San Francisco's public school graduation rates outpace California's

Graduation rates at San Francisco's public schools outpaced California's, which hit an all-time high this year, per new data from the California Department of Education.

Why it matters: San Francisco Unified School District's high graduation rates provide a bright spot following a massive drop in enrollment numbers, and a decline in math and reading testing scores due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

By the numbers: SFUSD graduation rates for 2022 were 90.4%, trending up slightly from the previous three years.

• Statewide, graduation rates in 2022 were 87.4% compared with 85.8% in 2019.

Between the lines: The higher graduation rates follow the 2021 enactment of California Assembly Bill 104, which was designed to improve student outcomes amid recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Under a section of the law that only applied to students enrolled during the 2020-2021 school year, families could request their child be held back a grade if half of the student's grades were Ds or below.
• Additionally, junior and senior high school students in the 2020-2021 school year who were not on track to graduate in four years were eligible to complete their course load through a fifth year of instruction or pursue other opportunities to graduate with their high school diploma.

Yes, but: Despite higher graduation rates, chronic absenteeism in San Francisco public schools more than doubled from pre-pandemic levels to 29% in the 2021-2022 school year, according to the data.

• Chronic absenteeism is defined as when students miss 10% of the school year.
• It was highest among Pacific Islander (71.2%), Black (64.9%) and American Indian (64.6%) students.
• Statewide, chronic absenteeism was 30% in the 2021-2022 school year.

What to watch: Early data for the current school year suggests chronic absenteeism rates remain high, California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond wrote in a recent guidance letter to state school districts.

• The state plans to host webinars for school districts to help them better address absenteeism, with the first taking place Jan. 18.