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Editorial: California should keep the high school exit exam

By The Los Angeles Times Editorial Board California’s high school exit exam is certainly due for revision. The test, which requires high school graduates to demonstrate reasonably proficient reading and math skills to graduate, is out of step with the newly adopted Common Core standards, and aligning it with the new curriculum is important. But...
By LA School Report | June 10, 2015
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Ethnic Studies Committee meets amid questions about program’s future

Amid a suddenly contentious environment, the Ethnic Studies Advisory Board met last week with a lot of new questions in front of it and the LA Unified school board was set to discuss the issue today. When the LA Unified school board voted in the fall to make ethnic studies a requirement for high school...
By Craig Clough | June 9, 2015
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Is Metro Charter’s growth a success or missed opportunity?

By Sandy Banks What if you could create your dream school for your kids, one that’s high-tech and hands-on; diverse and genteel; an urban beehive of creativity with a suburban sense of security? That’s what a group of young upscale parents in South Park set out to do three years ago. They loved their neighborhood’s...
By LA School Report | June 9, 2015
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Morning Read: High school diploma isn’t what it used to be

Class of 2015 needs more than high school diploma, experts say The high school diploma — once a ticket to the American middle class — isn’t enough any more, experts say. Los Angeles Daily News San Marino High student claims teachers failed to report rape allegations The lawsuit against the San Marino Unified School District...
By LA School Report | June 9, 2015
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California gets ‘F’ for effort in fair educational funding (but it’s old data)

The state of California faired poorly in a new report from the Education Law Center that grades states on how fair their educational funding system is in regard to providing extra funding for low-income districts. However, the report is based on data from 2012, before the state enacted the groundbreaking Local Control Funding Formula and...
By Craig Clough | June 8, 2015
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LAUSD board to consider graduation rate boosting measures

School may be out for students and teachers but LA Unified School board members still have a lot of work ahead of them at tomorrow’s board meeting with several proposals intended to boost (or at least maintain) districtwide graduation rates. At the top of the list is a resolution to ease rigorous graduation requirements and...
By Vanessa Romo | June 8, 2015
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The truth behind California’s high school graduation rate

By Elissa Nadworny The national graduation rate is at an all-time high — 81 percent. It was such big news, President Obama touted it in this year’s State of the Union address. That got us thinking: What’s the story behind that 81 percent? Working with a team of reporters in 14 states, we set off...
By LA School Report | June 8, 2015
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Morning Read: Some LA families struggle with graduation costs

Ending senior year with a bang isn’t cheap at many L.A.-area high schools Sticker shock has hit families hard in these final weeks of high school, which are filled with expensive events. Los Angeles Times State lawmakers want to change teachers evaluations State legislators are approving bills that will revamp teacher evaluations for the first...
By LA School Report | June 8, 2015
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$40 million project could unite International Studies Learning Center campuses

Shuttling teachers between two campuses requires impeccable organization and skillful time management, and Guillermina Jauregui can’t wait for the day when she won’t have to do either anymore. That day could come at some point in 2019 if the LA Unified School Board decides next week to approve a new construction project to expand the...
By Vanessa Romo | June 5, 2015
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3 groups planning major rallies at Tuesday’s LAUSD board meeting

School may be out for the summer, but things are not cooling down for the LA Unified school board as no less than three organizations are planing rallies or protests at Tuesday’s scheduled board meeting. The LA teachers union, UTLA, the Ethnic Studies Now Coalition and a conglomerate of organizations in favor of the district...
By Craig Clough | June 5, 2015