Three quarters of LA Unified students who took the new statewide Common Core-aligned tests for math and two-thirds of students who took the tests for English failed to meet state standards, according to data released today by the California Department of Education. The scores on the new California Assessment of Student Progress and Performance (CAASPP) reflect...

Ever since billionaire Eli Broad and a few other powerful figures in the school reform movement announced plans of a massive investment in new charter schools for LA Unified, the district’s teachers union has been aggressively mobilizing opposition to it. That response took an interesting turn yesterday when Alex Caputo-Pearl, president of United Teachers Los...

LA Unified is suing some of its insurers for $200 million, claiming the companies refused to cover the cost of its defense of the Miramonte sex-abuse scandal. Former elementary school teacher Mark Berndt was convicted in 2013 of sexually abusing 23 of his students and is serving a 25-year sentence. Dozens of former students of...

As the second largest school district in the country, one would think the simple law of averages would see LA Unified with plenty of schools in Newsweek’s recent lists of the America’s Top High Schools and Beating the Odds — Top High Schools for Low-Income Students. But the district didn’t fare particularly well on either...

LA Unified has announced that Judy Burton has stepped down as chair of the Instructional Technology Initiative Taskforce, which is guiding the district’s tech objectives in the wake of the cancelled iPad program. Burton resigned as CEO and president of Alliance College-Ready Public Schools in January, the same month she was named to head up the...

Ever since the FBI seized documents in December related to LA Unified’s controversial iPad program, there have been no public updates on the case, but now it appears that the LA Unified school board and its legal department see trouble coming. It is just a single line in the agenda for tomorrow’s closed board meeting,...

Parent Revolution has announced that Seth Litt is taking over as its CEO. The news comes a full nine months after the organization’s former executive director and founder, Ben Austin, stepped down. Parent Revolution was formed in 2009 by Austin and played a role in creating California’s “parent trigger” law. It also offers guidance and help to parent...

Close to 100 LA Unified email addresses were used to set up accounts at AshleyMadison.com, a website for people seeking extramarital sexual affairs, according to information that was posted online recently by hackers. Dozens of the email accounts appear to be connected to active employees, both men and women, including principals, teachers, athletic directors, athletic...