LAUSD SCORES DON'T ADD UP DISTRICT FAILING TO MEET NATIONAL STANDARDS DESPITE SOME PROGRESS.

Byline: NAUSH BOGHOSSIAN Staff Writer

The LAUSD failed to meet federal standards for math and English proficiency for the second straight year despite slight increases in student achievement scores, a California Department of Education report released Thursday said.

While the Academic Performance Index score for Los Angeles Unified students rose nine points, from 649 last year to 658 on the 2005-06 test, it still lags behind the statewide average, which jumped 11 points to 720. At the same time, the district remained on a federal watch-list of underperforming schools after failing to meet criteria graduation rates and for English and math proficiency.

Coincidentally, the state's Accountability Progress Report was released just two days after the state Legislature gave final approval to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's landmark plan to overhaul the LAUSD.

``These test results show that reform isn't coming fast enough for the students in LAUSD,'' said Nathan James, a spokesman for Villaraigosa.

``Incremental change is not enough. You need to make some real dramatic improvements and quickly catch up to the rest of the state. Not only is there an achievement gap between groups of students in Los Angeles, there's a dramatic achievement gap holding back the LAUSD from the rest of the state.''

``There's no better argument for getting cities, elected officials, community groups and parents involved in education reform than the test scores that came out today.''

The API scores range from 200 to 1,000 with a performance target of 800.

About 18 percent of district schools met the 800 benchmark, compared with 14 percent last year. And half of the schools scored below 700, compared with 55 percent last year.

And the graduation rate, a contentious issue during the battle over LAUSD governance, fell 0.3 points, from 65.7 percent in 2005 to 65.4 percent in 2006.

Despite the improvements in API scores, Los Angeles Unified administrators professed disappointment with the results.

``Anytime we have test results that are not positive and are less than the public would expect, we're very concerned,'' said Bob Collins, the district's chief instructional officer.

``The issue is we're not going to get to 800 or 700 doing what we're doing.

``We have to be able to bring to the front new professional development programs, new curriculum and an entirely new spirit and enthusiasm in our middle and high schools in order to move this agenda for our kids.''

Collins said administrators plan to aggressively pursue instructional programs and professional training over the next two years to address the needs of those struggling students.

As a program improvement district, the LAUSD must implement a plan to improve performance and continue working with a state-approved entity -- in the LAUSD's case, the Los Angeles County Office of Education.

The district will announce in November an initiative to improve skills for English-language learners in grades six to eight and also plans to enhance training for its educators.

And for special-education students -- who pose a special challenge because they, too, must pass the tests despite any limitation or disability -- also will be granted more access to core-curriculum classes, Collins said.

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell noted that just 52 percent of California's schools met their API growth targets this year, down sharply from 68 percent last year. He attributed some of the decline on the inclusion of scores for English-language learners, and the so-called ``achievement gap'' between white and minority students.

``It is important that we look at the achievement progress all groups of students are making,'' O'Connell said. ``While every one of the subgroups of students has made significant gains, I remain deeply troubled by the lagging achievement of both our English learners and African-American students.''

At San Fernando Valley's Cleveland High, API scores increased 14 points to 726, with African-American students bucking the statewide trend with a 29-point jump to 693. Principal Bob Marks attributed the students' success to the campus' Village program, composed of monthly workshops aimed at linking culture and academics.

``We have some areas we need to work in, there's no doubt about that, and we have to develop interventions and work with our teachers to prepare students for when they take the tests next year,'' Marks said.

While acknowledging weaknesses in serving certain subgroups, LAUSD officials pointed to the total growth in achievement over six years. For example, elementary schools increased from 523 in 1999 to 731 in 2006 -- while California had a growth of 136 points. Middle schools increased from 507 to 646.

``The reforms we've implemented in our elementary schools are translating into higher achievements as students matriculate to middle school,'' said LAUSD Superintendent Roy Romer. ``While student gains continue to move forward there is still plenty of work to be done. Our priority and focus remains improving student achievement at all of our schools.''

High schools, on the other hand, declined from 625 to 621.

The district simply needs to ratchet up its delivery of education at the high school level, Collins said.

``Obviously, we have to do a better job in delivering the curriculum in high school classrooms, having more powerful professional development and a curriculum understood by all teachers,'' Collins said. ``I think we're pleased that we've made progress in elementary and middle school, but we're disappointed we didn't continue a rate of improvement in high school.''

Under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, states are required to provide Adequate Yearly Progress results that gauge whether schools and districts meet their annual performance targets.

Schools and districts are measured according to the state Academic Performance Index and whether they met AYP targets, which include proficiency in English and math, API score and graduation rate. Schools must make all targets in order to meet their AYP target, including individual subgroups.

O'Connell said that AYP and API were simply different ways of looking at the same test results and he was working on a proposal to consolidate the two systems to eliminate confusion. The proposal requires approval by the U.S. Department of Education.

naush.boghossian(at)dailynews.com

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