California Test Results: Three of LAUSD's Top 10 High Schools are Alliance College-Ready Public Schools

Alliance charter schools significantly outperform traditional schools on the Academic Performance Index

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Alliance College-Ready Public Schools

Sep 13, 2010, 06:04 ET

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 13 /PRNewswire/ -- Three Alliance College-Ready Public Schools ranked among the Top 10 high schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District, according to test results released Monday.

College-Ready Academy High School #4 scored 883 on the Academic Performance Index, ranking it #4 among 133 LAUSD high schools listing results. Environmental Science and Technology High School scored 859, ranking it #7, and Gertz-Ressler High School scored 853, ranking it #9. College-Ready Academy High School #4 will be renamed Dr. Olga Mohan High School later this month.

Those scores exceeded the LAUSD high school average by 175 or more points, and topped the statewide high school average by 124 or more points.

The API measures school performance based on several tests administered statewide to students in grades 2 through 11, including the California Standards Tests and California High School Exit Examination. Scores range from 200 to 1,000, with 800 considered the target.

The strong performance by the Alliance's top-ranked high schools contributed to all-around impressive results from 16 Alliance middle and high schools that administered tests last spring:

The average Alliance API score rose to 742 to 751 last year, even as five schools received scores for the first time. The Alliance average is 42 points higher than the overall LAUSD average, and represents the fourth consecutive year of Alliance API improvement.
Three quarters of Alliance schools– 12 of 16– performed above the LAUSD average for their school type. LAUSD includes schools in some of Southern California's most affluent communities.
Two Alliance schools showed dramatic API gains. College-Ready Academy High School #5 and Heritage College-Ready Academy High School boosted API scores by at least 66 points, or 10%.
Every Alliance high school and 80% of middle schools outperformed neighboring traditional public schools. On average, Alliance API scores were 155 points above those of neighboring traditional schools.

Alliance College-Ready Public Schools serve low-income, minority students from disadvantaged neighborhoods where traditional schools are generally overcrowded and underperforming. Overall, 92% of Alliance students qualify for free or reduced price meals; 99% are Latino or African-American; and 23% are considered English Language Learners.

"We are proud that our charter schools rank among the best schools in all of LAUSD, the nation's second-largest school district," said Alliance President and CEO Judy Burton. "These strong results only deepen our belief that all students can excel in the classroom and graduate from college. We look forward to continued academic improvement during the new school year."

About Alliance College-Ready Public Schools

Alliance College-Ready Public Schools creates high-performance public schools in traditionally underachieving communities. Since opening its first school in 2004, the Alliance has grown to 18 Los Angeles sites enrolling approximately 6,000 students. Each Alliance school promotes a culture of high expectations and college-readiness for every student.

SOURCE Alliance College-Ready Public Schools