Mental Gymnasts

Large inner-city schools usually rank at the top only when the news is bad and the scores are low. Affluent suburban schools typically bask in the academic glory. A brainy team from John Marshall High School has proved otherwise, however, by winning the California Academic Decathlon, the first state championship for the mammoth Los Angeles Unified School District.

Marshall draws students from Silver Lake, Loz Feliz and Hollywood. The team beat the brains out of students from 42 counties--including top-ranked teams from Beverly Hills High School and Palo Alto High School, previous winners of the championship.

The victory proves that a big-city school with students from low-income and middle-class neighborhoods can be No. 1 in what schools are all about--education.

During the state competition the students--two with A averages, two with B averages and two with C averages--had to prove that they were bright and well-rounded. They took written tests in science, mathematics, the social sciences, language usage, literature, fine arts and economics. They also competed with speeches, essays and interviews. Their scores proved that hard work and extra study pay off.

During the final event--the Super Quiz, an oral test reminiscent of the old College Bowl television show--the students fielded questions on the U.S. Constitution in recognition of the bicentennial. Marshall came in first--an appropriate victory for a school that takes its name from the nation’s famous chief justice.

The students and teachers of John Marshall High School and of the Los Angeles Unified School District have every reason to be proud of their mental gymnastics and intellectual agility. Their victory proves that academic excellence is possible in large urban schools.