(October 17, 2012) — Since Clark first opened in 1998, Clark Magnet High School has received numerous awards including the National Blue Ribbon School Award in 2006. This award was given to Clark once again this year, and will be in effect for the next six years. For the last six years that Clark has been a National Blue Ribbon School, it has been honored as a California Distinguished School for the second time in 2009, as well as a Title I Achieving School, which has been received annually from 2008 through 2012. To become a National Blue Ribbon School, a school must meet the Federal goals for Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) that is part of the No Child Left Behind Legislation. Clark met and greatly exceeded the AYP requirements for both English/Language Arts and Mathematics. Clark has had a 100% passing rate in the English and Mathematics portions of the California High School Exit Exam, with almost all the students scoring in the proficient or advanced achievement levels. On the english portion of the test, 94% of the students scored either Proficient level or Advanced. On the math test, 97.9%of the students scored at the Proficient or Advanced level. Over the 14 years Clark has been a school, its student population has increasingly come from economically disadvantaged, immigrant families. Eighty-five percent of the students speak a primary language other than English, and nearly 52% are eligible for free or reduced lunch. Despite this, Clark’s Academic Performance Index has consistently increased every year, to an estimated score of 920 for the 2011-2012 school year. The National Blue Ribbon Award is awarded to schools that show substantial growth towards high academic achievement with an over 40% poverty rate. Clark qualifies in both categories and is the only high school in Los Angeles County to win a National Blue Ribbon Award. It is also one of five, out of 1255 high schools in California, to be recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School.