A Sword for Zacarias

The scores are out and the news, as expected, is bad. Los Angeles Unified School District students are far below the national average in standardized math and reading tests and well below even the rest of L.A. County.

Low scores by limited-English students--46% of the district’s students do not speak the language fluently--do of course pull the average down, dropping it for many grades and subjects to the bottom quarter nationally. But even fluent English speakers, overall, did not score at the national average. All said, the district is simply out of excuses.

Supt. Ruben Zacarias could have opted not to release the numbers until a court fight over the scores of limited-English students is concluded. To his credit, he chose the right path, a quick release of not-yet-complete figures. Parents especially needed the school-by-school scores, which varied from generally dreadful to the rare well-above-average.

The scores still prompt more questions than answers. How do 1998 results compare with last year’s, which was based on a different version of the Stanford 9 standardized test? That revealing comparison should be made public as soon as the statistical conversions are done. Is the admirable class-size reduction effort in the primary grades hindered by inexperienced and emergency-credentialed teachers? What is the gap between highly transient students and those who remain on a campus for several years? Did the 100 lowest-achieving schools improve under the superintendent’s special attention?

Zacarias, completing his first year as schools chief, has set a goal of improving district test scores a modest eight points over four years. To get there, he needs more specific findings about the causes of failure. Even so, many of the needed reforms are no more than matters of common sense.

Students who cannot read at grade level, whether in the third grade or the 10th grade, need intensive remedial instruction, including mandatory summer school (or vacation school at year-round schools). Their teachers need the proper phonics-based textbooks and in some cases new training. Pupils who fail at math also require extra instruction from teachers trained in the subject.

Zacarias says he wants to do all of this. But he has to find the money for extra programs and overcome political hurdles that protect weak teachers and principals. He said during his campaign for the top job that he was capable of that and more. Now the test scores are his sword, and he has to wield it.