LOCAL SCHOOLS SCORE WELL IN NATIONAL EXAMS; STATE, U.S. AVERAGES EXCEEDED.

Byline: Jennifer Hamm Staff Writer

Surpassing state and national averages, more than 63 percent of Glendale students scored passing marks on Advanced Placement exams, district officials said Wednesday.

Though test takers did well as a whole, there is a disparity among the Glendale Unified School District's three high schools.

Only 45 percent of students tested at Glendale High School passed the college-level exams by scoring 3 or better out of 5, while 71 percent of Hoover High School students passed.

``That was a pretty significant (decline),'' said Mike Livingston, co-principal at Glendale High School. ``We were pretty upset the scores were that low.''

About 52 percent of students passed the year before, he said. School officials could not determine why scores dropped six percentage points.

The tests were given in the spring. Scores from earlier years were not available, but Livingston said teachers and administrators will be seriously looking at how to raise scores.

Plans to raise achievement include sending teachers to training and collaborating with other local high schools, he said.

``We're to the point now we've got to do some big things,'' Livingston said.

Crescenta Valley scores were reported for each test given, rather than by student. Students can take the exams in more than one subject.

The percentage of tests that had a passing score of 3 or better at Crescenta Valley was 74 percent this year, dropping slightly from 76 percent the year before. More students, however, took Advanced Placement tests this year.

When students enroll in one of the 16 Advanced Placement classes Hoover offers, such as English, calculus or physics, they must sign a contract agreeing to commit to all the responsibilities the course entails, said Pamela Good, principal. Those responsibilities often include summer reading, Saturday workshops and more homework than most classes, Good said.

``The kids have to have a commitment to it,'' she said.

Statewide, 62.5 percent of students who took Advanced Placement tests passed with a 3 or better, outpacing the national average of 61.9 percent. There were 171,233 exams distributed in the spring to 101,966 California students, with some taking more than one test.

During the last 15 years, California has tripled the number of students per 100 who pass the Advanced Placement exam. In 1985, 4.1 per 100 students passed. This year, it rose to 14.8. The national average is 9.4.

And in coming years, more students will have Advanced Placement courses available to them, said Maria Reyes, a consultant for the California Department of Education. Educators are moving away from the approach of pigeonholing students into tracks where some take Advanced Placement courses and others don't, she said.

``We're in the transition of the old way . . . to a system where we want all these kids to be prepared,'' Reyes said.