Daily News on Test Scores: MOST LAUSD SCHOOLS AMONG STATE’S WORST, SOME VALLEY SCHOOLS ARE THE BEST!

Most LAUSD schools among state's worst on key tests By Barbara Jones, Staff Writer, LA Daily News | http://bit.ly/LatyEP

San Fernando Valley campuses among LAUSD schools with test scores ranking in state's top 10% City News Service from LA Daily News | http://bit.ly/MXNScX

6/14/2012 07:48:19 PM PDT  ::  About two-thirds of Los Angeles Unified's elementary and middle schools and three-quarters of its high schools rank among the state's lowest performing on benchmark tests, according to data released Thursday by the California Department of Education. The latest Academic Performance Index results show some positive trends for LAUSD, with more than one-fourth of its 800 campuses hitting the target score of 800 points on a 200-1000 point scale. Nearly 50 campuses topped 900 points. However, a majority of schools fall in the bottom half of statewide rankings, according to the results, posted at www.cde.ca.gov. The API is based on student performance on the state's standardized tests. The baseline scores -- those released Thursday -- are based on tests taken last spring. The state also released target scores, typically five to 10 points higher, to help measure a school's progress next year. An API score is calculated for all students in a school as well as numerous subgroups, such as race, English learners and disabled students. Los Angeles Unified also scored below statewide averages overall in most of the categories, according to the data. The district's 435,000 students had an overall API of 729, compared with a score of 778 for the 4.7 million students statewide, the figures show. Latino students, who compose about 75 percent of the district's enrollment, had a base API of 707, compared with a score of 729 among Latinos statewide. Among whites, the district average was 863, compared with 845 statewide. African-American students scored an average of 679 in Los Angeles Unified and 696 statewide.

6/14/2012 12:21:31 PM PDT  ::  LOS ANGELES - Six Los Angeles Unified high schools, two middle schools and 31 elementary schools ranked among the top 10 percent of schools statewide, according to public school test-score-based rankings released today by the state Department of Education. The state ranks schools academically on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 representing the top 10 percent, to determine a school's standing compared to other schools statewide. The rankings are based on the school's base Academic Performance Index, which is calculated for elementary, middle and high schools based on results of the Standardized Testing and Reporting Program and California High School Exit Exam. The base API is determined based on the previous year's performance on the standardized tests. Because of the nature of the system, 10 percent of schools statewide will always be in each decile. Where a school falls, according to score, changes over the years as schools improve their scores. In the LAUSD, 31 elementary schools received the highest rank of 10, placing them in the highest 10 percent of elementary schools statewide. Ivy Bound Academy charter school in Sherman Oaks and KIPP Los Angeles College Preparatory School were the only middle schools to achieve the top ranking among middle schools statewide. Six high schools achieved the high ranking -- Dr. Olga Mohan High, Environmental Science and Technology High, Granada Hills Charter High, Harbor Teacher Preparation Academy, Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies and Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies. The state also released base API scores for districts today. The target API score set by the state Department of Education is 800. The LAUSD's base API -- based on 2011 standardized testing -- was 729. The API score, which shows how each school is performing academically in comparison to other schools, ranges from a low of 200 to a high of 1,000. The statewide base API was 778, according to the state. The base for elementary schools was 808, while it was 778 for middle schools and 741 for high schools. Statewide, the base API was 845 for white students, 859 for Filipinos and 898 for Asian students. The API was 696 for black students, 729 for Hispanics, 706 for English-learners and 726 for financially disadvantaged students. The release of the base API marks the beginning of the 2011-12 test- score reporting cycle, according to the state, representing each school's baseline score.