Staff Reports
The state just released the 2025–26 CAASPP and California School Dashboard results, and the numbers are a reality check. Yes, there are tiny gains. No, those gains do not cover up that only about 38.3% of California students are proficient in math. If you want blunt talk about who’s failing California kids, start with the people in charge in Sacramento who keep treating slogans like solutions.
What the new test scores actually show
The fresh CAASPP numbers are plain: math proficiency statewide sits at roughly 38.3% and ELA is about 49.3%. Science ticked up to about 36%, and the four‑year graduation rate hit an impressive 87.9%. Dig under the headlines and you see the real story — modest, uneven gains that still leave most students below the mark for math and many behind in reading. That’s recovery from the pandemic, but at a glacial pace.
Don’t blame the budget — blame the leadership
California pours a lot of money into K–12. If a pile of cash fixed learning, we’d be graduating math geniuses by now. Instead, we have diluted curriculum, fads that replace fundamentals, and teachers pulled into too many competing priorities. Governor Gavin Newsom and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond rightly point to investments and say “more progress is needed” — as Thurmond put it, “California has made important strides … but the pace of academic improvement reminds us that our work is far from finished.” Nice words. Where’s the tough management that turns words into actual results?
Uneven local results and the politics of spin
The statewide averages hide big local differences. Several of the largest districts showed mixed or even falling ELA scores, and subgroup gaps for English learners and low‑income students remain wide. Meanwhile, Sacramento has already rewritten governance by creating an Education Commissioner to run day‑to‑day operations starting next year under AB 181. That sounds like accountability on paper. But if the change only lets more political appointees issue press releases, our kids won’t notice the difference.
What real accountability should look like
If California wants better math and reading scores, two things need to happen: concentrate on fundamentals and measure actual learning. That means fewer experiments that sound trendy and more mastery work in arithmetic, reading, and reasoning. It means targeted tutoring for students who fell behind and clear, public benchmarks tied to budget choices. If leaders want credit for higher graduation rates, fine — but tie next year’s funding and governance powers to real gains in proficiency, not just attendance or warm statements.
Conclusion: Stop the theater, start fixing schools
We should celebrate any student gains. But when a state boasts about small upticks while most kids still can’t do grade‑level math, it’s not a victory — it’s political theater. California families deserve leaders who stop rearranging the deck chairs and start steering the ship toward clear, measurable improvement. If Sacramento keeps preferring press conferences to progress, the next dashboard will only give them new lines to celebrate while kids fall further behind.
