EDITORIAL : THE BIGGEST CRIME; EDUCATION HAS SURPASSED PUBLIC SAFETY AS THE NO. 1 FEAR IN LOS ANGELES.

THE results of the first complete Standard 9 test in California offer proof positive about what's broken in the LAUSD.

Board members don't lead. Administrators don't work. Teachers don't teach. And students don't learn.

But it doesn't stop there. Students don't learn because teachers and parents don't hold them accountable. Poor teachers aren't fired because principals don't hold them accountable.

And so it goes up the ladder of shame. Until power and accountability are together in one place - resting squarely in the office of the superintendent - the system will remain a scrambled set of building blocks.

And L.A.'s students will remain at the bottom of the heap.

Nothing could be more telling in this regard then the school board's glowing evaluation of the superintendent's first year - the day after the district was exposed as a failure. It would make you laugh, if it wasn't so sad.

Test results for English-speaking and nonfluent pupils showed LAUSD students performed far worse the national and state averages. And they did worse than students in every other district in Los Angeles County for every grade and every subject even though 48,000 limited-English students opted out of taking the exam.

Bucking a state trend that showed higher scores among the youngest students, the LAUSD's tallies showed its third and fourth grades were the lowest performers.

Once again, Superintendent Ruben Zacarias blames the students for the dismal test scores.

He suggested that the large number of limited-English-proficiency students within the district explains why L.A. students as a group rank in the lowest third nationally.

That may indeed explain why young children perform so badly. But it doesn't explain at all why students don't get better as they progress through the system.

The fact is, limited English students should show dramatic improvement over time as they master the language and begin to use their intellectual faculties successfully.

But that isn't the case in L.A. In fact, the test results provide ample evidence they actually do worse with an LAUSD education, which is why so many drop out of school.

As a result, education has overtaken public safety as the real fear facing Los Angeles.

Massive reforms cannot be postponed any longer.

We believe the LAUSD should be broken up into smaller districts that will bring fresh blood, fresh ideas and fresh energy into a moribund and decaying system. Others support massive structural change.

Until credible reform is in place, it seems unthinkable that voters should be asked to support a massive statewide school construction bond issue being considered for the November ballot.

Shiny, new buildings won't produce students who score any better on tests or in life.

Students who can't read, write or do basic math deserve an education, not a passing of the bucks to build ivory towers for bureaucrats. Leadership and accountability and higher standards will raise their performance.

Without reform, no more money for buildings.

Without reform, no more money for anyone.