The Conditions of K-12 Education in the Los Angeles Region, 2003: Executive Summary

Welcome to the online version of SCCORE.org's 2003 annual report.  This report has been developed by researchers affiliated with the Southern California Consortium on Research in Education, based at Pomona College in Claremont. 

Please note that this report is best viewed online, where the reader can find expanded and more detailed versions of the charts presented simply by clicking on each chart.  You can navigate the pages of the report using the topical tabs above, or the more detailed menus on the left.

TOPICAL REPORTS
On this website you will find data and analysis on students, student outcomes, teachers and staff, and districts and schools.  Each section begins with a site map.

In Students we present data on enrollment in both public and private schools.  We have found steady and substantial growth in enrollments in recent years, concentrated almost exclusively in the public schools.  There are several patterns in this growth:

• Both the number and proportion of students who are Latino has grown dramatically throughout the region, in urban, suburban and rural areas.
• While the number of students who are poor has grown throughout the region, the proportion of students who are poor has recently leveled off.
• Similarly, while the number of students designated as Limited English Proficient or English Language Learners has grown throughout the region, the proportion of such students has leveled and even declined slightly.
• Finally, while the Los Angeles and Long Beach Unified School Districts enroll more than a quarter of the students in the region, most of the rest of the region's students are in districts of 10,000 to 25,000 students.

In Student Outcomes we present data on several different performance indicators.  One is the Academic Performance Index or API, compiled primarily from standardized tests mandated by the state of California.  Second, we report and analyze dropout rates, though the data should be treated with some caution because of the difficulty of reliably tracking individual students as they move into and out of schools and districts.  Third, we report the proportion of school and district graduates who have completed courses necessary to qualify for admission to the University of California and California State University systems.

While Academic Performance Index scores have generally improved throughout the region during the five years since this program was initiated, there nevertheless remain troubling patterns:

• Schools with higher proportions of Latino and African American students tend to report lower API scores.
• Schools with higher proportions of poor students tend to report lower API scores.
• Schools with higher proportions of English Language Learners tend to report lower API scores.
• Schools on year-round calendars tend to report lower API scores.
• Schools with greater proportions of uncredentialed teachers tend to report lower API scores.

In Teachers and Staff we begin by reporting on the numbers and demographics of teachers and non-teaching staff in the region.  We then present data and analysis of several indicators of teacher quality: their educational preparation, credentials, and experience.  Finally, we present data on "which students get which teachers," most notably reporting that throughout the region:

• Latino and African American students are less likely than Anglos to be taught by fully credentialed teachers.
• Poor students are less likely than non-poor students to be taught by fully credentialed teachers.
• English Learners are less likely than fluent English speakers to be taught by fully credentialed teachers.
• As noted above, students in low API-score schools are less likely to be taught by fully credentialed teachers.

In Districts and Schools we begin by describing the growing size of both districts and schools across the region.  We then survey the changing demographics of districts and schools, noting that despite common perceptions, districts on the periphery of the region are often demographically quite similar to those in the core urban areas.  For example, throughout the region a large proportion of students attend schools with high minority enrollment.  Poverty is also common in districts and schools throughout the region. 

Some of our most striking findings in this section concern year-round schools, which are often created when districts need to pack more students into already overcrowded facilities.  Year-round schools divide their student bodies into "tracks," which then take alternating vacations to maximize enrollment in the school.  This contrasts with a "traditional" school calendar, which runs from September through June and offers all students a common schedule.  We noted earlier that year-round schools tend to produce lower Academic Performance Indexes.  The data presented here also show that year-round schools:

• Tend to have substantially higher minority enrollments than traditional calendar schools.
• Tend to have substantially higher proportions of students who are poor.
• Tend to have substantially higher proportions of students who are designated English Language Learners.
• Tend to have fewer fully-credentialed teachers.
• Tend to have less-educated teachers.
• Tend to have less experienced teachers.

We hope to add a Finance section to this report in coming years.

SCOPE
Throughout this report we present data and analysis on the greater Los Angeles region, which includes the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura.  In most tables and charts we present data on the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), Los Angeles County as a whole, the region's four counties outside of Los Angeles County, and for the region as a whole.

This five-county region is vast -- it includes nearly half the population of California -- but it nevertheless makes sense to consider it as a whole.  We have found that families, students, teachers, employers and jobs commonly move across city and county boundaries within the region, and that schools around the region face similar conditions and challenges.

DATA SOURCES
We present here the most recent available data, much of it from the 2002-2003 school year, drawn almost entirely from reports published by the state of California.  We cite the sources of our data throughout, and wherever possible, we provide the reader with online links to those sources.  In addition, at the bottom of each page we report when the data and analysis presented there was last updated.

USE OF DATA
SCCORE.org's mission is to gather and publish authoritative information and analysis on elementary and secondary education in the Los Angeles region.  We seek to inform and improve public discussion and debate about schools and school reform.  Our intended audience includes policy-makers, practitioners, parents and the public, as well as researchers and those who fund their research.

Please feel free to print out and share whatever you find here.  We encourage readers to distribute and publish any data, analysis or charts found on this site, as long as appropriate acknowledgment is made that the material comes from SCCORE.org, or the Southern California Consortium on Research in Education.

--David Menefee-Libey
Director, SCCORE.org

Last Updated: November 04, 2003