July 1. That deadline should have been triple-stamped on the foreheads of everyone responsible in the Los Angeles Unified School District for getting the annual student performance exams to the testing company on time. The district blew it on nearly half the tests, forcing the state to postpone the release of statewide scores for two weeks and causing parents who were beginning to take a kinder look at public schools to think again.
Because Los Angeles is the state's largest school district, the missing answer sheets represent 5% of the 4.5 million tests given statewide last spring to grades two through 11. All scores must be rerun to provide an accurate measure of statewide progress. The state is demanding at least $50,000 from the LAUSD to cover the extra expense. The cost to the credibility of a school district struggling to turn around a reputation for blowing things could be even higher.
