AUTHORITIES BACK AWAY FROM PLEDGE GOAL OF MAKING THE LAUSD A TOP DISTRICT RUNS INTO PITFALLS.

Byline: Jennifer Radcliffe Staff Writer

Los Angeles Unified School District officials have backed down from a highly publicized pledge to become one of the nation's top urban districts, saying it's too difficult to compare themselves with their peers.

After announcing the goal to nearly 2,000 campus leaders at last month's State of the District meeting, board members now say trying to develop a relevant ranking would distract from the district's basic problems: high dropout rates and wide achievement gaps.

``It was a great sound bite, but ... we really need to focus on our own challenges here,'' said Marlene Canter, the board's vice president.

But board members insist they will set high-reaching goals as they adopt a mission statement and set specific performance targets by the end of the year. They expect to present their ideas to the public at town hall meetings in November.

``It's an absolutely basic step for the board to have a vision,'' board President Jose Huizar said. ``The process itself is just as important as the product.''

In an editorial published in the Daily News on July 7, Huizar said the LAUSD hoped to develop a plan that would enable its students to perform among the top 10 percent of those in other urban districts. Both he and Superintendent Roy Romer reiterated the goal at a State of the District address in late August.

While teachers and principals welcomed the challenge, the board started to realize the pitfalls of the ``top 10 percent'' goal in discussions this month.

``They sort of jumped the gun. They got a little excited,'' Canter said of Huizar and Romer's announcement.

While the board still wants high goals, they've found it's nearly impossible to rank school districts, officials said.

``There's certainly no noncontroversial ranking of districts that's out there,'' said Jon Fullerton, vice president of strategy, evaluation, research and policy for the Urban Education Partnership, an independent, not-for-profit organization.

The LAUSD could use the National Assessment of Educational Progress assessment test, but it's not aligned with California standards, he said. Results of the SAT college entrance exam and Advanced Placement tests also aren't good measures.

Board member David Tokofsky said he supports the board putting in the work to develop a national standard for comparison.

``It may be as hard as comparing (baseball) teams from the American League and the National League, but in the end, they're going to play in the World Series - just like the children of L.A. will have to compete in the big league of work with the children of New York and Philadelphia.''

George Clowes, a senior fellow with the nonprofit Heartland Institute, said the debate over measures is a distraction. School districts know the proven techniques, including offering choices such as vouchers and charter schools, that improve the quality of education.

``Talk is cheap and I guess most elected officials like to say things that sound good,'' he said.

Jennifer Radcliffe, [phone]

jennifer.radcliffe(at)dailynews.com