EDITORIAL : STAYING IN SCHOOL; DROPOUT RATE FOR L.A. HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS IS ON DECLINE.

ON the face of it, the state superintendent of public instruction's report that the dropout rates for high school freshmen in Los Angeles declined 10 percent over a two-year period, ending in 1996-97, is good news.

The Los Angeles Unified School District deserves the credit for persuading students to stay in school at a time when social pressures are distracting them, textbooks are either outdated or in short supply, and preparation for testing is poor.

The district also ranked above average in students passing preparatory classes and sending kids to public colleges.

But every silver lining seems to conceal a cloud, and these statistics are no different.

In human terms, the report showed that one in every four ninth-graders would quit before completing a four-year high school program.

That's better than what it had been the last time the report was issued, when one in three students dropped out. However, it's twice the statewide average of one in eight.

Los Angeles school officials said the annual dropout rate has fallen four consecutive years, from 10.9 percent in 1993-94 to 7.4 percent in 1996-97, the year in which the most recent figures were available.

The LAUSD numbers are considerably lower because they deal only with a single year. A student is considered to have dropped out if he does not attend classes for 45 straight days and does not enroll in another school program or move out of town, said district spokesman Pat Spencer.

The state figures are actually estimates based on dropout rates for ninth- through 12th-grade students in a single year and calculated over a four-year period, according to the report issued by state Superintendent Delaine Eastin's office.

In commenting on the LAUSD, Eastin wondered if the district's numbers were cooked. But she added that she had to take the district's word for it.

Like other school districts, L.A. Unified has many dropout-prevention programs, including independent study, that allow it to avoid reporting that a student quit school.

Submitting inflated numbers boosts egos of administrators but does nothing for students.

While the district accepts plaudits, it should continue to do what it can to improve a student's chances of graduating with a solid education so their diplomas are worth more than the parchment of which they are made.