Recent data indicates that California’s public school students are on the mend following the pandemic, showing promising increases in attendance, graduation rates, and a reduction in behavioral issues.
The California School Dashboard, which visually represents school and student performance metrics, underscores these encouraging trends for the 2023-24 academic year.
Educators are breathing a sigh of relief as they strive to support students academically and socially, particularly after the upheaval caused by school closures in 2020.
Improvement in Attendance and Graduation Rates
One standout statistic is the improvement in student attendance.
The rate of chronic absenteeism—defined as students missing over 10% of school days—has dropped to around 20%, down from a high of 30% three years ago.
This number is also significantly higher than the pre-pandemic absentee rate of approximately 12%.
Hedy Chang, director of Attendance Works, expressed her approval of this progress, highlighting that regular school attendance is essential for students to fully benefit from educational resources.
To counteract the pandemic’s effects, California schools have ramped up efforts to bring students back into the classroom.
Many districts have channeled federal and state COVID-19 relief funds into hiring outreach staff, enhancing transportation options, and creating an inviting school atmosphere with engaging activities, such as pizza parties.
Social workers have also been deployed to help families address various challenges, including transportation woes.
These initiatives appear to be paying off, as Chang noted that while fun events like pizza parties help, the broader emphasis on fostering a supportive school environment—prioritizing mental health services, social-emotional learning, and strengthening connections between staff and families—has been crucial in boosting attendance.
Long-Term English Learners and Academic Adjustments
However, the end of pandemic relief funding poses a potential risk to the sustainability of these programs.
Despite recent state investments in community schools and additional services that may bolster support, many districts may still struggle to maintain their initiatives.
Another important update from the Dashboard is the introduction of a new category of students: long-term English learners.
These students, who have struggled to achieve fluency after seven years, often fall behind academically due to inadequate language support.
Last year, about 10% of students classified as English learners were recognized as long-term English learners, scoring significantly lower in both mathematics and English language arts compared to their peers.
Martha Hernandez, director of Californians Together, stressed the necessity of focusing on the needs of these long-term English learners.
Educational institutions must collaborate effectively to assist immigrant families by providing essential resources, such as translation services, counseling, bilingual education, and tutoring aimed at enhancing both English proficiency and academic success.
Trends in Graduation Rates and Disciplinary Actions
In addition, the Dashboard revealed a slight uptick in the overall graduation rate, which rose to 86.4%.
This marks not only an improvement from the previous year but also exceeds the pre-pandemic figure of 84.2%.
Nonetheless, analysts are concerned about the minimal increase in graduates meeting the admission requirements for the University of California and California State University—only about 3,700 additional students out of a graduating class of 438,000 met these benchmarks.
Alarmingly, nearly half of all high school graduates are still ineligible for these public universities, indicating a failure to adequately recover in this area.
Alix Gallagher from the Policy Analysis for California Education criticized this slow advancement, suggesting a pressing need for new strategies to prepare students for higher education.
She noted that many schools enforce placement policies in math pathways that may hinder students’ ability to meet college admission criteria by the time they graduate.
On the disciplinary front, the Dashboard recorded a decline in suspension rates across all demographic groups, dropping from 3.6% to 3.3% over the past year.
This downward trend reflects schools’ efforts to restore a positive learning environment after the disruptions caused by closures.
Nonetheless, the Dashboard has faced scrutiny for its clarity.
A report indicated that its visual coding system might confuse parents, failing to accurately represent schools’ performance levels.
For example, a school may receive an orange designation for slight improvements, yet still have lower scores than those classified with a red designation, the lowest possible rating.
While the state has acknowledged this concern and is considering adjustments, significant changes have not yet been implemented in this year’s report.
This year’s Dashboard release comes earlier than usual and will align with the announcement of Smarter Balanced test scores expected by 2026.
Source: The74million