Student Data

In 2018, the County Office of Education embarked on an effort to answer a question posed by the Santa Cruz Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The questions was: how well are our African American students doing in the schools of Santa Cruz County? This inspired us to ask the same question of all major student groups in Santa Cruz County, including our Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Students. The answer we found was that in spite of academic success, AAPI students feelings of safety in school have been decreasing, even prior to recent increases in anti-Asian hate incidents.

California Healthy Kids Survey

Administered every two years, the California Healthy Kids Survey asks students questions on a variety of areas related to school success.

School Connectivity

School connectedness represents an important indicator of school success. When asked if they feel close to people at school, students must answer if the strongly agree, agree, neither agree nor disagree, disagree, or strongly disagree with the statement. On average from 2015-2019, 70% of Asian and Asian American students agreed or strongly agreed with the statement. It is important to note that Native Hawaiian and Pacific islander students are identified as a separate group in the survey but the small sample size does not generate a visual representation on the bar graph.

School Safety

When asked the question "How safe do you feel when you are school?", students must select from the possibilities of very safe, safe, neither safe nor unsafe, unsafe, or very unsafe. Responses on the CDPH survey demonstrate that in 2019, Asian and Asian American youth who felt very unsafe, unsafe, or neither safe nor unsafe, increased significantly. It is important to note that Native Hawaiian and Pacific islander students are identified as a separate group in the survey but the small sample size does not generate a visual representation on the bar graph.

California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP)

Performance on the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP), a system of assessments that measure student progress in different subjects. A common measure of success is the percentage of students who perform at or above the standards set for each grade level by the state of California.