L.A. Schools Earn "F" in Performance

Los Angeles Unified School District schools get a bad wrap. Parents are constantly criticizing the district, and there are many areas of the city where parents wouldn't dream of sending their kids to a public school. Now, a frightening study released by UCLA last week reinforces the terrible reputation the public schools here have. (Read Naush Boghossian's full story According to researchers, over 60 percent of Los Angeles Unified School District schools are overcrowded. At a little more than half the schools in the district, one-third of the student body can't pass an exit exam necessary for a diploma.

For every 100 ninth-graders in non-San Fernando Valley schools, 44 had graduated four years later and 24 had passed courses required for admission to CSU and UC schools. In Valley schools, 48 had graduated and 25 had passed those courses. The statewide averages are 66 and 25.

The study also incorporated results of the 2007 National Assessment of Educational Progress, which showed that California's fourth-graders rank 48th in the nation in reading and 46th in math. Meanwhile, eighth-graders ranked 47th in reading and 45th in math.

Hmm, better brush up on those magnet and charter options.