NORTH COUNTY -- Students at more than three-quarters of the schools in North County did better than the statewide average on standardized tests last year, according to a report released Thursday.

Schools in wealthier districts, such as Poway Unified and Encinitas Union, continued to excel, according to the numbers released by the California Department of Education.

Districts in less affluent communities such as Escondido, Oceanside and Vista had several schools scoring below the state average.

The Base Academic Performance Index is the first of a pair of annual state reports to be released this year detailing student test performance and school effectiveness. The report is based on scores from standardized tests that students take each spring. The results of those tests were released in August.

In Thursday's report, schools were ranked in two ways: how they compared with campuses throughout the state, and how they compared with 99 other schools that have similar demographics.

Each school was given a score from 1 to 10, with 10 the highest and 5 about average.

More than 40 schools in North County got a perfect 10 on the statewide ranking, while four got the lowest score. Felicita and Pioneer elementary schools in Escondido and Maryland Elementary and the Vista Focus Academy in Vista all received scores of 1.

When compared with other schools with similar demographics, some of the local high-performing districts ranked significantly lower than their counterparts across the state.

Most of the schools in Encinitas Union and San Dieguito districts were ranked below average when compared with schools with similar students, while most of the school in districts such as Vista Unified and Oceanside Unified performed above average in the similar-schools category.

San Marcos Unified was the only large district in North County to perform as well in both the statewide and similar-school rankings. All San Marcos campuses scored average or above on both lists. In schools in neighboring Escondido Union, the majority of schools were below the state average.

In determining which schools are similar, state officials look at a variety of factors, including the numbers of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, the racial breakdown of the school and the number of students learning to speak English.

It can become very hard for a school to compete in the similar-schools ranking when its test scores already put it among the top schools in the state, said Donald Phillips, superintendent of Poway Unified School District. In other words, if 10 schools are all earning far-above-average scores, the similar-schools ranking means half of those schools will get a ranking of 5 or below -- no matter how well their scores compute on the statewide scale.

Over the years, Poway Unified has consistently come out at or near the top of the statewide ranks.

Still, Phillips said, test scores aren't everything.

"It's really more about students learning," he said, "and that translates into high scores."

Across the state, test scores continue to rise, as they have over the past decade, which means even the highest-performing schools must keep boosting their scores to maintain good rankings.

"I am pleased that, once again, California schools are meeting the high expectations set for them every year," state Superintendent Jack O'Connell said in a prepared statement. "This is momentum we need to sustain and celebrate."

Contact staff writer Stacy Brandt at 760-901-4009.

Related Web site:

Academic Performance Index information