Gov. announced 2025-26 state test results Oct. 15 at Stauffer Middle School in Downey, saying California students posted gains in English language arts, mathematics and science for the third straight year. The governor's office said the graduation rate is at a 10-year high and college and career readiness rose.
The release said the share of students scoring Developing, Proficient or Advanced, which it described as demonstrating grade-level performance with increasing accuracy and complexity, grew to 71% in ELA, 61.8% in mathematics and 86.5% in science. It said the percentages scoring Proficient or Advanced also increased in all three subjects, with science above pre-pandemic levels, but did not list those statewide percentages.
The governor’s office said gains were broad-based: Black or African American students outpaced statewide gains in all three subjects; Hispanic or Latino students outpaced statewide gains in ELA and mathematics; socioeconomically disadvantaged students and students who were homeless also posted improvements.
The release credited statewide investments including universal transitional kindergarten, literacy and math coaching, tutoring and expanded learning, the Golden State Literacy Plan, two free school meals per child and $151.4 billion in total TK-12 funding in the 2026 Budget Act. It also cited a $2.4 billion, or 43%, increase in K-12 special education funding from the prior year.
The release highlighted local results including Downey Unified, where proficiency rose by 2.1 percentage points in ELA, 2.8 in math and 4.7 in science; Exeter Unified, which posted increases of 4.6, 2.3 and 3.6 percentage points in ELA, math and science respectively; and Union Elementary, with gains of 1.5, 2.0 and 4.0 percentage points. The release attributed those gains to district-level strategies such as targeted instruction, coaching, early literacy work and use of state funding to expand supports.
State Superintendent said, "California has made important strides in expanding student support and opportunities, but the pace of academic improvement reminds us that our work is far from finished." Linda Darling-Hammond, president of the State Board of Education, said, "We are encouraged to see students making gains across all three major assessments and especially encouraged by the progress of Black students, Latino students, socioeconomically disadvantaged students, and homeless youth."
The results include data from the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP), the English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC) and the 2026 California School Dashboard. The governor's office also said chronic absenteeism continued to decline across all grade levels and suspension rates were at their lowest levels since 2019, outside the pandemic.
State
Gavin Newsom
Governor · Democrat
Named 2 times in this story.
Portrait: Official portrait
State
Tony Thurmond
Superintendent of Public Instruction · Democrat
Named once in this story.
Portrait: Official portrait
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