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Public schools nowadays have a difficult task, raising students test scores with minimal funding to improve the schools. Campbell schools, however, are rising to the challenge.
The Campbell Union High School District made significant strides in its Academic Performance Index, or API, scores, inching its way closer toward the statewide goal of 800 at all its high schools.
Prospect High School, for example, was expected by the state to grow by six points. Instead, it gained 36 points, from 679 to 715.
Prospect also made major gains in its Asian, Latino, white, and socio-economically disadvantaged populations. Westmont and Branham high schools reported similar gains in these subgroups. Westmont went from 704 to 725, and Branham's API scores climbed from 722 to 743.
Campbell Union High School District Superintendent Rhonda Farber said the district is trying to close the achievement gap between the upper and lower-level achievers. Historically the white and Asian populations at the schools have fared better than the Latino students.
The district's efforts toward bridging this gap appear to be paying off. Prospect, Branham and Westmont high schools far exceeded their single-digit targets for the Latino subgroup, increasing by 58 points at Prospect, 51 points at Branham and 45 points at Westmont.
Boynton High School, the district's alternative high school that caters to students who are failing in traditional schools, made a huge leap on its test scores with a 140-point gain from 393 to 533.
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