EDUCATION

Wide divisions separate the educational levels of residents in various regions in Los Angeles County, but persons living within communities affected by the civil unrest present an extreme contrast to the county as a whole when educational attainment data are examined. In Los Angeles County in 1990, 30 percent of all residents 25 years of age and older had not completed high school. In six of the communities that suffered severe damage from the civil unrest, at least one-half of the residents were within that age-education category. The proportions in some of these communities were: Southeast Planning Area, 65.3 percent, Westlake, 64.2 percent, and Florence, 74.6 percent.

When the percent of those 25 years and over who had completed only the eighth grade or less is compared, four of the communities in this study showed proportions that were at least double the county average of 15.6 percent. (See Appendix Table 8.)

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Considering persons 16 to 19 years of age, 26.2 percent of county residents in that age category were not enrolled in school. Of this group, one-half were also not working. Within the areas comprising most of the severely damaged buildings, the proportion in this category is considerably higher. In six of the affected communities, the not-in-school and not-at-work group was at least 50 percent above the 13.1 percent countywide average, and reached 26.4 percent of this age group in Lynwood. (See Appendix Table 9.)

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Analysis of the 1992 Los Angeles Civil Unrest

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