As an LAUSD teacher in the upper grades, I was restrained in my response to the rise in standardized test scores ("L.A. Unified Hails Reforms as Test Scores Rise for Fourth Year," Aug. 21). I was gratified that lower-grade scores had climbed again but disappointed, though not surprised, that upper-grade scores needed improvement. I hope people understand that it will take time to raise secondary-school scores because the basics must be of primary importance in the lower grades. In the early stages of education, a child will retain those basics well into middle and high school.
Currently, a vast number of high school students have no mastery of the basics, and it is often too late to motivate students to even care about the testing for several reasons. First, students begrudgingly take the tests with the idea that the tests measure teacher performance, not theirs.
