Been very busy but saw this which is one of my pet peeves. A big factor in API scores is the demographics. The API scores are available by ethnicity and what you frequently find is the middle class caucasian/asian kids scores are very similar from school to school. When you have hispanic kids growing up in homes that english is the second language you will naturally see lower API scores for them that will pull down the schools average. Thus High API scores is often as much a factor of a lack of diversity as anything else. A school like Olivenhain Pioneer in Encinitas has traditionally scored highest because there are no apartments and no attached housing feeding into that school. Now you have a school like El Camino Creek (about 5 years old in South Carlsbad)which enjoys similar demographics and as high or higher API scores. You also have Capri in Encinitas that has 50% of the kids growing up in non-English speaking households. However, the other kids live in some of the most expensive homes in the area at Encinitas Ranch. When these non-english speaking kids get to La Costa Canyon high they pull down the averages. The truth is the bright kids from good familes at LCC are just as smart as those at TP or Poway, the school just has a bit more diversity. MIra Mesa High is probably another example of this where half the kids are from homes where education is valued and half are not. Good kids from good families will excell whereever they are. As long as there arent disciplinary or gang problems, I say live where you want. When comparing API scores you really need to adjust for ethnicity because it frequently explains much of the difference.
