A.V. SCHOOLS RANK IN MIDDLE; MOST LOCAL DISTRICTS BELOW STATE AVERAGE.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer

LANCASTER - Thirty-three of 83 schools in the Antelope Valley ranked above the state average, according to a new ranking system released Tuesday that measures student achievement in all California schools.

Edwards Air Force Base schools, along with Acton-Agua Dulce Unified and Westside Union school districts, were the top performers, while six schools in the Lancaster, Mojave Unified, Eastside and Palmdale school districts scored in the bottom 20 percent of schools statewide.

``I don't think we are surprised by them. When we went through and did the analysis, we figured we would be largely in the middle,'' said Howard Sundberg, assistant superintendent for educational services in Lancaster School District. ``Obviously like every other district, we have our work to do.''

Created by a 1999 state law, the index is designed to show how California schools rate against each other. Each school received a single score - between 200 and 1,000 - based on the school's composite test scores.

The median score for all California schools this year is 630. State officials have set 800 as the target they would like all schools to reach.

A second set of rankings shows how individual schools compare with all others throughout California. A school that receives a rank of 9, for example, scored at or above 90 percent of all California schools for the same grade level. Conversely a rank of 1 means a school scored in the bottom 10 percent of schools in the state.

A third score rates the school against others statewide with similar characteristics, such as the wealth or poverty of its students, the amount of education their parents have, and the percentage of its teachers who are fully credentialed.

Finally, each school receives a target score state officials want it to achieve on the next index. Schools in the bottom 20 percent may face sanctions for failing to hit their targets over a three-year period.

The six schools that scored in the bottom 20 percent were Linda Verde in the Lancaster School District; Tamarisk and Yucca in the Palmdale School District; Eastside Elementary in the Eastside Union School District; and Mojave Elementary and Joshua Middle schools in the Mojave Unified School District.

In the Palmdale School District, three schools are already taking advantage of state funds to try to improve test scores. Chaparral, Tumbleweed and Yucca elementary schools, where standardized test scores fell in the bottom half of state rankings in 1998 and 1999, have each been awarded grants of $50,000 to help improve students' academic performance.

Sundberg of the Lancaster School District said district schools have put together action plans outlining how to improve test scores, including better preparing students for test-taking, emphasizing state standards in the school curriculum, and encouraging good attendance.

``If children are going to learn they are going to have to be in school,'' Sundberg said.

Other schools that meet their goals will be eligible for extra money from the state.

Irving L. Branch Elementary School and Forbes Avenue Elementary School, two Muroc Unified School District schools on Edwards Air Force Base, were the only Antelope Valley schools to hit a score of 9.

The Westside district had statewide rankings of sevens and eights but fared less favorably when compared with schools with similar characteristics. District officials think that could be due to flawed statistics.

For example, one Westside school has more than 200 students in its free and reduced lunch program, while the state listed that number at 86, said Regina Rossall, assistant superintendent for educational services.

``I think statewide our rankings are very favorable, but you always have places you can improve,'' Rossall said. ``On the similar school rankings, we have to make sure the data we provide are accurate.''

A total of 36 Antelope Valley schools scored better than their counterparts in the similar schools' ranking.