New Statewide Data Shows Continued Progress for California Students

Assessment Scores Rise Across English, Math, and Science; Graduation Reaches High of 87.9 Percent as State Releases Assessment and Dashboard Results Together for First Time

SACRAMENTO—California students continued to make progress across key measures of student success during the 2025–26 school year, with statewide assessment scores increasing in English language arts (ELA), mathematics, and science, the statewide graduation rate reaching a high of 87.9 percent, and a larger share of students prepared for college and careers by their schools and districts. In addition, the chronic absenteeism rates dropped further, and the suspension rate declined for the third consecutive year.

For the first time, California is releasing statewide assessment results and California School Dashboard data together, providing families, educators, and policymakers with a more comprehensive picture of student and school performance. The aligned release brings together academic achievement with broader measures of student success, including graduation, college and career readiness, suspension, and chronic absenteeism.

2025–26 Results at a Glance

Key results from California’s 2025–26 statewide assessment and student outcome data include the following:

• English Language Arts: The percent of students scoring Proficient and Advanced increased 0.5 percentage points to 49.3 percent.
• Mathematics: The percent of students scoring Proficient and Advanced increased 1.1 percentage points to 38.4 percent.
• Science: The percent of students scoring Proficient and Advanced increased 3.3 percentage points to 36.0 percent.
• Graduation: The statewide graduation rate reached 87.9 percent, the highest level in the past decade.
• College/Career Readiness: California increased the percent of students prepared by their high schools and districts for college and career to 55.2 percent, up 2 percentage points.
• Chronic Absenteeism: The statewide chronic absenteeism rate declined by 1.1 percentage points to 18.3 percent.
• Suspension: The statewide suspension rate declined to 2.8 percent, marking the third consecutive year of improvement.

“At a time when California continues to focus on accelerating learning and closing opportunity gaps, these results provide important evidence that our sustained investments are making a difference,” said Governor Gavin Newsom. “From universal transitional kindergarten and expanded learning to literacy and math supports, community schools, universal school meals, and other investments, California is working to ensure students have the resources they need to thrive. The continued progress we are seeing is a testament to the hard work of students, families, and educators across the state—and we will continue working to build on these gains.”

“California has made important strides in expanding student supports and opportunities, but the pace of academic improvement reminds us that our work is far from finished,” said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond. “Over the past eight years, we’ve helped expand transitional kindergarten, strengthened community schools and expanded learning opportunities, and championed financial literacy and paid internships to better prepare students for their futures. These investments have laid an important foundation, but we must do more to translate them into stronger academic outcomes. I’m committed to continuing this work, particularly advancing a long-term literacy strategy to ensure every child can read proficiently by third grade and advocating for sustainable school funding solutions as enrollment declines. Education changed the course of my life, and I’ll keep working to ensure it can do the same for every California student.”

Statewide Assessments Show Continued Academic Progress

Students continued to make academic gains across ELA, mathematics, and science in 2025–26, while the percentage of students scoring at the lowest level (demonstrating minimal grasp of grade-level skills) declined across all three subjects. The percentage of students at the minimal level declined to 29 percent in ELA, 38.2 percent in mathematics, and 13.5 percent in science. The gains build on improvements in 2023–24 and 2024–25, although the pace and pattern of progress varied across subjects, grades, and student groups.

Science showed the strongest statewide improvement, with the percentage of students Proficient or Advanced increasing 3.3 percentage points, building on a 2.0 percentage point increase in 2024–25. Science performance improved across all tested grades, with the strongest score trend at the high school level.

Eighth grade was another academic bright spot, posting the strongest score trends in both ELA and mathematics. While ELA and mathematics continued to improve statewide, the rate of growth was more modest than in 2024–25.

The results also show encouraging progress among several student groups. African American students demonstrated larger-than-average improvements across ELA, mathematics, and science and positive ELA score trends across almost every tested grade. Hispanic or Latino students demonstrated larger-than-average improvements in ELA and mathematics and positive mathematics score trends across all grades.

Students who were socioeconomically disadvantaged made gains across all three subjects, including larger-than-average improvements in ELA and mathematics. Students who were homeless also continued to demonstrate gains across grades, with particularly strong improvements in mathematics.

“Today’s results tell a story of continued progress, but also of the work that remains ahead,” said Linda Darling-Hammond, President of the California State Board of Education. “We are encouraged to see students making gains across all three major assessments and are especially encouraged by the progress of African American students, Hispanic or Latino students, socioeconomically disadvantaged students, and homeless youth. These results reflect the dedication of California’s educators and students, as well as the impact of sustained investments in learning recovery, literacy, and mathematics, community schools, expanded learning, and whole-child supports. Our responsibility now is to build on this momentum and ensure that progress reaches every student and every community.”

California Students Show Progress Across Broader Measures

CDE today also released the 2026 California School Dashboard , a key component of California’s school accountability system that provides a broader view of student and school performance beyond assessment scores. Additionally, the CDE released the corresponding data reports on DataQuest, California’s system for reporting information about students, teachers, and schools.

California’s four-year graduation rate reached 87.9 percent, its highest level in the past decade, which is 5.2 percentage points higher than in 2017. Graduation rates over the past year also increased across nearly all student groups, including notable increases for American Indian/Alaskan Native (4.3 percentage points) and Students with Disabilities (3.7 percentage points). In terms of graduate outcomes, 54.8 percent of graduates completed the coursework required for admission to the University of California and California State University systems (A–G requirements), an increase of 0.9 percentage points as reported on DataQuest.

The Dashboard measures college and career readiness, which also improved as the share of students prepared for college and career by California schools and districts increased to 55 percent, up 2 percentage points from the previous year.

The statewide suspension rate declined to 2.8 percent, marking the third consecutive year of improvement.

California’s chronic absenteeism rate declined to 18.3 percent in 2025–26, down 1.1 percentage points from the prior year and 11.7 percentage points from its pandemic era peak in 2021–22.

California’s Student Population Is Changing

The progress comes as California’s public school system continues to undergo significant demographic change.

Statewide school enrollment declined to approximately 5.73 million students in 2025–26—nearly 500,000 fewer students, or an 8 percent decline, over the past decade. At the same time, the number of students with disabilities has increased approximately 25 percent, from about 680,000 to more than 850,000 students over the same period.

These changes have important implications for how California plans, funds, and delivers educational services. Fewer students overall does not necessarily mean fewer or less complex student needs, and school systems cannot always reduce costs at the same pace that enrollment declines.

Learning from What’s Working

California has made significant investments in student learning and supports in recent years, including literacy and mathematics coaching, tutoring, expanded learning opportunities, community schools, universal transitional kindergarten, and other programs designed to support academic success and address barriers to learning.

Across the state, some schools and districts are demonstrating particularly strong improvement. CDE is examining these local results to better understand the strategies, investments, and conditions associated with stronger student outcomes and share promising approaches with schools across California.

In the Downey Unified School District, the rate of students demonstrating proficient or advanced grade-level knowledge and skills in ELA increased by 2.1 percentage points, math by 2.8 percentage points, and science by 4.7 percentage points. According to Superintendent Roger Brossmer, EdD, the gains Downey Unified is seeing in student assessment results and on the Dashboard are the result of years of focused, consistent work across the district. Aligning graduation requirements with A–G expectations and prioritizing that their students be college and career ready required a need to increase rigor and strengthen instruction all the way down to the early grades. The district has invested in inclusive special education practices, expanded career technical education, and expanded learning opportunities, and used Local Control and Accountability Plan dollars and other resources like Career Technical Education Incentive Grant and community schools funding to provide students and families with the academic, social–emotional, and basic-needs supports they need. None of this happens without exceptional teachers and administrators, strong labor partnerships, engaged families, a stable school board, and a supportive community. Brossmer is proud of the progress, but also is not satisfied—he knows improving student outcomes is a long-term commitment and intends to stay the course and continue working to give every Downey Unified student the opportunity to succeed.

In the Exeter Unified School District, the rate of students demonstrating proficient or advanced grade-level knowledge and skills in ELA increased by 4.6 percentage points, math by 2.3 percentage points, and science by 3.6 percentage points. According to Superintendent Melanie Dorough, EdD, the gains Exeter Unified is seeing in student assessment results and on the Dashboard are the result of having great people who are focused on the right work, and great students who want to do well. They use assessment data to understand where each student is and what they need to grow, while also building the capacity of their teachers to respond to that information. Exeter invested in professional learning and made sure teachers had the support and confidence to teach effectively. The team has also placed a strong focus on phonics and the science of reading, particularly in grades K–2, and used its Learning Recovery Emergency Block Grant resources to put reading support and instructional aides alongside teachers in the classroom. Their goal is to create an environment where everyone—from the youngest students to teachers and administrators to families—feels supported, productive, and successful. And the results speak for themselves: big increases in college and career readiness and a solid decrease in chronic absenteeism while maintaining a strong graduation rate.

In the Union Elementary School District, the rate of students demonstrating proficient or advanced grade-level knowledge and skills in ELA increased by 1.5 percentage points, math by 2.0 percentage points, and science by 4.0 percentage points. According to Superintendent Carrie Andrews, PhD, Union Elementary School District’s achievement gains reflect a focused, data-driven approach to meeting the needs of every student while fostering a strong sense of belonging, safety, and connection. Teachers regularly analyze state and local assessment data to guide instruction, supported by strong core instruction, early literacy strategies, consistent interventions in English language arts and mathematics, English language development, and individualized tutoring. The district leverages state funding to strengthen teacher coaching and support for English learners and students with disabilities, expand mental health and counseling services, and provide before and after school academic support and hands-on STEAM learning. Equally important, Union Elementary School District prioritizes student engagement and wellness through student leadership, relationship-building, and proactive efforts to remove barriers to attendance, including connecting families with transportation, food, clothing, and other essential resources. By combining targeted academic supports with a commitment to student well-being and belonging, the district is creating the conditions for stronger achievement, improved attendance, and continued progress on California School Dashboard measures.

About the 2025–26 Statewide Data

Statewide Assessments: The California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) and the English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC) are being released. CAASPP includes the Smarter Balanced Assessments in ELA, mathematics, and science, which measure what students know and can do in relation to California’s grade-level content standards. ELPAC measures a student’s progress in learning English and is aligned with the California English Language Development Standards. Assessment results are one measure of student performance and should be considered alongside classroom assignments, grades, teacher observations, and other information to provide a more complete picture of student achievement and progress.

The California School Dashboard is a key component of California’s school accountability system and provides information across multiple measures of student and school performance, including academic achievement, graduation, suspension, chronic absenteeism, college and career readiness, English learner progress, and local indicators.

Additional 2025–26 data is available through the CDE data reporting web-based data reporting system, DataQuest.

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Tony Thurmond — State Superintendent of Public Instruction
Communications Division, Room 5602, 916-319-0818, Fax 916-319-0100