LAUSD Students Mark Largest Gain In Academic Performance Scores In The State's Urban Districts
LOS ANGELES (CBS) — Talk about impressive. The LAUSD's latest Academic Performance Index scores showed the highest gain of any urban area in California.
The score for Los Angeles Unified schools -- summarizing students' performance on a series of tests -- rose by 19 points in 2010-11, besting the statewide average.
The district's score went from 709 last year to 728. The statewide API score increased by 11 points, from 767 last year to 778, according to figures released Wednesday by the California Department of Education.
The scores range from 200 to 1,000, with a performance target of 800.
According to the state, 49 percent of California schools met or exceeded the 800-point bar in 2010-11, compared to 46 percent in 2009-10. In the LAUSD, 209 schools met or exceeded the 800-point score, an increase of 36 from last year. Balboa Gifted/High Ability Magnet Elementary earned the highest score, with 979.
Napa Elementary School in Northridge showed the highest year-over-year gain in the LAUSD, jumping 130 points to 798, according to the district.
Rachel Kim, reporting for KCAL9, spoke today with that school's proud principal, Victoria Christie.
Proud might be an understatement. She told Kim, "I could just cry thinking about it."
Tears of joy, of course. This is Christie's first year on the job no less.
Modest to a fault, Principal Christie isn't taking all the credit. "We needed a system to provide students with the extra help they needed. By really examining our student data, then using that data to form small groups of students and then being able to provide support to those students to target that need."
Christie praises students and teachers alike for working together. She gives the teachers special props for going the extra mile. "I'm so proud of our teacher because it was really their passion and dedication that allowed this to happen."
And Intervention Teacher Emilio Arauz, reports Kim, was also on the case. "We wanted zero kids to fail. Collaboration, teamwork, a focus on standards and really hard work."
Oh, and one more thing. When Principal Christie challenged the students last year, she said if they raised their grades, she would do something...well, literally hair-raising on the first day of school. As promised, she tells Kim, with a laugh, "I plan to be at the front gate with blue hair!"
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