San Diego students remained steady as 2024 test scores dropped nationwide
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San Diego Unified School District students outperformed their peers nationwide and in California in math and reading last year, according to the Nation's Report Card released Wednesday.
Why it matters: Local fourth and eighth graders didn't see much improvement, but their standardized test scores didn't continue to tumble like in other districts.
The big picture: Students across the country had record-low reading comprehension scores last year in a learning loss trend amplified by the pandemic, Axios' April Rubin reports.
- The gaps between high- and low-achieving students also widened.
- Fourth grade math was the only area that saw slight growth.
Zoom in: San Diego Unified continues to be a top-performing large urban school district in the U.S., and most of its 2024 scores were not significantly different from 2019.
- The average reading and math scores rose slightly from 2022 to 2024, except for eighth grade reading, which dropped one point.
- One big improvement was in fourth grade math, where scores have almost returned to prepandemic levels after a drastic drop.
- Eighth grade math scores rose slightly, but stayed significantly lower than before the pandemic.
Between the lines: In both reading and math for fourth and eighth grade, economically disadvantaged students on average scored far lower than their peers who weren't low income.
What they're saying: "I couldn't be prouder of progress we have made as a team, but there is more work to be done," interim superintendent Fabi Bagula said in a statement.
State of play: Overall, California fourth graders scored "significantly lower" than the national average in math, while their reading scores were on par. There weren't major changes from 2022 in either subject.
- Eighth graders statewide also scored lower than the national average in math, but were middle of the road for reading — neither changed much from 2022.
The intrigue: A lack of accessible data is keeping California parents in the dark on schools' post-COVID performance, according to a recent study.
