The majority of Conejo Valley Unified School District schools continue to meet the state goal for standardized testing scores, but eight district schools saw a drop in their scores this year.

The California Department of Education last week released the results from the state’s Academic Performance Index (API).

The goal is for schools to reach a score of 800. If they haven’t yet met that goal, they must meet certain yearly growth targets.

Six of the eight Conejo Valley schools that saw a drop in their scores remain over the 800 mark.

Those schools include Acacia, Aspen, Cypress and Walnut elementaries, and Los Cerritos Middle School and Thousand Oaks High School.

“It’s a major achievement to keep gaining as well as maintaining scores at those levels,” said Janet Cosaro, assistant superintendent of instructional services.

Park Oaks Elementary dropped nine points, from 805 to 796. Manzanita Elementary had the largest drop, falling from 720 to 701. Manzanita has now been converted into a magnet school called EARThS, which focuses on science and technology.

Maple Elementary students had the greatest increase, adding 24 points to its 2008 score, moving from an 871 to an 895. Weathersfield Elementary scored a 907, jumping 21 points.

All but four of last year’s 20 elementary schools have reached the 800 mark, and eight have reached 900 or above.

Two of the schools are no longer part of the district. Meadows, which scored an 862, is now a charter school called MATES. University, which scored an 886, is now closed.

All four middle schools scored above 800. At the high school level, Newbury Park saw a jump of 23 points, bringing it to an 849.

Thousand Oaks scored an 823 and Westlake an 849.

“The API scores are one set of data,” Cosaro said. “What is more powerful is to look at student learning on an ongoing basis in order to change instruction and meet kids’ needs.”

Federal targets set by the No Child Left Behind Act will increase each year until 2014, when 100 percent of students are expected to test as “proficient” or “advanced” in math and language arts.

The district’s overall score grew four points, from an 855 to an 859.

“The staffs continue to look at data which shows what the students are learning, and intervening when necessary,” Cosaro said.

“Our goal is to continue to work with students in order that they may reach their highest potential,” she said. “This is true whether we are looking at remediation or acceleration.”