LAUSD UP BUT BELOW AVERAGE HIGH SCHOOL PROFICIENCY DOWN AGAIN.

Byline: NAUSH BOGHOSSIAN Staff Writer

Even as the fight for control of Los Angeles Unified rages on, test results released Tuesday show that academic performance has improved for a sixth straight year.

Supporters of the LAUSD as it is currently structured said the results were proof that programs are working but critics argued that improvement is coming too slowly and noted that high school students still are performing poorly.

Overall, fewer than one-third of the students in most grades are proficient in English or math.

Among students in the second through 11th grades, those in elementary school scored highest on the English portion of the Standardized Testing and Reporting exams, with 39 percent of the second-graders considered proficient or advanced, up from 18 percent in 2001.

Second-graders also tested highest in math -- 53 percent, up from 32 percent in 2002, when the test was first administered.

But proficiency plummeted in high school, where just 24 percent of freshmen and sophomores tested proficient in English, 12 percent were considered proficient in algebra and 10 percent in geometry.

``We're on our sixth year and we've increased our score every year and that's a phenomenal track record for an urban district with the demographic mix of this district,'' said Superintendent Roy Romer.

Romer -- who has acknowledged that he will probably be unable to block Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's reform plan from winning legislative approval -- touted the performance of elementary students but conceded that more needs to be done at the secondary level.

Villaraigosa gave the district credit for moderate increases in student achievement, but was harshly critical of the slow pace of change.

``We are moving ahead, but it isn't fast enough. The point for parents is they don't put their kids in the L.A. Unified for a good elementary education,'' Villaraigosa said at a City Hall news conference.

``They want them to be able to get a good middle school and high school education so they can go on to college to compete. We want them to do better.''

Despite slow but steady gains, the LAUSD's performance is still significantly below state levels. For example, 38 percent of the LAUSD's fourth-graders scored proficient or advanced in English-language arts, compared with 50 percent statewide.

The STAR results were released the day after Romer, Villaraigosa and others testified before a state Senate committee considering an education- reform bill drafted by the mayor.

Assembly Bill 1381 would give Villaraigosa a significant role in the nation's second-largest school district, while also shifting authority from the elected school board to the superintendent. In addition, local educators would gain more control over budget, curriculum and instruction.

School board President Marlene Canter said the fact that test scores continue to rise validates the district's efforts, and she questioned whether improvements would continue under the mayor's reform plan.

``All he will be doing is trying to build on the success of what we have in place and I'm not convinced that will happen,'' Canter said.

Results released by the state Department of Education showed that English and math scores ticked up in each elementary grade, which Romer said reflects the district's commitment to improving the foundation of education.

But the percentage of Algebra II students who scored proficient and advanced decreased by 4 points -- the sharpest decline districtwide and one that Romer said will be addressed through aggressive remediation courses.

Romer said the district will concentrate more resources in middle and high schools. Plans include reducing the size of algebra classes, implementing an English-learner program in the sixth and seventh grades and launching a new dropout-prevention program.

One explanation for lower scores could be that the district has been encouraging more students to take rigorous courses such as Algebra II, Romer said.

``We obviously know we've been putting too many students in algebra who aren't prepared for it. We want to give them a course that gives them rigor, but doesn't overstretch them that they drop out.''

State Superintendent Jack O'Connell -- who opposes the mayor's legislation -- issued a statement saying that the LAUSD's scores demonstrate that its efforts to improve student performance are working.

Statewide, 42 percent of students scored proficient or advanced in English and 40 percent scored proficient or advanced in math -- a 2-point bump in each category since last year.

O'Connell noted that more students are taking rigorous courses such as Algebra II, geometry, chemistry and physics.

``It's now clear after 10 years of standards-based reform ... that public schools in California are clearly making meaningful, sustained improvement,'' O'Connell said.

The tests are designed to show how well students achieve state-adopted standards for each grade level and subject, and the results are reported as performance levels: advanced, proficient, basic, below basic and far below basic.

Most discouraging for state and local officials was that STAR results showed that the achievement gap persists among Latino, lower socioeconomic and African-American students.

O'Connell said reducing that achievement gap will be his top priority for the next four years, especially since the groups affected are also the fastest-growing.

He will be pushing for additional resources, intervention and teacher training to help improve the performance of the subgroups.

``While achievement has improved for every group of students -- all boats are rising -- I remained disheartened by the fact that the gap in achievement remains unacceptably high,'' O'Connell said.

Staff Writer Rick Orlov contributed to this report.

naush.boghossian(at)dailynews.com

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