the moon," Carolyn Seaton, MBUSD's executive director of educational services, said during a September 15 school board meeting.

The district's sudden academic leap is "because of the teachers, the parents supporting the kids, the kids taking it seriously, and the MBEF [Manhattan Beach Education Foundation] for supporting us and ensuring smaller class sizes," Seaton said. "Science scores increased across the board," she added. (See related story)

Seaton also celebrated improved API scores for economically disadvantaged students and those with disabilities, whose scores grew by 26 and 20 points, respectively, between 2009 and 2010.

The district's new academic ranking places its elementary schools in the top 2 percent of all elementary schools in California. MBMS ranks even higher, now sitting in the top 1.9 percent in California, while Mira Costa leads the district, ranking in the top 1.3 percent of 2,452 California high schools.

MBUSD is now outranked only by the San Marino and La Cañada unified school districts, which have held their top two spots for years.

Superintendent Dr. Michael Matthews credited his district's surge to students' significantly improved test scores in science, which he said resulted from staff additions and a stronger emphasis on hands-on learning. "We're teaching more to the standards, and that makes a really big difference," he said.

"We're thrilled," he continued. "Going to third in the state, I think our entire community is proud of us. It reflects the value the whole community has on education."

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