Six Los Angeles Unified high schools, two middle schools and 31 elementary schools ranked among the top 10 percent of schools statewide, according to public school test-score-based rankings released Wednesday by the state Department of Education.
The state ranks schools academically on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 representing the top 10 percent, to determine a school's standing compared to other schools statewide. The rankings are based on the school's base Academic Performance Index, which is calculated for elementary, middle and high schools based on results of the Standardized Testing and Reporting Program and California High School Exit Exam.
The base API is determined based on the previous year's performance on the standardized tests.
Because of the nature of the system, 10 percent of schools statewide will always be in each decile. Where a school falls, according to score, changes over the years as schools improve their scores.
In the LAUSD, 31 elementary schools received the highest rank of 10, placing them in the highest 10 percent of elementary schools statewide. Ivy Bound Academy charter school in Sherman Oaks and KIPP Los Angeles College Preparatory School were the only middle schools to achieve the top ranking among middle schools statewide.
Six high schools achieved the high ranking -- Dr. Olga Mohan High, Environmental Science and Technology High, Granada Hills Charter High, Harbor Teacher Preparation Academy, Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies and Sherman Oaks Center for Enriched Studies.
The state also released base API scores for districts Wednesday. The target API score set by the state Department of Education is 800. The LAUSD's base API -- based on 2011 standardized testing -- was 729.
The API score, which shows how each school is performing academically in comparison to other schools, ranges from a low of 200 to a high of 1,000.
The statewide base API was 778, according to the state. The base for elementary schools was 808, while it was 778 for middle schools and 741 for high schools.
Statewide, the base API was 845 for white students, 859 for Filipinos and 898 for Asian students. The API was 696 for black students, 729 for Hispanics, 706 for English-learners and 726 for financially disadvantaged students.
The release of the base API marks the beginning of the 2011-12 test- score reporting cycle, according to the state, representing each school's baseline score.
