GRAD TEST STUMPS 33% IN LAUSD.

Byline: Naush Boghossian Staff Writer

Nearly one-third of the Class of 2006 in Los Angeles public schools has failed the state's mandatory high school graduation exam and has just two more chances to pass it before graduation next June, according to test results released Monday.

In the 2004-05 school year, 61 percent of all Los Angeles Unified School District students who took the test passed the English portion, and 57 percent passed the math. Including those who previously passed the test - the California High School Exit Exam, popularly called the CAHSEE - 69 percent of the incoming seniors have met this requirement to receive their diplomas.

Statewide, 88 percent passed English and 88 percent passed math during last year's testing. Officials did not have a combined passing rate for all California seniors.

``It's truth or consequences for all of us - parents, students, teachers and administrators - at L.A. Unified if we can't intervene in the months ahead to dramatically reduce the numbers who aren't passing,'' school board member David Tokofsky said.

``The number is totally unacceptable.''

For Tokofsky and other education officials, the poor performance is especially troubling, given the standards of the test administered by the state Department of Education, which released the results.

The English portion covers state standards through 10th grade, and the math covers sixth- and seventh-grade material, as well as some algebra.

Students need to correctly answer 55 percent of math questions and about 60 percent of the English questions to pass.

District Superintendent Roy Romer acknowledged the need for catch-up work.

``We're looking at having the right remedy in place, and I think the remedy is increasing performance in elementary and middle schools,'' Romer said.

He noted that aptitude test results released Monday for elementary and middle school students had improved for the fifth consecutive year, outpacing the state's improvement rate but still lagging far behind the state's average scores.

``We know we are behind the state in our (high school) passing rate, but that is the result of the 30 years of underperformance of this district,'' he said.

He said the district will focus resources on students who have failed - identifying and enrolling them in after-school or Saturday tutoring programs.

In the long run, Romer said, the district is developing small learning communities to personalize education for students.

Students in the Class of 2006 are the first who must pass the exit exam, administered to 10th-, 11th- and 12th-graders. Of about 36,000 LAUSD seniors, roughly 5,500 must still pass both portions of the test, while 2,000 others must pass the English portion and 3,700 the math.

Students will have two more tries this school year to retake the portions of the test they failed. If they don't pass by June, they must attend summer school, with another opportunity to pass the test after that.

If they don't pass the test after summer school, they must attend adult school and take the test until they pass.

The new results also show that African-Americans and Latinos continue to lag behind their classmates in test-passing rates.

Only 60 percent of the LAUSD's African-Americans and 66 percent of Latinos have passed the test, well behind state numbers.

Statewide, both groups experienced significant gains, but among 11th- grade African-Americans, there were still just 75 percent who passed in math, with 82 percent in language arts.

About 81 percent of Latinos in the 11th grade passed in math and 81 percent in English.

``These numbers do concern me greatly,'' said state Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell, who met with Romer in Los Angeles to announce the results.

O'Connell said an additional $20 million has been earmarked in the state budget to help those students in the Class of 2006 who have yet to pass the exam.

School board President Marlene Canter announced Monday that she will select board committees to focus on the issues of dropout rates and achievement gaps.

``We still have lots of work to do. We must eliminate unacceptable achievement gaps,'' she said.

Critics of the exit exam, implemented three years ago, argue that the test will increase the dropout rates. The latest figures, for 2003-04, showed that 33 percent of students in ninth to 12th grade dropped out of Los Angeles Unified schools.

Currently, there are two bills seeking to amend the exit exam requirement. One would allow school districts in California to use multiple assessments to determine whether a student graduates, including class projects, portfolios and thesis papers. The other would call on the state to see whether the lowest-performing schools are meeting minimum conditions to pass the exam.

``Having one test alone determine whether a student gets a diploma is not a fair or accurate way of evaluating student knowledge,'' said Mike Chavez, spokesman for the nonprofit Californians for Justice, a community-based organization that works to ensure that low-income and students of color are receiving a quality education.

John Francis Polytechnic High School in Sun Valley made large gains from last year in both subjects, but was the only San Fernando Valley High School to have a lower passage rate - 65 percent - than the districtwide rate of 69 percent.

Principal Janis Fries-Martinez said students are making gains even though 92 percent are low-income, 71 percent are English-language learners and about 13 percent are enrolled in special-education classes.

The administration is putting efforts into Saturday school, after-school intervention programs, tutorial programs and partnerships with universities to help improve math and English skills.

``Our work's cut out for us, but I know these things are working, and we are seeing some really good results for our students,'' Fries-Martinez said.

In neighboring Ventura County, schools had an average 83 percent passage rate - up 2 percentage points - in English and 82 percent -up 1 percentage point - in mathematics.

While there was no improvement in the percent of non-Latino white students who passed English or math, Latino and African-American students showed 4-point improvements in the passing rates for English.

Latino students had a 2-point increase, and African-American students had an 8-point improvement in math.

``I am especially heartened by the results that show a reduction in the achievement gap between Hispanic, African-American and white students,'' said Ventura County Superintendent of Schools Charles Weis. ``This shows that our new instructional programs are beginning to work.''

Staff Writer Eric Leach contributed to this report.

Naush Boghossian, [phone]

naush.boghossian(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 boxes

Box:

(1) STAR RESULTS

(2) CAHSEE RESULTS

Source: California Department of Education