Garfield High School (Los Angeles)

This school achieved notoriety due to Jaime Escalante, who taught math in this financially poor, public East Los Angeles school. During the 1980's he built an exceptional calculus program. In 1982, 18 of his students passed the advanced placement calculus test. The College Board was so shocked that they made the students retest. They suspected cheating, but further testing showed that the students had actually learned the material. In 1987, 73 students passed, while another 12 passed the second year calculus test. In 1988, a popular film titled Stand and Deliver was made about him and his students. In 1990 there were over 400 students in Escalante's math program from algebra to calculus. In 1991 he had a falling out with the school administration, which he felt was geared more towards sports than academics. By 1996, only seven passed the basic calculus exam, with four passing the advanced exam. That made eleven passing students, down from a high of 85 nine years earlier. In 2001, the school made a slight recovery in its calculus scores, with 17 passing the basic test and seven passing the second year test. The legacy of Jaime Escalante can still be seen in the 722 students who took AP tests of some sort in 2000. They had a 44% overall pass rate.

Related Topics:
Jaime Escalante - Advanced placement - College Board - Stand and Deliver

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