Data is a form of power that education decisionmakers use to inform how they allocate resources, track student outcomes, and shift policies. However, too often even publicly available data is hard to find and difficult for families and communities to understand. That’s why Innovate has developed a new data sheet – available in English and Spanish – to share how Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) serves its students of diverse backgrounds. Using the latest state test scores in English language arts (ELA) and math, we found that:
- Fewer than half of the 400,000+ LAUSD students are meeting grade-level standards in English and math
- 24% of students in LAUSD were chronically absent in 2024-25
- Out of the 89% of students who graduated from high school in 2024-25, 72% were UC/CSU eligible
In spite of the best intentions of school and district leaders, student outcomes demonstrate that our public education system still fails to value and effectively support all the students it serves. This datasheet equips families, educators, and community leaders with the information they need to ask questions, advocate for change, and hold systems accountable.
This data is inherently agitational. It raises questions like: ”What can we collectively do as families and communities to work with districts and school leaders to shift these outcomes for students?” In trainings, we ask participants to review and reflect on this data. So now, we want to ask you: What additional questions does this raise for you? How are you feeling after looking at the data?
One of our organizing principles is “power is taken, not given”. Datasheets are a way of putting power in parents’ hands.
We invite you to read the LAUSD datasheet, ask questions, and get involved with Innovate to improve our educational systems so that we can collectively improve student outcomes!