California Student Scores Rise for Third Straight Year as Graduation Rate Hits 10-Year High
DOWNEY — Governor Gavin Newsom announced on October 15 at Stauffer Middle School in Downey, Los Angeles County, that California student test scores have risen for a third consecutive year. Results from the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) and the English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC) show the share of students scoring at the "developing" level or above reached 71% in English, 61.8% in math and 86.5% in science, with science now above pre-pandemic levels. Data from the 2026 California School Dashboard released the same day show a 10-year high in the statewide graduation rate, rising college and career readiness, chronic absenteeism down across all grades, and the lowest suspension rate since 2019 outside the pandemic period.
By student group, Black students outpaced the statewide average gains in all three subjects, Latino students exceeded the average in English and math, and economically disadvantaged and homeless students improved in all three subjects. In the Downey Unified School District, scores rose 2.1 percentage points in English, 2.8 points in math and 4.7 points in science.
"California's students, educators, and families are proving that when we invest in our kids, we see results — rising scores, rising graduation rates, and falling absences," Newsom said. State Superintendent Tony Thurmond said districts across California are raising student achievement in reading, writing, math and science, and State Board of Education President Linda Darling-Hammond said the data show improvement strategies are working in classrooms.
The Governor's office said the state has added $2.4 billion for special education (a 43% increase), invested $4 billion in community schools covering a quarter of the state's schools with another $1 billion in ongoing funding to reach 3,700 more, and proposed a record $151.4 billion for TK-12 education in the 2026 budget. Transitional kindergarten, phased in since 2019-20, is now free for all four-year-olds in California.
Figures released the same day by the California Department of Education (CDE), using its met-or-exceeded-standards measure, also showed 49.3% of students proficient in English language arts (up 0.5 points), 38.4% in mathematics (up 1.1 points, a second straight year of growth) and 36.0% in science (up 3.3 points, the largest gain of the three subjects). The high school graduation rate reached 87.9%, the highest in a decade, and a record 55.2% of graduates completed the a-g coursework required for University of California and California State University admission. Chronic absenteeism fell to 18.3% (down 1.1 points, though still about 7 points above pre-pandemic levels), and the suspension rate dropped to 2.8%, declining for a third straight year. California's public schools serve about 5.73 million students, and this year the test results and the California School Dashboard were released on the same day for the first time.
(Source: Office of the Governor)
Source: Office of the Governor
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：州长纽森在道尼市斯托弗中学参加全州学业成绩发布活动（加州州长办公室图）。Photo: Governor Newsom at the statewide student achievement announcement at Stauffer Middle School in Downey. (Office of the Governor)
