CAP Scores Top County Average but Drop Overall : Education: Only nine of 31 South Bay schools reported improvements in the state-mandated tests of eighth-graders. Decreased funding and an increase in non-English-speaking students are cited as two causes.

Tracking a statewide pattern that has educators concerned, the achievement test scores of South Bay eighth-graders slipped this year but remained higher than the Los Angeles County average.

Of the 31 South Bay schools that administered the California Assessment Program test, only nine improved their scores since the last test was administered two years ago. The other 22 schools showed an overall decline in the testing, which covered reading, writing, math, science and history-social science.

Across the South Bay, the average score was 255, slightly down from the 259 average score of two years ago. By comparison, the statewide average this year was 259 and the countywide average was 236.

Educators say the lackluster scores can be blamed on a host of problems, including decreased government spending for education and higher numbers of non-English-speaking students in the public schools.

Grant Behnke, the state’s CAP coordinator for Los Angeles County, said it was important to look at the trend since the testing began in 1985.

“From 1985-86, (overall) scores have increased,” Behnke said. “1992 scores have gone down, but in math and science they are above what they were before. If it continued to go down, we would be concerned.”

CAP tests were not administered last year because of state budget cuts, so the most recent scores for tests taken in the spring were compared with those administered in 1989-1990. The questions were multiple choice with the exception of the writing portion.

Although the scores declined across the South Bay overall, there was some good news, including some individual schools that showed dramatic improvements in writing, reading and history, thanks to special programs.

Four area school districts reported improved scores: Hermosa Beach City School District, Lennox School District, Manhattan Beach City School District and Wiseburn School District.

The Manhattan Beach City School District topped the region’s scores with 351 points, 92 points above the state average and nine points better than its tally two years ago. Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District came in a close second with 349 points, down nine from two years ago.

At the bottom of the list was the Lennox School District with a score of 196. However, that was a six-point improvement for the district, which serves a largely transient, immigrant population that includes many non-English speakers.

Lennox school officials were encouraged that the district improved its reading scores by 27 points over the past two years. That was partially offset by a 17-point drop in writing skills, which educators say is particularly difficult for students whose first language is not English.

Among individual schools, Manhattan Beach Intermediate scored the highest with 351, thanks in part to a heavy emphasis on writing. The school’s writing score of 374 was the best in the region, far exceeding the state average of 257. The school also showed marked improvement in math, history and science.

Principal Billie Jean Knight said the school conducts writing workshops for both parents and students in the evening, and this new emphasis is beginning to pay off. Whether the students are studying art, mathematics, physical education or literature, she said, they have to be able to think out concepts in the discipline and write them down.

“If they can write about a subject, you know they have thought it through,” Knight said.

Also scoring well were Hermosa Valley Elementary at 310; Hillcrest Middle in Redondo Beach (now known as Nick G. Parras School) at 309; Malaga Cove Intermediate in Palos Verdes Estates at 349; Lincoln Elementary in Redondo Beach at 302; El Segundo Middle School at 303; and Frank D. Parent school in Inglewood at 280.

Richard Henry Dana Elementary School in Hawthorne showed the most improvement with a score of 275, largely thanks to a 45- and 44-point increase in its history-social sciences and writing scores, respectively. The strong improvements in history and writing helped the school to increase its overall score by 23 points since two years ago.

Two Inglewood schools, Albert F. Monroe Junior High and Warren Lane Elementary, had the lowest scores in the South Bay, 182 and 193 respectively. Students at Lane scored lower in all five areas, including a 47-point drop in reading and a 36-point drop in history.

Lane’s overall score dropped 27 points, but Monroe showed a slight overall improvement, up three points.

“Historically, those same schools run in that low category,” said Maurice Wiley, assistant to the superintendent in Inglewood Unified.

“It’s kind of frightening, because it goes strictly with socioeconomics,” he added, explaining that the schools in the wealthier neighborhoods of Inglewood, such as Frank D. Parent Elementary in Ladera Heights, scored considerably higher at 280.

Other notable declines occurred at El Segundo Middle School, where reading scores took a 41-point plunge; Magruder Middle School in Torrance, where writing and reading scores fell 55 and 51 points, respectively; and Lincoln Elementary in Redondo Beach where writing fell 34 points.

In Torrance, educators said the city has been undergoing the same kind of changes that other areas of the Southland have in the past decade.

“There are things happening in Torrance in terms of the changing population,” said Arnold Plank, assistant superintendent of educational services for Torrance Unified. “There is an increased number of students with limited English proficiency who have an effect on scores.” The tests also revealed which students had what the State Department of Education considered “adequate” scores for all five testing areas. Of the 31 South Bay schools tested, only 13 recorded scores considered “adequate or higher.”

Leading the pack was Manhattan Beach Intermediate, where 74% of the students scored above the adequate level. The lowest was Monroe Junior High School in Inglewood, where just 22% of the students scored above the state’s adequate level.

The Top 5 Schools, Districts Here are the top five individual schools and school districts in the South Bay by average scores on the 1992 California Assessment Program test for eighth-graders. Top Five Schools

Manhattan Beach Intermediate: 351

* Malaga Cove Intermediate (Palos Verdes Estates): 349

* Ridgecrest Intermediate (Rancho Palos Verdes): 349

Hermosa Valley Elementary School (Hermosa Beach): 310

** Hillcrest Middle School (Redondo Beach): 309

Top Five Districts

Manhattan Beach City School District: 351

Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District: 349

Hermosa Beach City School District: 310

El Segundo Unified School District: 303

Redondo Beach City School District: 284

* Schools have since closed.

** Changed its name to Nick G. Parras Middle School.