Forty-one Los Angeles County schools were among the list of “lowest performing” schools released by the state on Monday.

The list identified 181 of the bottom 5 percent of California schools as part of a process of applying for federal grants from the School Improvement Fund. If the schools receive these funds they would be forced to adopt one of four federally approved reform programs that include measures from replacing the principal to shutting down a school entirely.

“This is an opportunity to make dramatic changes at chronically under-performing schools,” said Jack O’Connell, state superintendent of public instruction. “The intervention choices provide an opportunity to make systemic changes that improve teaching and learning.”

California is expected to receive more than $400 million for its lowest performing schools. The state list of the lowest 5 percent was determined by averaging math and English proficiency scores over the last three years. Schools with less than a 60 percent graduation rate were also added to the list automatically.

The list included 23 schools of the L.A. Unified School District, the country’s second-largest.

The rubric differs from an assessment conducted by the district which looked at scores and improvements over the last year. Six of 12 schools singled out by the district as lowest performing were not named in the state list, while schools like Crenshaw High School, Washington Preparatory High and Miguel Contreras Learning Center were named by the state but not the district.

Three Orange County schools were among the state’s low performing – all of them in the Santa Ana School District.

Orange County Superintendent of Schools William M. Habermehl defended county schools, saying they have continued to perform well despite state cuts to education.

“It is extremely difficult to give schools the support they need while districts deal with the effects of billions of dollars in cuts to education,” he said. “Despite the difficult budget situation, Orange County schools have had an impressive record of success implementing major reform efforts.”