RE: Accountability vs. Testing

I just wanted to point out that a significant and growing component of API is not the normed test (SAT9) but the standard-referenced test (Calif. Standard Test, CST)

Certainly the single API number is of little use for school assessment, or as a basis for any but very crude accountability measures - it serves mostly to ease the comparison job for the public. But STAR provides multitude of information in addition to the percentile - strength in various content clusters across language, math, science, history, as well as absolute achievment versus content standards - those numbers can, and should, be used to guide the school administration. 

The same numbers can serve as a basis for accountability. It is untrue that socio-economic factors are dooming anyone to anything - they just correlate well with achievent. But correlation is not determination, as many school districts across the state will tell you. That is the reason behind the "comparable school rank", which clearly shows that some do excellent jobs, while others a lousy ones.