The school joined the City Heights Educational Initiative, along with two other high schools and San Diego State University, in 1998 as part of an effort to improve. In 2000 the school met its California state accountability target. This was the first time it had done so in 15 years. Circa 2000 Berman, by then a California Department of Education employee, wrote an independent review of the changes made at Hoover. The review, titled "A focus on literacy: Hoover High School in San Diego," was published in the "California High School Newsletter".