School test scores up, but just a little, as progress slows in K-12 classes

In summary

K-12 student test scores rose slightly last year, while enrollment numbers dropped.

California’s K-12 student test scores improved slightly in almost all categories last year, but progress slowed following a post-pandemic surge, according to state data released today.

“It’s slow but steady improvement,” said Linda Darling-Hammond, president of the State Board of Education. “It suggests we’re continuing to come out of the pandemic, and there’s still a lot of work to do.”

The percentage of students proficient in math jumped just over 1 percentage point – to 38.5% – and the number of students proficient in English language arts rose half a percentage point, 49.3%. Science scores increased 3.3% percentage points, to 36%. 

For the first time, the state released its enrollment, test score and California School Dashboard data together, making it easier for school districts to communicate with parents and the public and for policymakers to analyze gains and declines across broad categories. 

Despite the gains, though, scores were lower for some student groups, including white and Asian students, compared to 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic forced most schools to close for in-person learning. 

Enrollment decline continues

Statewide enrollment, which has been falling for a decade, plunged to 5.7 million – a loss of 74,000 students from last year. Because the state funds schools based on the number of students who show up every day, the declining numbers will mean less revenue for many districts.

Amid the enrollment numbers, a few changes stood out. The number of students with disabilities jumped 25% over the past decade, to 850,822. And the number of English learners dropped 30% over that same time period due to a decline in immigration among other factors. 

Chronic absenteeism, which hit 30% just after the pandemic, dropped to 18% last year, a decline of more than 1 percentage point from the previous year. Prior to the pandemic, only about 12% of students were chronically absent, or gone from school at least 10% of the school year.

Test scores and just about every other academic indicator among California’s K-12 students collapsed during the Covid-19 pandemic, but rebounded significantly the first few years back to in-person learning. That progress appears to have settled, at least for now.

Darling-Hammond predicted English language arts scores will rise in the next few years, as a handful of sweeping state reforms go into effect: transitional kindergarten, dyslexia screening, literacy coaches for elementary teachers and a phonics-based reading curriculum, among others.

More grads, better prepared

Highlands charter school, the embattled Sacramento school for adults seeking high school diplomas, loomed large over the data. Last year, Highlands and its sister school, California Innovative Career Academy, had such high enrollments – 17,513 combined – and such low graduation rates – less than 2% – that they skewed graduation data for the entire state.

California Department of Education staff presented numbers with and without Highlands. Including Highlands, the state graduation rate was 87.9%, a slight increase from the previous year. Excluding Highlands, the rate was almost 2 percentage points higher – 89.7%, the highest rate in decades in California.

Highlands, under new leadership, winnowed its enrollment this year and is seeking to improve its outcomes after the State Auditor blasted it last year for alleged mismanagement.

The state’s high school graduates also showed improvements in college and career preparation. According to the dashboard, the percentage of students who completed a career pathway or the A-G classes required for admission to the state’s public universities climbed 2.2 percentage points, to 55.2%.