Statistics

More California students are staying in school, taking college prep courses and passing tough exams that earn them college credit, according to statewide statistics released today. Educators were heartened by the annual review of school performance, which compiles data from California high schools in nine categories. But the improvement is slight, and they freely admit that in some cases it is due to better record keeping rather than actual changes in student achievement.

The Times today is publishing selected "quality indicators" for Orange County high schools, released annually by the California Department of Education. The data comes from a variety of sources, including the schools themselves. The information is compiled on every high school to help parents, educators and policymakers spot trends in performance. The four-year completion rate and the college attendance information is from the 1995-96 school year and is the latest such data available.

The verdict remained mixed on original summer programs last week, with NBC occupying the winner's circle overall thanks to a combination of news and its Thursday lineup, according to results issued Tuesday by Nielsen Media Research. Among summer tryouts, ABC's sketch comedy "Whose Line Is It Anyway?," hosted by Drew Carey, turned in an impressive second-week performance, building on the audience of the comic's eponymous sitcom against another fill-in show, NBC's "Stressed Eric."

A historic surge of citizenship applications that has resulted in record numbers of new citizens in Southern California and nationwide has finally come to an end, the Immigration and Naturalization Service said Friday. Officials expect the number of citizenship applications to drop by almost 50% during the current fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30, INS Commissioner Doris Meissner told reporters in suburban Washington, D.C. An all-time high of 1.

In June, as domestic equities began losing steam, Merrill Lynch quantitative strategies analyst Richard Bernstein changed his team's asset allocation, reducing stocks from 60% of holdings to 55%, while increasing bonds from 30% to 35%. It was an early indication that the bull market was in trouble. Now that the market is actually in a correction, the question arises: Should individual investors consider changing their mix of stocks, bonds and cash too?

U.S. mortgage applications declined last week even as mortgage rates stayed below 7% for the eighth week in a row--the longest stretch in almost five years, the Mortgage Bankers Assn. of America said Wednesday. The MBA's mortgage applications index fell 0.5% to 407.0 in the week ended July 31, from 409.0 the previous week. The refinancing index fell 3.15 to 1278.8 last week, from 1320.2 the previous week, while the purchase index--which gauges demand for new houses--rose 1.9% to 257.

In June, as the stock market fast began losing steam, Merrill Lynch analyst Richard Bernstein decided it was time to make a strategic shift to lower risk: In his team's recommended asset allocation model, he cut stocks from 60% of holdings to 55%, while increasing bonds from 30% to 35%. With stocks' broad slump in recent weeks, many individual investors may be asking themselves if it's time to consider changing their mix of stocks, bonds and cash as well.

The day after the Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 554 points last October, individual investors plowed a net $684 million into the equity mutual funds through discount broker Charles Schwab & Co. Was there similar heavy buying Wednesday, after Tuesday's market plunge? Schwab officials won't have the official numbers until this morning, but by most indications from the fund industry, the answer is likely to be a resounding no.

Total album and single sales of CDs and cassettes for the week ended Aug. 2, compared with week-ago and year-ago levels, in millions of units: Latest Week Albums: 12.3 Singles: 1.9 * Week Ago Albums: 12.6 Singles: 1.9 * Year Ago Albums: 11.9 Singles: 2.5 Atop the Charts Weekly and year-to-date record company market share as of Aug. 2, based on current albums sold. This is an indicator of music company performance. Figures do not include catalog sales.

An increase in riders over the last six months has enabled the privately funded 91 Express Lanes to break even for the first time since the state's first toll road opened three years ago, officials said Tuesday. California Private Transportation Co., L.P., owner and operator of the 10-mile tollway along the Riverside Freeway, reported revenue of $10 million during the first six months, enough to cover operating and debt expenses.