When a school regularly fails to meet ever-increasing standards on federal benchmark tests, it gets put in "program improvement." Among other things, that means parents can move their kids to other schools in the area. The longer a school is in program improvement, the more attention the government pays to it -- a school in year 5 of program improvement, for instance, can be taken over by the state or feds.
This year, the number of local schools in program improvement increased almost 50 percent, the state announced Tuesday. Use this map to see details of every local school on program improvement. To pan over the region, click on the map and drag your mouse, or use the tool in the top left of the map.
Number of years in program improvement: 1: 
;
2-4: 
;
5 or more: 
View Schools in program improvement in a larger map
Source:
California Department of Education
Notes: If a school is not mapped here, it's not in program improvement; most principals hope to avoid getting on maps like these. Some schools have come off program improvement than come back on. This map shows how long their current stint on program improvement has lasted. Schools listed as meeting Adequate Yearly Progress are closer to getting out of program improvement than schools without that distinction. The longer a school is in program improvement, the more regulations and government oversight it faces.
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