Rank

The latest API (Academic Performance Index) for California was published today. The API is determined by a series of week-long Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR)  tests in Math, English, Science and History taken by all California students in grades 2 through 11 in April of every year. This index in turn determines district and school performance, funding, oversight, and a slew of decisions all made in the name of attaining the golden score of at least 80o. The API score in a given area also has the distinction of having a greater affect on the price of a home than the presence of graffiti, abandoned couches, trash, stucco, vinyl windows, and wrought iron fences combined.

So how did Highland Park schools rank?

According to the data found on the Los Angeles Times California Schools Guide, overall, the schools within 90042 improved over the past year. Great news right? Unfortunately, only three exceeded the target score of 800. And as typical with schools state-wide that 800 is out of reach when it really matters –in middle and high school.

LAUSD Elementary Schools

Aldama Elementary:  768 /  (755 last year)

Annandale Elementary: 753 /  (792 last year)

Arroyo Seco Museum Science Magnet:  855 / (820 last year)

Buchanan Street Elementary: 774 /  (767 last year)

Bushnell Way Elementary:  727 /  (706 last year)

Garvanza Elementary:  834 /  (815 last year)

Monte Vista Street Elementary:  755 /  (744 last year)

San Pascual Avenue Elementary: 808 /  (771 last year)da

Yorkdale Elementary: 727 /  (736 last year)

LAUSD Middle School

Luther Burbank Middle: 628 /  (665 last year)

LAUSD High Schools

Benjamin Franklin Senior High: 639 /  (603 last year)

Highland Park Continuation: 537 / (512 last year)

As a point of comparison, the LAUSD high school just over the hill, ERHS bested our senior high school by 78 points with a API score of 717. And the middle school exactly two miles to the east and a world away in the South Pasadena School District, scored a 918 compared to the sad score of 628 at our Luther Burbank. Then there is LAUSD’s Mt. Washington Elementary located just one mile up the hill and in the heavens from Aldama Elemetry, with the score of 898, placing it in the top 10% of California schools. (From personal experience, I have encountered parents that have been willing to rent a tepee on Mt. Washington, just to get their kids into that school…)

I believe the public schools we get are the ones that the parents demand to have. The more involved parents are with a school, the better that school is going to be. I believe that it is the individual student and the parental guidance that matters the most for a student’s education. A school with a great API is useless if the student isn’t getting the encouragement, help and guidance at home.

So in summary, the scores are looking better for 90042, but we have a long way to go. As the teenager who was outside by my API-affected house said to his gangbanger acquaintance in passing, “Stay in school! Study hard…”