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

(3,170)

(3,960)

25.63

(4,266)

26.90

(4,324)

6.90

1.27

Asian

(3,301)

(3,693)

65.61

(3,924)

67.07

(3,745)

8.07

1.46

Filipino

(1,797)

(1,767)

63.75

(1,746)

63.76

(1,673)

9.76

0.01

Latino

(45,570)

(54,105)

32.22

(55,682)

34.91

(59,484)

8.91

2.69

White

(3,773)

(4,415)

48.64

(5,049)

50.33

(5,511)

7.33

1.69

Non-Economically Disadvantaged

African American

(1,894)

(1,982)

45.27

(1,863)

51.58

(2,008)

7.58

6.31

Asian

(4,179)

(4,319)

82.46

(4,303)

85.38

(4,416)

9.38

2.92

Filipino

(2,245)

(1,961)

73.70

(1,707)

78.52

(1,681)

10.52

4.82

Latino

(8,167)

(9,368)

46.86

(8,818)

53.63

(9,109)

16.63

6.77

White

(12,443)

(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

Mónica García

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October 2, 2018 L.A. Unified Students’ English and Math Proficiency Rates Improve

Mónica García