Los Gatos schools continue to earn top Academic Performance Index scores, according to the latest data released Wednesday by the California Department of Education.

The Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District scored an impressive 904 in 2011, a gain of six points from its 2010 base score of 898, while Los Gatos High School scored 883, 10 points higher than last year.

District Board of Education President Michele van Zuiden praised the 3,189 district students, staff and community for the latest achievement.

“We are pleased to see this evidence of continued growth in academic achievement for all groups of students,” van Zuiden said. “We appreciate all the hard work and dedication of everyone in our community that has resulted in the success for our students both in school today and as they prepare for their future.”

The district has shown steady API growth every year since 2007, according to the data.

The other district in town, the Los Gatos Union School District, which includes four elementary schools and one middle school, improved nine points from last year with a score of 930. Blossom Hill Elementary School earned the highest number among the schools in the district, with 953, a three-point drop from last year.

Raymond J. Fisher Middle School, the district's sole middle school, jumped an astonishing 18 points, from 909 to 927.

Loma Prieta Joint Union Elementary School District, which includes Loma Prieta Elementary School and C.T. English Middle School in the Santa Cruz Mountains, scored 929. And Lakeside Joint Elementary School District, with its lone school, climbed five points from last year to score a 968.

All four districts scored well above the countywide average score of 827, a nine-point improvement from last year as well as the statewide score of 778.

The state uses the API as a measure of the academic progress for California’s schools as part of the Public Schools Accountability Act passed by the state Legislature in 1999. API scores range from a low of 200 to a high of 1000.

The measure includes dropout rates and student assessments in mathematics, English, science and social studies. The API is calculated by converting a student’s performance across multiple content areas into points on the API scale. The points are then averaged across all students and all tests, resulting in the API.

Here is a breakdown of how the school districts scored:

Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District

Los Gatos Union School District

Loma Prieta Joint Union Elementary School District

Lakeside Joint School District