For more information:Jason Foster, foster@mail.sdsu.edu
SDSU Marketing & Communications
(619) 594-5204Jim Esterbrooks
San Diego County Office of Education
(858) 292-3719FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
San Diego County Education Leaders Release
First K-16 Achievement ReportNew Document Will Become Annual Measurement Tool for Student Performance
SAN DIEGO, Friday, Aug. 3, 2001 - A coalition of public college presidents/chancellors and K-12 superintendents from around San Diego County today introduced the "San Diego County K-16 Achievement Report," a new, more integrated effort to measure student performance from kindergarten through college graduation.
"For the first time, the region's K-12, community college and public four-year university leaders have committed ourselves to go beyond tracking our own student populations and measure how well students are progressing through all levels of instruction," said Stephen L. Weber, president of San Diego State University and facilitator of the coalition. "This effort is not new just for San Diego - to our knowledge, we are the first region in the country to take this comprehensive approach to measuring student performance."
The report, introduced at a press conference at SDSU's International Student Center, stems from meetings held in the past year involving K-12 school superintendents, community college presidents, and presidents and educational leaders from Cal State San Marcos, SDSU, and UCSD. It incorporates existing data from all public education institutions in the county.
Its 27 indicators include:
* Graduation rates (high school and college)
* Stanford 9 scores and norms
* Academic Performance Index (API) rankings
* Demographic breakdowns of SAT scores
* Completion rates of required courses for UC/CSU admission
* College freshman enrollment and GPAs
County Superintendent Rudy Castruita said the report will help educational policymakers improve student outcomes, and provides some initial direction on what issues the coalition will need to address together.
"There is a lot of positive data in this report, but one issue that it clearly reinforces is that a vast 'achievement gap' exists when student performance is analyzed by ethnicity, income and parent education levels," Castruita said. "Now we can begin the conversation of how we can work together to improve student achievement across the board."
Education officials plan to send copies of the report to more than 400 elected officials, business leaders and other key influencers next week. Copies of the report are available to the public by visiting the San Diego County Office of Education Web site at http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/k16.
Augustine Gallego, chancellor for the San Diego Community College District, said the report is still a work in progress and the coalition welcomes public feedback on it.
"This report marks only the beginning of our effort to enhance education for all of the region's students," Gallego said. "While it contains much important data, the K-16 Achievement Report will become even more valuable in future years as we expand it, refine it and monitor changes in key indicators."
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