Field Descriptors

DISTRICT-WIDE DATA FIELDS

STANDARD DEVIATION
Standard Deviation is a statistic that indicates how tightly (or broadly) a set of data are clustered around an average.  Here, we are interested in how the percentage of underqualified teachers at individual schools compares with the overall average for their school district.  If a district has a lower standard deviation, it means that the percentage of underqualified teachers at all of its schools are close to the district average. 

What exactly does the number represent?  If you are interested in a slightly complicated explanation, here it is.  Let's say the average percentage of underqualified teachers in a district is 35% and the standard deviation is computed at 13.  This means that  66% of the schools (i.e., "one standard deviation") in the district fall within a range between 22% (13 points below the average) and 45% (13 points above the average) .  95% of the schools (i.e., "two standard deviations") fall within a range of 5% (26 points below the average) and 55% (26 points above the average).  It turns out that this is a "Very Uneven" spread when compared with the standard deviation statistics of all districts in the state.

Notes:
a. Standard deviation is computed only for districts with 4 or more schools.
b. Only those schools with greater than  5 teachers are used in computation of the standard deviation.
c. Charter schools are not used in computation of the standard deviation.
d. The average percentage of underqualified teachers in a district is "weighted" by the number of teachers at each school.

SPREAD OF QUALIFIED TEACHERS
The spread designation reflects the way in which underqualified teachers are distributed throughout the schools in a district.  Based on the magnitude of the spread, a district receives one of four designations: VERY UNEVEN, UNEVEN, EVEN, AND VERY EVEN.  If a district has a VERY UNEVEN spread, it means that there are many schools in this district with very high percentages of underqualified teachers (relative to the district average) as well as many schools with very low percentages of underqualified teachers.

The computation of a district's spread designation is based on the STANDARD DEVIATION statistic (which measures variance around the mean) of underqualified teachers in the district. 

A district with a standard deviation of:
Less than 4                          receives a spread designation of     VERY EVEN
4 or more and less than 8      receives a spread designation of     EVEN
8 or more and less than 12    receives a spread designation of     UNEVEN
more than 12                        receives a spread designation of     VERY UNEVEN 

Click here to see how many districts fall into each of the four categories listed above.

Note: A spread designation is not computed for districts with fewer than 5 schools.

AVERAGE TQI FOR DISTRICT
This number represents the average TQI rating for all schools in the district.  (Click here to see how the TQI Rating is calculated.)

AVERAGE PERCENTAGE OF UNDERQUALIFIED TEACHERS FOR DISTRICT
This number represents the average percentage of underqualified teachers in the district.

AVERAGE PERCENTAGE OF BEGINNING TEACHERS FOR DISTRICT
This number represents the average percentage of beginning teachers in the district.

AVERAGE API RANK FOR DISTRICT
This number represents the average API rank for all schools in the district.

AVERAGE PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS QUALIFYING FOR FREE OR REDUCED LUNCH FOR DISTRICT
This number represents the average percentage of students qualifying for free or reduced lunch in the district.

AVERAGE PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS WHO ARE ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS FOR DISTRICT
This number represents the average percentage of students who are English Language Learners (ELL) in the district.

SCHOOL DATA FIELDS

TQI Rating
The Teacher Qualification Index Rating computed for this school.  Click here to see how the TQI is calculated.

TQI Rating (Previous Year)
The TQI Rating computed for this school for the previous year.  Click here to see how the TQI is calculated.

SCHOOL TYPE
Elem = Elementary School
Middle = Middle School
High = High School
Small = Small School

UNDERQUALIFIED TEACHERS
An "underqualified teacher" is defined here as a teacher who is not an intern or who is not fully certified to teach by the State of California.  Such persons may be working as pre-interns or they may be working with an emergency permit or a waiver.  This definition is consistent with the definition of a "highly qualified" teacher as defined in the federal No Child Left Behind Act.  For more information on teacher credentialing in California,  visit the website for the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing.  

BEGINNING TEACHERS
A "beginning teacher" is defined here as an INTERN or a fully certified TEACHER in his or her FIRST or SECOND year.  The Teacher Qualification Index (TQI) Rating for a school is affected when the percentage of beginning teachers is equal to or exceeds 20%. Click here to read more about the problems associated with too many beginning teachers in a school. 

STUDENTS QUALIFIED FOR FREE OR REDUCED LUNCH
Students qualifying for free or reduced lunch meet certain income requirements which are determined by the U.S. Government.   The percentage of such students at a school is frequently used as an indicator of poverty among families whose children attend the school.  Click here to see a chart showing the relationship between this variable and a school's TQI rating.

ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNERS
Students with a primary language other than English who are limited-English proficient. Click here to see a chart showing the relationship between this variable and a school's TQI rating.

STUDENTS PER TEACHER
The number is students at the school divided by the number of teachers.  (One should not assume this number accurately reflects an average student-to-teacher ratio since some teachers at the school may not be assigned to a group of students.)

API RANK (ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE INDEX RANK)
[Note: API rankings for 2002 were released in mid-February, 2003 by the California Department of Education and were subsequently updated on this site on February 25, 2003.]  

According to the California Department of Education, "The Academic Performance Index (API) is the cornerstone of California’s Public Schools Accountability Act (PSAA). The purpose of the API is to measure the academic performance and growth of schools...All schools that receive APIs are ranked in deciles by school type based on grade level of instruction: elementary, middle, and high. A rank of 10 is the highest and 1 is the lowest. Each decile in each school type contains 10% of all schools of that type. Small schools with asterisked APIs are not included in determining the cut points for statewide decile ranks; however, small schools do receive asterisked statewide ranks to indicate the decile ranks into which their APIs would have fallen if they had been included in the ranking system."

API SIM SCH RANK (ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE INDEX SIMILAR SCHOOLS RANK)
According to the California Department of Education, "All schools that receive non-asterisked APIs are also ranked in deciles by school type when compared to schools with similar characteristics. The PSAA specifies these characteristics to be: Pupil mobility,  Pupil ethnicity, Pupil socioeconomic status, Percentage of teachers who are fully credentialed, Percentage of teachers who hold emergency credentials, Percentage of pupils who are English language learners, Average class size per grade level."