CALIFORNIA LEARNING ASSESSMENT SYSTEM TESTS : About the Tests

The Times today is publishing key scores from the California Learning Assessment System (CLAS) tests, which were designed to measure students’ knowledge and abilities against objective standards. To do that, CLAS establishes six performance levels in each of the three subject areas covered by the test--reading, writing and math--and every student scores at one of those levels.

For example, students who performed at Level 1 in reading understood only single words or phrases in the assigned reading passage and were unable to take away a “coherent meaning” from what they read.

Students at the highest level, Level 6, were able to “demonstrate insight” as they wrote about the passage and showed an ability to “explore complexities in depth” and “expand on the possible meanings of a text.”

In math, students who scored at Level 1 made major mathematical errors or provided little or no explanation of how they solved problems. Exams scored at Level 6 provided clear and logical explanations of solutions and made effective use of mathematical language, diagrams and graphs.

On the writing exams, Level 1 essays were brief and disorganized and included major errors in grammar, punctuation, capitalization and spelling. Essays graded at Level 6 presented a complex range of ideas, supported with logical reasons and detailed answers, and were written in a distinctive style.

Exams scored at the other four levels rated between those two extremes. Students who scored at Level 3 or below, in effect, failed to demonstrate the understanding that would merit a passing grade on a conventional test.

The tests were scored by specially trained evaluators, whose work was periodically reviewed by teachers who had trained them.

The scores given to individual schools reflect the percentage of students performing at each level, in each subject. Theoretically, the best result would be for 100% of the students to achieve at Level 6. The worst would be if 100% of the students were at Level 1.

This year, the state has also released a composite score--the combined percentage of students scoring at Levels 4, 5 or 6 at each school--to make it easier to compare schools to one another.

The tests were given to students in the 4th, 8th and 10th grades.

HOW TO READ THE SCORES

* Find your school district under the appropriate grade. The districts are listed alphabetically. Find your school under the district name.

* The Times today is reporting scores for individual schools using the composite figure provided by the state--denoting the percentage of test-takers who achieved a passing score. So, each figure listed indicates the percentage of students at that school who scored 4, 5 or 6 in a given skills area, reading (R) , writing (W) or math (M) . An asterisk indicates that a school had too few students take the test to produce a reliable aggregate score. Scores appear on this page and on Pages B4-5 .

Scores for schools in the San Fernando Valley, Orange County and Ventura County can be found in the appropriate editions of The Times.

The score recorded for each school reflects the percentage of its students scoring at Levels 4, 5 or 6--in effect, those who demonstrated at least “basic” understanding of the subject matter in three basic skill areas. An asterisk (*) indicates that a school had too few students take the test to produce a reliable score.

* Main story, A1.

Additional Information on the Scores

California Learning Assessment System scores for individual schools, districts or the entire state may be obtained in several ways:

* On the ‘Net: Use an Internet service to contact the California Department of Education “gopher” server at “goldmine.cde.ca.gov”.

* Using a modem and a computer: Download files from the department’s computer at (916) 657-4881 or (916) 657-5371. CLAS files can be found from the main menu with the following commands: type F, for file menu; type L, for list of available files and type 7 to select the CLAS file area. The files are in a compressed format and may be viewed only when downloaded and decompressed.

* Locally: Scores are available from your local school district or from your county office of education. The contact for the Los Angeles Unified School District is the public information office at (213) 625-6766. The contact at the Los Angeles County office of education is Arie Korporaal, (310) 922-6357.

10th Grade

R% W% M% Statewide 35 39 14 Los Angeles County 32 34 11

Los Angeles County

R% W% M% Districtwide 61 68 22 L. A. County High School 61 68 22

ABC Unified

R% W% M% Districtwide 46 53 23 Artesia High 41 42 8 Cerritos High 42 55 20 Gahr High 34 43 18 Tracy High 7 * 8 Whitney High 91 91 70

Alhambra City High

R% W% M% Districtwide 30 38 16 Alhambra High 44 44 15 Mark Keppel High 22 38 19 San Gabriel High 23 31 12

Arcadia Unified

R% W% M% Districtwide 57 58 35 Arcadia Senior High 57 58 35

Azusa Unified

R% W% M% Districtwide 17 25 7 Azusa High 17 18 5 Gladstone High 19 31 7 Sierra High 0 * *

Baldwin Park Unified

R% W% M% Districtwide 16 27 4 Baldwin Park High 15 25 4 North Park Continuation 5 18 4 Sierra Vista High 18 29 4

Bassett Unified

R% W% M% Districtwide 33 26 6 Bassett Senior High 34 26 6 Nueva Vista Continuation 9 * 0

Bellflower Unified

R% W% M% Districtwide 25 29 8 Bellflower High 34 34 12 Mayfair High 17 27 6 Somerset Continuation 3 11 0

Beverly Hills Unified

R% W% M% Districtwide 76 75 38 Beverly Hills High 77 76 39 Moreno Continuation 30 * 0

Bonita Unified

R% W% M% Districtwide 29 44 16 Bonita High 36 41 19 Chaparral Continuation 4 16 0 San Dimas High 25 50 15

Centinela Valley Union High

R% W% M% Districtwide 24 27 6 Hawthorne High 24 30 9 Leuzinger High 24 24 4 Lloyde High * * 0

Charter Oak Unified

R% W% M% Districtwide 47 45 11 Arrow Continuation 4 8 0 Charter Oak High 48 48 12

Claremont Unified

R% W% M% Districtwide 35 44 22 Claremont High 35 45 22 San Antonio Continuation 0 0 0

Compton Unified

R% W% M% Districtwide 18 22 1 Centennial High 16 24 1 Compton High 23 21 0 Compton Unified Alternate 11 13 5 Dominguez High 17 21 1

Covina-Valley Unified

R% W% M% Districtwide 46 55 13 Covina High 41 51 8 Fair Valley Continuation 4 9 3 Northview High 42 49 7 South Hills High 60 67 22

Culver City Unified

R% W% M% Districtwide 37 39 15 Culver City High 38 40 16 Culver Park Continuation 23 16 0

Downey Unified

R% W% M% Districtwide 31 35 12 Columbus Continuation 9 8 0 Downey High 37 34 11 Warren High 28 38 14

Duarte Unified

R% W% M% Districtwide 43 48 8 Duarte High 45 49 9 Mt. Olive Continuation * 12 0

El Monte Union High

R% W% M% Districtwide 39 39 8 Arroyo High 37 52 8 El Monte High 25 26 6 Mountain View High 42 35 6 Rosemead High 54 38 17 South El Monte High 34 42 3 Valle Lindo Continuation 37 19 10

El Rancho Unified

R% W% M% Districtwide 18 26 2 El Rancho High 18 27 2 Salazar Continuation 5 0 0

El Segundo Unified

R% W% M% Districtwide 59 62 16 Arena Continuation 25 23 0 El Segundo High 62 66 17

Glendora Unified

R% W% M% Districtwide 46 57 26 Glendora High 46 58 27 Whitcomb Continuation 41 23 0

Hacienda La Puente Unified

R% W% M% Districtwide 39 41 13 La Puente High 15 17 2 Los Altos High 62 60 20 Valley Continuation 0 4 0 Wilson High 50 53 25 Workman High 33 38 5

Inglewood Unified

R% W% M% Districtwide 14 23 1 Inglewood High 15 25 2 Morningside High 13 19 1

Long Beach Unified

R% W% M% Districtwide 28 35 12 Academy of Math and Science 79 86 61 Avalon Junior-Senior 45 50 27 Jordan High 13 22 3 Lakewood High 34 30 10 Millikan Senior High 22 32 8 Polytechnic High 36 47 17 Reid Continuation 0 6 0 Wilson High 19 28 7

Los Angeles Unified

R% W% M% Districtwide 25 26 6 Angel’s Gate Continuation 7 7 0 Avalon Continuation 7 16 0 Banning Senior High 20 26 2 Bell Senior High 19 22 3 Belmont Senior High 22 24 2 Boyle Heights Continuation 7 11 0 Carson Senior High 31 28 3 Central Continuation 5 6 0 Cheviot Hills Continuation 0 * 0 Cooper * * 0 Crenshaw Senior High 20 21 2 Del Rey Continuation 6 13 0 Dorsey Senior High 19 20 1 Downtown Business High 39 29 9 Eagle Rock Junior-Senior High 27 30 8 Eagle Tree Continuation 14 12 0 Ellington Continuation 10 * 0 Fairfax Senior High 28 26 4 Francisco Bravo 37 53 7 Franklin Senior High 27 22 3 Fremont Senior High 10 9 1 Gardena Senior High 19 17 5 Garfield Senior High 19 18 3 Hamilton Senior High 28 37 11 Highland Park Continuation 19 * 0 Hollywood Senior High 9 21 4 Hope Continuation 6 * 0 Huntington Park Senior High 13 28 1 Jefferson Senior High 19 18 1 Johnson Continuation 4 9 0 Jordan Senior High 12 16 1 King/Drew Medical Magnet 69 53 9 L. A. Ctr. for Enriched Studies 53 48 12 Lincoln Senior High 28 28 7 Locke Senior High 8 8 1 Los Angeles Senior High 21 24 5 Manual Arts Senior High 21 19 0 Marshall Senior High 24 17 5 Metropolitan Continuation 9 4 0 Mid City Alternative 0 0 0 Middle College High 11 13 0 Moneta Continuation * * * Monterey Continuation 13 14 0 Narbonne Senior High 32 32 12 Newmark Continuation 0 * 10 Odyssey Continuation 0 * 0 Palisades Senior High 39 35 15 Patton Continuation * 0 0 Phoenix Continuation * 0 0 Pueblo de Los Angeles * 39 0 Ramona Opportunity High 4 4 0 Rodia Continuation * 0 0 Rogers Continuation * * 0 Roosevelt Senior High 20 21 3 San Antonio Continuation * * 0 San Pedro Senior High 27 23 6 South Gate Senior High 25 31 3 Temescal Canyon Continuation 0 0 0 Truth Contintuation 7 9 0 University Senior High 48 47 13 Venice Senior High 33 31 9 View Park Continuation * * 0 Washington Preparatory High 29 21 1 Westchester Senior High 24 34 7 Westside Alternative 7 22 0 Whitman Continuation 18 13 0 Wilson Senior High 24 26 4 Young Continuation 8 0 0

Lynwood Unified

R% W% M% Districtwide 32 26 1 Lynwood High 33 27 1 Vista Continuation 10 7 0

Manhattan Beach Unified

R% W% M% Districtwide 68 72 27 Mira Costa High 68 72 27

Monrovia Unified

R% W% M% Districtwide 31 34 9 Canyon Continuation 9 0 0 Monrovia Senior High 33 37 9

Montebello Unified

R% W% M% Districtwide 23 20 5 Bell Gardens Senior High 24 23 3 Futures Continuation 31 0 0 Horizons Continuation * * 0 Montebello Senior High 30 18 3 Schurr Senior High 19 22 9 Vail Continuation 4 7 2

Norwalk-La Mirada Unified

R% W% M% Districtwide 34 26 7 El Camino Continuation 18 35 0 Glenn High 33 29 2 La Mirada High 36 21 12 Norwalk High 35 29 5

Palos Verdes Peninsula

R% W% M% Districtwide 59 64 40 Palos Verdes Pen. Senior High 59 65 41 Rancho del Mar Continuation 30 28 0

Paramount Unified

R% W% M% Districtwide 23 24 4 Michelson Continuation 9 10 3 Paramount Senior High 25 26 5

Pasadena Unified

R% W% M% Districtwide 31 30 7 Blair High 15 20 2 Marshall Fundamental 39 22 8 Muir High 44 42 9 Pasadena Alternative * * 0 Pasadena Continuation 9 10 5 Pasadena High 25 31 7

Pomona Unified

R% W% M% Districtwide 20 27 4 Ganesha Senior High 30 33 5 Garey Senior High 12 21 3 Park West Continuation 3 18 0 Pomona Senior High 21 28 3

Redondo Beach Unified

R% W% M% Districtwide 54 61 25 Redondo High 54 61 25

Rowland Unified

R% W% M% Districtwide 39 41 12 Nogales High 33 38 7 Rowland High 48 45 17 Santana Continuation 12 * 0

San Marino Unified

R% W% M% Districtwide 56 75 68 San Marino High 56 75 68

Santa Monica-Malibu Unified

R% W% M% Districtwide 47 53 23 Malibu High 60 60 27 Olympic Continuation * 38 0 Santa Monica High 46 52 22

South Pasadena Unified

R% W% M% Districtwide 47 58 29 South Pasadena Continuation * * 0 South Pasadena Senior High 48 59 29

Temple City Unified

R% W% M% Districtwide 56 49 19 Temple City High 56 49 19

Torrance Unified

R% W% M% Districtwide 49 54 26 North High 45 42 20 Sherry Continuation 25 12 0 South High * * * Torrance High 40 51 17 West High 63 66 36

Walnut Valley Unified

R% W% M% Districtwide 65 65 28 Del Paso Continuation 3 7 0 Diamond Bar High 68 67 29 Walnut High 65 68 30

West Covina Unified

R% W% M% Districtwide 68 74 26 Coronado Continuation * * 0 West Covina High 71 76 27

Whittier Union High

R% W% M% Districtwide 30 34 7 California High 26 30 8 Frontier Continuation 11 8 0 La Serna High 42 46 10 Pioneer High 24 30 4 Santa Fe High 18 32 4 Whittier High 41 34 7