Eimear's Track Record
Summary of Student Academic Achievement under leadership of Dr. Eimear O’Brien
in Clovis Unified School District
It’s important to understand the context of any data results that are provided to our public. During my initial years as a school site principal, both at the elementary and high school level, we were measured by an annual measure of the academic performance and growth of California public schools, using a single score from 200 to 1000 based on standardized test results. This was called the API (Academic Performance Index). The statewide target was 800/1000. The API was suspended in 2013, and a new, more comprehensive multiple-measures accountability system was launched in 2017, which uses the California School Dashboard. In preparation for the transition to a state dashboard, the SBAC (Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium) was established in 2014 and first administered in 2015. Thus, there is no state data for 2014.
Understanding the Academic Performance Index (API)
“Although the API is meant as a measure of academic growth, it is not intended to track the school’s growth over several years. The meaningful comparison is within each annual API cycle, between the Base API and the Growth API, because the computation of the API is kept as similar as possible within each cycle.
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The incorporation of new elements into the index at the beginning of an API base/growth cycle can lead to unintentional or confusing fluctuations in API scores compared with scores from the previous cycle.​​
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The state adjusts API scores to compensate for the effect of those new elements. The mechanism for that technical adjustment is called the scale calibration factor. Even so, the CDE warns against tracking the scores year to year.”
Source: Ed-Data.org
What this means is that a school should not simply add up its API growth points year-to-year for a cumulative growth number. The base API was adjusted each year based on a wide range of elements, and therefore cumulative data would be inaccurate. Instead, student academic performance was evaluated based on the growth of a cohort of students on the performance index for each school year. Following is a summary of the schools’ API data for my tenure as principal at both Valley Oak Elementary School and Clovis West High School in Clovis Unified School District.
I was a principal during the following years where our schools were measured on an annual basis by the API:
Valley Oak Elementary School: 2007-09 (2 individual annual API scores)
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Clovis West High School: 2012-14 (Only 1 year API score, due to suspension of API 2013-14)
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Valley Oak Elementary School, Eimear O’Brien
Principal 2007-08 and 2008-09
Academic Performance Index Results:
2007 Base Adjustment = 918. School grew to 937 (19-point increase)
This was the highest API of all elementary schools in Clovis Unified, and the 19-point increase was the 8th highest points growth of all 32 elementary schools.
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2008 Base Adjustment = 935. School grew to 958 (23-point increase)
This was the highest API (again) of all elementary schools in Clovis Unified, and the 23-point increase was the 8th highest points growth (again) of all 32 elementary schools.
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​Source: California Dept. of Education, and Clovis Unified School District, Assessment Dept.
Clovis West High School, Eimear O’Brien
Principal 2012-13 and 2013-14
Academic Performance Index Results:
2012 Base Adjustment Score = 845, School grew to 856 (11-point increase)
This was the highest increase of all high schools in Clovis Unified School District.
Source: California Dept. of Education, and Clovis Unified School District, Assessment Dept.
Superintendent, Clovis Unified School District 2017-2023 During my tenure as Superintendent of During my tenure as Superintendent of Clovis Unified School District, we were measured on multiple levels according to the new California State Dashboard. This included student performance on the State tests in English Language Arts and Mathematics as indicated by SBAC scores. Other accountability measures included chronic absenteeism, suspension rates, English Learner progress, graduation rates, and college/career readiness.
NOTE:
SBAC testing in California refers to the Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments, an online system that measures student proficiency in English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics against the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Administered to students in grades 3-8 and 11, these computer-adaptive tests use performance tasks to assess critical thinking, analytical writing, and problem-solving skills, providing data on student progress toward college and career readiness. The SBAC is part of California's larger CAASPP (California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress) system.
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Overall District performance on SBAC 2017-2023 during Dr. O’Brien’s superintendency:
Source: cde.ca.gov/ds/
NOTE:
When I assumed the superintendent role in CUSD in 2017, our scores were among the highest in California when compared to similar districts. We continued to grow steadily, as evidenced above, maintaining our position as one of the top performing districts in the state. In 2020, the California Dept. of Education suspended all state testing due to the Covid-19 pandemic.​​
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During the period March 2020-August 2021, our Clovis Unified team created and implemented strategic online and in-person (with safety measures) instructional models that enabled us to effectively ensure that our students continued to receive a high-quality education. Approx. 22,000 students opted to stay online for the entire time missing over a year of in-person instruction, while 23,000 attended in-person on a phased modified schedule (in compliance with state regulations) commencing October 2020, with all 23,000 who wanted to come back in seats by February 2021.
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In May 2021, school districts were given the option of administering a shortened modified version of the state SBAC assessment. Most districts (75%) opted not to administer this version and instead opted for district-created assessments. Clovis Unified decided on this option, mainly because we wanted to be able to test ALL our students when they came back instead of a small percentage who were in-person and thus avoid skewed data. This enabled us to ensure every student was appropriately assessed in Sept. 2021, and to establish accurate post-pandemic baseline data to inform our instructional strategies and intervention systems moving forward.
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Under my leadership team, the hard-working educators in Clovis Unified School District integrated new and innovative instructional strategies to ensure that every effort was made to support our CUSD students during the pandemic. This included both academic and emotional support. I am very proud of the SBAC scores that were attained by our students when we eventually administered the state assessments in 2022. These reflect the many interventions and systemic changes that were implemented during and after the pandemic.
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By the time I retired in 2023, I am proud that we had continued to climb back toward pre-pandemic levels, and that process continues today. When I compare it to where we were in 2017 as I started my superintendency, we were 3.51% lower in ELA and 5.56% lower in math, if compared to SBAC from its inception in 2015.
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I consider that a great achievement by our educational team and students in the face of significant challenges that were endured, with thousands of students (22,000) not having in-person instruction for approximately a year during Covid.
I believe a more accurate measure might be to use comparison data with the county and state as follows:
Comparing to Fresno County:
ELA:
2017 Eimear O’Brien appointed Supt: CUSD 25.48% higher than Fresno County in ELA
2023 Eimear O’Brien Retires: CUSD 23.04% higher than Fresno County in ELA
Loss of only 2.44% despite Covid years, two years no state testing, 1 year 22,000 students at home.
Math:
2017 Eimear O’Brien appointed Supt: CUSD 24.04% higher than Fresno County in Math
2023 Eimear O’Brien retires: CUSD 20.62% higher than Fresno County in Math.
Loss of only 3.42% despite challenges listed above.
Comparing to the State of California:
ELA:
2017 Eimear O’Brien appointed Supt: CUSD 21.13% higher than State of CA in ELA.
2023 Eimear O’Brien retires: CUSD 19.52% higher than State of CA in ELA.
Loss of only 1.61% despite challenges above.
Math:
2017 Eimear O’Brien appointed Supt: CUSD was 19.02% higher than State of CA in Math.
2023 Eimear O’Brien retires: CUSD was 16.40% higher than the State of CA in Math.
Loss of only 2.62% despite challenges above.
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Bottom line, in Clovis Unified under my leadership, our team maintained our high standards of excellence in academic achievement when compared to both county and state, despite the challenges of half our students (22,000) not receiving in-person instruction.
Source: cde.ca.gov
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FYI: Clovis Unified SBAC scores since I retired:
2024: ELA 67.06% (+0.88%) Math 52.41% (+1.39)
2025: ELA 67.82% (- 0.76%) Math 54.09% (+1.68%)
SUMMARY OF STUDENT PERFORMANCE ON SBAC 2015- 2024
FRESNO COUNTY
SOURCE ONLINE:
cde.ca.gov (Testing & Accountability, California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress System (CAASPP)
*No state data for 2020
~Data not reliable due to only 25% students statewide participated, test significantly shortened and modified, comparison not apples to apples, cautioned by state.
NOTES:
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During the superintendency of Jim Yovino (commenced 2013), data from first year of SBAC testing commencing 2015 to 2019 (pre-Covid, 5 years of tests) shows the following:
11.04% increase in ELA, which is an average of 2.2% a year.
10.51% increase in Math, which is an average of 2.1% a year. -
Overall increase for Fresno County from 2022-2025 (Post-Covid, 4 years of tests) shows the following:
3.67% increase in ELA, which is an average of 0.92% a year.
5.68% increase in Math, which is an average of 1.42% a year.
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It is important to recognize that the SBAC test PRE-Covid is different to the SBAC test POST-Covid (shorter modified test continues to be used), so more accurate to look at the results in terms of pre and post Covid.