CA schools are still struggling with reading, mathematical test scores

When governor Gavin Newo publishes one of his periodic praise for the superiority of California to other countries, especially those with conservative policy such as Texas and Florida, he conveniently misses aspects that are less than delightful. Exceptions include California levels of poverty., homelessness., Unemployment, Utility accounts and Housing which are the highest or close to it.

One of the most bright -and the most important -is the constant failure to help students from elementary and secondary schools achieve higher national test results in basic educational skills, such as reading and mathematics.

The most simply, California’s education system is not only behind most other states, but even monitors those Newsom and other Californians consider culturally behind. In addition, schools in California have not yet recovered from education losses suffered during the Covid-19 pandemic.

This harsh reality was revealed in the last round of academic tests by the federal National Educational Progress assessmentS The data are voluminous and difficult to analyze, but Edsource, non -profit news dedicated to the graphic trends in California education, Fortunately do it for the rest of usS

“The latter results show the most progress,” Edsource reports last week. “Fourth and eighth -grade reading results fell again, leaving California 9 points and the nation 8 points under 2017. Mathematics was mixed – up in fourth grade, but not enough to capture 2019 as eighth grade took another one immersion. “

Edsource also found that the average results “mask differences between the highest and lowest students. When reading fourth grade, students of the students at the 90th Persentile of the achievements fell by 1 point between 2019 and 2024, and the results in the 75th Persentil fell 3 points. However, the results for students in the 10th Persentile fell with 10 points, and for the students in the 25th Persentil they fell with 8 points. “

Strangely low levels of reading and mathematics skills among elementary and secondary school students are particularly disturbing, as they are tools that need to be mastered in order to successfully navigate high school and postgraduate classes or work training. The omitors influence not only students’ chances of becoming successful adults, but also the needs of the state from educated workforce and voting in public.

These data emphasize this negative effect. While California has a huge homeless population and more than a million members of their workforce are unemployed, employers also find it Very difficult to fill vacancies with workers who are either qualified or can be trained.

This is not a new problem. California has been lagging behind in other states for decades and has a chronic “difference in achievements” between poor or English students and those of more privileged circumstances.

More than a decade ago, the then government. Jerry Brown and the legislature have reworked school finances to provide additional funds to schools with a large number of students at risk of failure. While countless billions of dollars are redirected, The results have only improved partially At best.

Money is certainly a factor in the quality of the instructions. The state dramatically increased school costs in recent years and they would have nearly $ 25,000 per student in The proposed budget of Newsom 2025-26S NEWSOM has encouraged additional state aid for kindergarten even before Kindergarten, the state now provides universally free lunches and implemented early screening to detect flaws in reading.

These are potentially positive steps to close the gaps in achievement, but money is not the only factor. Edsource notes that “some states whose results exceed California in fourth grade, including Mississippi, Connecticut and Colorado, have accepted comprehensive reading plans based on reading science.”

This is the current term for phonika that the California education institution often resists Despite sufficient evidence that it improves children’s ability to read.