Hundreds of California high schools met this year’s federal academic targets released Thursday only because the state uses easier standards for high schools than for elementary and middle schools, a Times analysis has found.
But even with this boost, just 48% of the state’s high schools met the federal standard of “adequate yearly progress” in this year’s results.
The Times analysis identified about 300 high schools that were reported as meeting all federal standards even though their combined proficiency scores in math or English language arts on the California standards tests fell below proficiency levels required for federal compliance this year. Their passing marks were based on much higher scores registered on the easier high school exit exam.
In practical terms, this means that high schools are not being consistently evaluated on what their students are supposed to be learning. The situation exemplifies California’s complex, uneven and often competing state and federal accountability systems.