Students at five of the Los Angeles Unified School District's lowest-performing schools improved their scores on standardized state tests -- a result that allows the district to maintain operational control of the campuses.
Audubon Middle School, Harte Prep Middle School, Huntington Park Senior High School, Los Angeles Senior High School and Woodcrest Elementary School all scored higher than the cutoff mark of 600 on the Academic Performance Index released today.
Under the Public School Choice Initiative approved by the LAUSD board a year ago, the district could relinquish control of so-called "focus schools" - - campuses with below-600 API scores -- to charter operators, groups of teachers and administrators, and nonprofit organizations with innovative ideas for improving student performance.
"I congratulate these schools for their growth in student achievement and hope it will become a trend with the help of extra support of the district," LAUSD Superintendent Ramon Cortines said.
Audubon Middle School in Leimert Park raised its API by 74 points to 666. Los Angeles Senior High School in the mid-Wilshire District scores rose by 59 points to 623; Harte Prep Middle School in Vermont Vista, 43 points to 633; Huntington Park High, 35 points to 603; and Woodcrest Elementary in Westmont, 21 points to 611.
However, three other campuses continued to perform well below LAUSD standards: Clay Middle School in Athens, which scored 538; Mann Middle School in Chesterfield Square, 567; and Muir Middle School in Vermont-Slauson, also 567.
Muir Middle School's score fell 9 points from the previous evaluation.
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The API is a reflection of the progress made by public school students throughout California. Schools are rated on a scale of 200 to 1000, with a state target score of 800.
