By Sara Ballenger

Third time is a charm for Egan Junior High School. The Los Altos school has been named as the top junior high school in the state for the third year in a row, based on the state’s 2001-02 Academic Performance Index (API) Growth Reports.

Egan scored 933 out of a possible 1,000 points. The score, also called an index number, actually dropped 10 points from the previous year, but Egan was able to remain in the top slot.

“I am kind of shellshocked,” Principal Brenda Dyckman said.

The API is part of the Public Schools Accountability Act. Passed in 1999, the law tracks and compares growth in schools’ academic performance and rewards schools that meet their performance goals, according to the state Department of Education.

A school’s API ranking is based on students’ collective scores on the STAR and Stanford Achievement Test Form 9 tests, and is intended to indicate how well a school performs. The state set a target score for each school at 800 points.

Once scores are tabulated, they are divided into deciles. Schools are then ranked based on their decile, with 10 being the highest and 1 the lowest.

Two junior high schools from San Diego and Orinda have come to observe what Dyckman calls the “Egan culture.”

What is the secret of Egan’s success? Dyckman believes there are a number of factors.

“Obviously, you always have to start with an amazing teaching staff,” she said. “Also with a well articulated, strong standards-based curriculum and wonderful parent support. Here at Egan we create a culture and place where students can blossom and do their best.”

The school’s small size could be another reason for Egan’s success.

“Egan and Blach are two of the smallest middle schools in the state, which allows the staff to provide individual attention and support to every student,” said Marge Gratiot, superintendent of the Los Altos School District. “Our middle school students come to seventh grade well prepared by their elementary schools and encouraged by their families to be successful in a challenging academic environment.”

Below are the other Los Altos School District schools that have received API growth reports. Scores for four schools are missing because the California Department of Education is waiting for more student answer document data to be delivered from the test publisher and scorer, according to the district. Final results of the API growth information should be released this December.

Schools 2002 API Growth 2001 API Growth

Almond 940 943

Bullis-Purissima 948 946

Loyola 951 932