New state data released on Thursday provide insight into how San Diego County schools are faring and improving on issues such as absenteeism, academics and college or career readiness.
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In the county’s largest school district, San Diego Unified School District, the results were mixed, as the district improved in college or career readiness but declined in other areas.
Each year, school districts, district schools and charter schools each receive performance ratings through the California School Dashboard, which is the state’s school accountability tool.
They are assigned color ratings that measure their performance in many areas, from academic performance to student absenteeism rates. Blue ratings indicate the highest performance, followed by green, yellow, orange, then red, which indicates the lowest performance. These ratings consider both the current year’s performance, as well as how that changed from the previous year.
Schools are assigned ratings for performance in the following:
- , measured by how far from standard the students scored on the Smarter Balanced summative assessment or California Alternate Assessment, on average.
- , measured by how far from standard the students scored on average on those same tests, for math.
- , measured by the average number of points for continuously enrolled students who took the California Science Test or the California Alternate Assessment for Science.
- , measured by the percentage of high school graduates who met at least one of several metrics, such as completing Advanced Placement courses, passing AP or International Baccalaureate exams or completing a career technical education pathway.
- , measured by the percentage of students learning English as a second language who either improved or maintained high performance from the previous year on the state’s language proficiency test.
- , measured by both four- and five-year graduation rates.
- , measured by the chronic absenteeism rate for students in transitional kindergarten through eighth grade.
San Diego Unified School District, the largest school district in the county and second-largest district in the state, maintained green scores in three areas and went up to blue in one of them.
- The district had a green rating last year and went to yellow this year. The district has a medium English value that declined.
- The district had a yellow rating this year after achieving a green last year. The district has a medium math value that declined.
- The district maintained a green rating. The district has a high science value that was maintained from last year.
- The district maintained a green rating. The district has a low value that was maintained from last year.
- The district maintained a yellow rating. The district has a high value that declined.
- The district maintained a green rating from last year. The district has a high graduation value that increased.
- The district maintained an orange rating from last year. The district has a low value that declined.
- The district improved to a blue rating from a green rating last year. The district has a very high value that improved.
The district percentage of students who scored proficient or advanced in English on standardized tests was around 53.9%. For math, it was around 45.9%. In science, the percentage was around 41.7%.
In a news release, the district highlighted the gains, including improvement in math proficiency, from 19.1 points below standard to 17.9 points below standard.
The district credited the math gains to a clear districtwide focus, high-quality aligned curriculum, monitoring student progress, investment in teacher learning and leadership, and emphasis on student thinking and problem-solving.
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“Even though we are making meaningful progress in preparing students for future success, and showing tremendous progress in math, science and reducing chronic absenteeism, we must continue to strive for continuous improvement,” Superintendent Fabiola Bagula said in the release. “We still have a lot of work in these areas. For literacy we are focused on meeting our Board-adopted goals and yearly targets and ensuring our teachers are prepared to implement the science of reading. Our work is not done until all of our students are achieving in all areas.”
The district acknowledged the declines in English-learner progress and English proficiency and outlined initiatives to improve student-focused literacy outcomes, such as improving the literacy coaches and reading specialists school support model.
The district is also planning to launch a new literacy curriculum in the 2027-28 school year.
For the county, the percentage of students who scored proficient or advanced in English on standardized tests was around 53.2% and around 42.4% for math. In science around 40.1% scored proficient or advanced.
Meanwhile, statewide, the percentage of students who scored proficient or advanced in English on standardized tests went up by 0.5%, according to the California Department of Education. Those percentages also improved in math by 1.1% and in science by 3.3%.
The state increased the percentage of students who met the college or career indicator by 2%, and chronic absenteeism declined by 1.1%. The statewide suspension rate declined to 2.8% — the third year of improvement.
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The state also achieved an 87.9% graduation rate, the highest in a decade.
