GLENDALE, OAK PARK SCHOOLS PRAISED.

Byline: Alex Dobuzinskis Staff Writer

GLENDALE - Glendale schools were named among the best in California at educating pupils from poor families, according to a two-year statistical analysis.

The Glendale Unified School District and 28 other California districts, including Oak Park in Ventura County, were added by Standard & Poor's Tuesday to a list of ``outperforming'' schools because their pupils scored much better than expected on standardized tests.

``These districts have stood out,'' said Paul Gazzerro, director of analytics for Standard & Poor's school evaluation division. ``They're above statistical expectations, they're doing better than you would expect them to do based on their level of poverty.''

The listing, based on standardized test scores and demographic counts from the 2002-03 school year, could be used by other schools or districts that are eager to learn how they can improve, according to Standard & Poor's.

Standard & Poor's analysis was financed by the Broad Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which provided a total of $45 million in grants to underwrite the online statistical analysis project.

``The purpose is really to take all that data that you can find in state databases, national databases and bring it to life,'' Gazzerro said.

In the Glendale Unified School District, 45.5 percent of the approximately 29,000 students were from poor families, but 56.5 percent of them scored proficient in reading and math. That placed the district above a statistical standard developed by Standard & Poor's.

Superintendent Michael Escalante said the Glendale youngsters' scores are a result of the district focusing on improving achievement.

``It's real easy to get taken off course because there's so many other challenges that we deal with,'' Escalante said. ``But it's a focus that we continue to make our priority.''

The seven-school, 3,700-pupil Oak Park Unified School District exceeded the state's API test target last year posting a collective score of 872 points out of 1,000. Only 1.5 percent of its pupils are from poor families.

Oak Park superintendent Tony Knight called the recognition a great honor.

``This report shows that even among school districts that serve similar student populations, that Oak Park is a consistent out-performer,'' Knight said.

Nationwide results are on the Web at www.schoolmatters.com.

Staff writer Angie Valencia contributed to this report.

Alex Dobuzinskis, [phone]

alex.dobuzinskis(at)dailynews.com