A.V. SCHOOLS POST LOWER DROPOUT RATE.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Daily News Staff Writer

Compared to high school students statewide, students in the four high school districts in the Antelope Valley stay in school longer, but score lower on college aptitude tests.

The results are part of the annual California High School Performance Report, which uses dropout rates, test scores, course enrollment and college attendance rates to measure the academic performance of high schools throughout the state.

``Our dropout rate is extremely small. We are keeping kids in school, that's part of our mission,'' said Robert Girolamo, Antelope Valley Union High School District superintendent.

According to the study, about 88.5 percent of students in the Antelope Valley Union High School District stay in school for four years. That compares to 81.1 percent for students statewide and 74.1 percent for Los Angeles County students.

Highland High School had the lowest dropout rate with 95 percent of its students graduating; Quartz Hill High School had about 92.4 percent; Littlerock High School had 86.8 percent; Antelope Valley High had 85.4 percent; and Palmdale High had 83.5 percent.

Figures were not provided for Lancaster High School, which opened last fall with freshmen only, and Desert Winds High School, the district's continuation school.

Mojave Unified School District graduated 85 percent of its students, while the Muroc Joint Unified School District had 95.6 percent of its students staying through four years of high school. Southern Kern Unified School District had 89.7 percent of its students graduating.

Two of the four local high school districts scored better on average than students in Los Angeles County on college entrance exams, but all four scored less when compared to students statewide.

Statewide, students scored an average of 902 on the Scholastic Assessment Test and 910 nationwide. In Los Angeles County, students scored an average of 849.

In the Antelope Valley Union High School District, students scored an average of 856; in Mojave, 877; in Muroc, 783; and in Southern Kern, 831.

Local students also did not score as well in advanced placement tests to qualify for college credit when compared to 15.7 percent countywide and 12.8 percent statewide.

In the Antelope Valley district, 5.7 percent qualified for college credit; in Muroc, 4 percent qualified; and Southern Kern, 1.8 percent did. No figures were available for Mojave.

The study also showed that local students are choosing not to continue their education at public two- and four-year colleges and universities in California. The study did not count students who go to private or out-of-state colleges and universities.

During the 1993-94 school year, 32.4 percent of Antelope Valley Union High School graduates attended a state public school, a decrease of 0.7 percent during the past two years.

At Muroc, 26.4 percent of its students went on to a public college in California, a decline of 8.7 percent over the past two years, while Southern Kern had 23.9 percent, a drop of 13.3 percent. No figures were available for the Mojave district.

The overall rate of high school graduates going to state public colleges and universities has declined over a seven-year period, from 50.7 percent in 1987 to 49.4 percent in 1994.