Data obtained by LA School Report show how each LA Unified high school’s scores on the state standardized tests improved or declined over the past two years. The district overall showed a 3 percentage point increase in math scores and a 6 percentage point increase in English language arts test scores. The improvements came along with increases...

In a new survey of 1,000 California teachers, a plurality of instructors thinks that it’s most important to develop critical thinking skills as preparation for college and career. The least number ranked scoring well on the state’s new Smarter Balanced tests. EdSource and the California Teachers Association conducted the online survey and released the results...

The old California Standardized Tests are a thing of the past. Governor Jerry Brown just signed Assembly Bill 484, which immediately suspends the old tests and funds a trial run this year of the new Smarter Balanced Assessments, which will be taken on computers and are aligned with the new Common Core curriculum. “I’ve said...

Nearly two-thirds of California voters said students should be tested in every grade to ensure that they are progressing, a new PACE/USC Rossier Poll shows. The strong majority contradicts calls in Sacramento to reduce standardized testing. The poll found that only 22 percent of voters said California should cut back on testing. “Most of the political...

LA Unified opens its doors for a new school year tomorrow, and despite an especially contentious few months for LAUSD Superintendent John Deasy, he’s all optimism.  In Part One of a two-part interview, LA School Report contributor Vanessa Romo talks with Deasy about his relationship with teachers, the challenges of pioneering the new Common Core...

People are still scratching their heads over what happened with California students’ test scores, which went down for the first time in a decade, as the state reported on Thursday. But the greater uncertainty could lie ahead. The plan is for all students to be tested on a new curriculum — the Common Core State...

Scores from statewide California tests taken by LA Unified students in the 2012-2013 academic year were only slightly higher than results from the year before. While the gains were more modest than in previous years, they still reflected overall improvement while the state average fell by a fraction of a percentage point. “We’ve outpaced the...