LAUSD Releases First Results As Part Of New Grading System

LOS ANGELES (CBS) — New ratings as part of a new controversial grading system for students and teachers in the Los Angeles Unified School District are expected to be released Wednesday.

The results, which will be available on the district's website beginning at 9 a.m., will show how elementary through ninth grade students performed in math, English and language arts. Parents will not only be able to search by school, but also by grade level.

The new controversial method, which is called Academic Growth over Time, looks at how effective schools are at teaching students and look at growth of standardized test scores.

The methodology is controversial because it's the district's goal to eventually use this to measure teacher performance – a move that the teachers' union opposes.

"The thing is… it doesn't seem to be a measure that they don't seem to have some concern with. So if they are worried about accuracies, how accurate is the current system? And we're making very serious decisions on that. This is a heck of a lot more improved in terms of actual data of how students do," incoming LAUSD superintendent John Deasy said.

Deasy, who has seen the data, said some of the schools that have traditionally been viewed as underperforming appear to be improving.

The program is expected to be implemented district-wide during the 2012-2013 school year.