"Going from Good to Great!"

Student Academic Achievement

Santa Susana High School has seen significant improvement in its Academic Performance Index (API). In the past three years (2003, 2004, 2005), Santa Susana High School has not only reached its API and AYP target, it has surpassed them. Santa Susana’s API score is 807 with a state-wide ranking of eight (8) and a similar schools ranking of nine (9). The school-wide growth target for the coming year is one point.

Beginning with the class of 2006, all students must pass the CAHSEE in math and English to graduate from high school. The faculty at SSHS has been extensively in-serviced on the CASHEE during Friday Morning Meetings (FMMs), department meetings, and staff development days. Teachers in math and English are very familiar with the exam. Santa Susana High School’s first time pass rate on the math and ELA CAHSEE remains high at ninety-two percent (92%) and ninety-three percent (93%) respectively. All students combined CAHSEE scores are also respectable with an eighty-eight percent (88%) pass rate in math and a ninety-three percent (93%) pass rate in ELA (CDE, 2005).

The special education subgroup has the lowest percentage of students to score proficient and advanced. To provide necessary support, regular education teachers work with special education teachers to make sure their instruction is appropriate for all students. Counselors and resource teachers also assist those who require support in making accommodations for students in need.

Four-Year AYP Progress—Math (CAHSEE) by Subgroup

Four-Year AYP Progress—ELA (CAHSEE) by Subgroup

CST test results reflect overall growth in the percentage of students who scored proficient and advanced in the last five (5) years in English Language Arts in the ninth and tenth grade. There is a decline in the number of students who score proficient and advanced in the eleventh grade, with last year showing the most significant drop. The ELA department has reviewed standardized test data and has worked to ensure that all students are receiving the standards-based instruction necessary to show proficiency on the CST.

Language Arts CST – 2001-2005

CST results reflect steady growth in the number of students who score advanced and proficient in history and in science. Standards-based instruction is prevalent in both disciplines. CST scores for these two areas have consistently improved since the subjects were first tested in 2003.

History CST - 2003-2005

Science CST – 2001- 2005

Science CST Subgroups – 2001- 2005

Mathematics Overall CST – 2003 – 2005

The number of students scoring proficient and advanced in Math, overall, is lower than in other subjects. As a result, the math department has analyzed disaggregated standardized test data and student work and has modified the curriculum and instruction to ensure improved student achievement in math.

CST results reflect an increase overall in the number of students scoring proficient and advanced in all math courses except Algebra 1 in which there is a steady decline. New state requirements have caused the middle schools to accelerate student placement into pre-Algebra/Algebra 1 courses and we find that more incoming ninth graders are lacking in the basic math skills necessary for success in Algebra 1. As a result, the SSHS math department has implemented DART-Math, an after-school tutoring program (see Chapter 4), to assist students during the year and a voluntary summer two-week DART-Math program aimed at an intense review of basic math skills just prior to the first day of school. Additional support strategies are being assessed.

Mathematics CST Subgroups- 2001 – 2005

Advanced Placement (AP) classes were started in the 1997-1998 school year—the first year that there were juniors on campus. One class, U.S. History, was offered. Three students (two in Spanish and one in Statistics) took the exam after attending off-site AP classes. Each year since then, the AP program has continued to grow. As of May 2005, Santa Susana offers seventeen (17) AP courses.

Although SSHS has general criteria in order to enroll in honors and AP courses, students who do not meet traditional criteria may also enroll in these more rigorous and challenging courses upon teacher recommendation and/or parent and student request. The average pass rate for the for the last five years is approximately fifty-eight percent (58.26%).

AP Exam Five Year Summary (College Board)

SAT Profiles (College Board)
Ethnic categories are those of the College Board

SAT data does not reflect a significant increase in the number of students who have taken the exam, nor in the score of the exam over the last five year period. SSHS tries to promote a “college-going” culture by posting “a-g” requirements in every classroom and through counselor “chats” encouraging all students to take the exam. The Career and College Center (CCC) makes numerous exam announcements and test information is placed in the newsletter, on the web-site and in the Troubadour Express. In the advisory period (TAP), students are also encouraged to take the SAT despite their post-secondary plans. Discussions for one week center on the PSAT/SAT test (dates, importance, etc.) One teacher on campus holds SAT preparation classes to assist students in test-taking techniques.

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