October 2, 2018 L.A. Unified Students’ English and Math Proficiency Rates Improve
L.A. Unified Students’ English and Math Proficiency Rates Improve
Increase similar to other California urban school districts, with gaps persisting between African American, Latino and low-income students compared to other students
The California Department of Education today released the results of its annual academic assessments. The California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress reports L.A. Unified’s overall proficiency rates in English (42.31 percent) and math (31.62 percent) showed a modest growth of about 2 to 3 percentage points from the previous year. L.A. Unified had the fourth highest gains in English and math compared to the 12 large urban districts in California.
“We thank our educators who have worked hard to help students learn,” Superintendent Austin Beutner said. “We have more work to do, especially with our African American, Latino and low-income students. Our magnet schools continue to show higher rates of English and math proficiency, and we need to make sure all Los Angeles Unified students get the great education they deserve.”
“The student performance data serves as evidence that we as a District must look for better ways to meet the needs of our student populations,” said Board President Mónica García. “Approximately 82 percent of our students are on free or reduced lunch and over 80 percent are Latino or African American students. The identified gaps in proficiency levels are unacceptable. We have taken a step in the right direction with the Equity is Justice 2.0 movement, and we will keep fighting to close the existing achievement gaps.”
“I am encouraged by the promising strides our District has made, but this progress is tempered by the slow pace and inconsistency of these gains,” said Board Vice President Nick Melvoin. “We have made significant improvements in early literacy, and I want to see those efforts matched across grade levels and subgroups until the achievement gap is closed and every student can graduate LA Unified college- and career-ready.”
“After reviewing students’ performance on the Smarter Balanced Assessments, I am pleased that across the District there has been improvement in the number of students who have met or exceeded standards,” said Board Member Dr. George McKenna III. “This reflects the engagement of our students in the new and challenging California academic standards and our increase in preparing them for college and career readiness. We always want to do better. We must continue to address the achievement gap between our ethnic groups and economically disadvantaged students. It is essential that we provide more resources to close these gaps and ensure all our students succeed.”
“As a career educator, I am always pleased to see student achievement moving in the right direction,” said Board Member Scott M. Schmerelson. “Our students’ proficiency rates continue to improve because of the ongoing support, dedication and tireless efforts of our often under-appreciated but amazing teachers, administrators and support staff who serve our children on a daily basis.”
“Many schools in the East Valley are making academic progress, and we’re happy to celebrate several Board District 6 schools that made double-digit gains in both English language arts and math,” said Board Member Kelly Gonez. “Unfortunately, there is much more work to be done to ensure every child in our District demonstrates mastery and is college and career ready. I’m working hand-in-hand with my local districts, principals and educators to boost learning at all my schools.”
"I am pleased to see some results from the additional investments we have made in interventions and other remedial efforts to bring up our scores,” said Board Member Dr. Richard Vladovic. “We still have a long way to go, but we will never give up on our students or stop investing in their potential."
Third grade English performance improved by 5.84 percentage points, along with improvements in fourth (4.71) and fifth (3.37) grades.
Overall, gaps remain between the performance of some student groups and the rest of the district. Students who are economically disadvantaged have proficiency rates of about 30 percentage points lower in both English and math. Gaps persist across all income levels between African American and Latino students compared to other student groups. Scores among students with disabilities increased by 2.33 percentage points in English and by 1.70 in math. Reclassified English Learners also improved by 2.14 percentage points in English and by 1.11 in math.
Students in magnets schools outperformed those in non-magnet schools by 23 percentage points in English and by 21 percentage points in math
More detailed information can be found below, at https://caaspp.cde.ca.gov and at the L.A. Unified Open Data Portal (opendata.lausd.net).
L.A. Unified’s overall English and math proficiency rates:
- 42.31% of L.A. Unified students meet or exceed standards in English.
- 31.62% of L.A. Unified students meet or exceed standards in math.
Student performance in English improved by 2.76% and in math by 1.76%.
Percent of Students Meeting or Exceeding State Standards
Across Urban Districts in California
|
English |
|
Math |
||||
|
District |
Percentage of Students Meeting or Exceeding Standards |
Change from 2017 to 2018 |
|
District |
Percentage of Students Meeting or Exceeding Standards |
Change from 2017 to 2018 |
|
San Diego |
56.35 |
0.77 |
|
San Francisco |
50.58 |
-0.37 |
|
San Jose |
55.54 |
1.35 |
|
San Diego |
47.16 |
1.13 |
|
San Francisco |
55.27 |
0.68 |
|
San Jose |
44.23 |
0.60 |
|
Long Beach |
51.14 |
2.94 |
|
Long Beach |
42.73 |
3.97 |
|
Pasadena |
44.67 |
2.05 |
|
Pasadena |
34.93 |
1.74 |
|
L.A. Unified |
42.31 |
2.76 |
|
Sacramento |
31.98 |
0.52 |
|
San Bernardino |
40.10 |
3.70 |
|
L.A. Unified |
31.62 |
1.76 |
|
Sacramento |
40.03 |
0.62 |
|
Fresno |
26.89 |
2.75 |
|
Pomona |
39.91 |
1.70 |
|
Oakland |
26.81 |
1.31 |
|
Fresno |
36.76 |
3.12 |
|
San Bernardino |
26.24 |
2.96 |
|
Oakland |
33.12 |
1.26 |
|
Pomona |
25.73 |
0.68 |
|
Santa Ana |
29.84 |
2.04 |
|
Santa Ana |
23.97 |
1.56 |
- L.A. Unified shows significant improvement in early grade English proficiency rates.
|
Change from 2017 to 2018 L.A. Unified Students Meeting or Exceeding State Standards in English |
|
|
Grade 3 |
+5.84 % |
|
Grade 4 |
+4.71 % |
|
Grade 5 |
+3.37 % |
- Within L.A. Unified, the gap between economically disadvantaged students and non-economically disadvantaged students persists.
|
Percent of L.A. Unified Students Meeting or Exceeding State Standards |
||
|
|
English |
Math |
|
Economically Disadvantaged |
36.46 |
25.84 |
|
Non-Economically Disadvantaged |
68.10 |
57.14 |
- Latino students have had the highest gains (+9.6%) of all student groups in English language arts from 2015 to 2018. However, within L.A. Unified, a gap remains across all income levels between African American and Latino students compared to all other students.
|
English Language Arts |
||||||
|
Student Ethnicity |
2015 % Met or Exceeded Standards (# Students) |
2016 % Met or Exceeded Standards (# Students) |
2017 % Met or Exceeded Standards (# Students) |
2018 % Met or Exceeded Standards (# Students) |
Change 2015 to 2018 |
Change 2017 to 2018 |
|
Economically Disadvantaged |
||||||
|
African American |
20 (3,170) |
24 (3,960) |
25.63 (4,266) |
26.90 (4,324) |
6.90 |
1.27 |
|
Asian |
59 (3,301) |
66 (3,693) |
65.61 (3,924) |
67.07 (3,745) |
8.07 |
1.46 |
|
Filipino |
54 (1,797) |
62 (1,767) |
63.75 (1,746) |
63.76 (1,673) |
9.76 |
0.01 |
|
Latino |
26 (45,570) |
31 (54,105) |
32.22 (55,682) |
34.91 (59,484) |
8.91 |
2.69 |
|
White |
43 (3,773) |
48 (4,415) |
48.64 (5,049) |
50.33 (5,511) |
7.33 |
1.69 |
|
Non-Economically Disadvantaged |
||||||
|
African American |
34 (1,894) |
42 (1,982) |
45.27 (1,863) |
51.58 (2,008) |
7.58 |
6.31 |
|
Asian |
76 (4,179) |
82 (4,319) |
82.46 (4,303) |
85.38 (4,416) |
9.38 |
2.92 |
|
Filipino |
68 (2,245) |
74 (1,961) |
73.70 (1,707) |
78.52 (1,681) |
10.52 |
4.82 |
|
Latino |
37 (8,167) |
46 (9,368) |
46.86 (8,818) |
53.63 (9,109) |
16.63 |
6.77 |
|
White |
70 (12,443) |
77 (12,820) |
77.03 (12,829) |
78.74 (12,891) |
8.74 |
1.71 |
|
Mathematics |
|||||||
|
Student Ethnicity |
2015 % Met or Exceeded Standards (# Students) |
2016 % Met or Exceeded Standards (# Students) |
2017 % Met or Exceeded Standards (# Students) |
2018 % Met or Exceeded Standards (# Students) |
Change 2015 to 2018 |
Change 2017 to 2018 |
|
|
Economically Disadvantaged |
|||||||
|
African American |
12 (1,902) |
15 (2,467) |
15.94 (2,651) |
16.18 (2,590) |
4.18 |
0.24 |
|
|
Asian |
57 (3,231) |
61 (3,459) |
61.25 (3,703) |
61.43 (3,476) |
4.43 |
0.18 |
|
|
Filipino |
43 (1,438) |
49 (1,400) |
49.04 (1,350) |
51.53 (1,364) |
8.53 |
2.49 |
|
|
Latino |
19 (33,426) |
21 (36,762) |
22.65 (39,341) |
24.13 (41,254) |
5.13 |
1.48 |
|
|
White |
33 (2,921) |
38 (3,525) |
38.80 (4,067) |
39.66 (4,407) |
6.66 |
0.86 |
|
|
Non-Economically Disadvantaged |
|
||||||
|
African American |
23 (1,286) |
29 (1,364) |
30.87 (1,272) |
35.69 (1,389) |
12.69 |
4.82 |
|
|
Asian |
74 (4,123) |
80 (4,238) |
80.58 (4,274) |
82.14 (4,291) |
8.14 |
1.56 |
|
|
Filipino |
57 (1,892) |
63 (1,671) |
62.00 (1,449) |
67.43 (1,445) |
10.43 |
5.43 |
|
|
Latino |
26 (5,836) |
32 (6,586) |
32.41 (6,478) |
39.33 (6,721) |
13.33 |
6.92 |
|
|
White |
61 (10,806) |
68 (11,316) |
68.86 (11,531) |
69.65 (11,443) |
8.65 |
0.79 |
|
- L.A. Unified magnet schools are outperforming traditional schools by 23 percentage points in English and 21 percentage points in math.
|
Percent of L.A. Unified Students Meeting or Exceeding State Standards |
||
|
|
English |
Math |
|
L.A. Unified Magnet Schools |
61 |
49 |
|
All Other L.A. Unified Schools |
38 |
28 |
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Contact: Shannon Haber (213) 241-6766
