Smarter Balanced

March 28, 2023

California districts vary enormously in reading achievement, report finds

A new study of low-income Latino students suggests that how they score in reading and writing stems more from how they are taught and less from their family income or English proficiency.

February 6, 2023

Bilingual students do better on tests than native English speakers. Why?

Some researchers say the bar to be considered proficient in English is so high that only students who perform well can be reclassified.

December 15, 2022

Chronic absences rise to record levels in California, but so do graduation rates

Alarming chronic absence rates are included with student data from 2021-22 accompanying a revived California School Dashboard.

October 28, 2022

Stanford-Harvard 'scorecard' translates California's test scores into months of missed learning

'Education Recovery Scorecard' shows vast disparities among districts by converting results on NAEP and state tests into a common measure: how much learning declined during the pandemic.

October 27, 2022

New literacy standards for teacher candidates could be pivotal to improving student reading scores

Accreditation of California teacher preparation programs will hinge on whether they follow new literacy standards that focus more intensely on foundational reading skills.

October 26, 2022

Why some schools saw their scores soar despite Covid — and others didn't

A look at individual districts reveals a nuanced picture of Smarter Balanced test results.

October 24, 2022

2022 California standardized test results wipe out years of steady progress

Smarter Balanced scores fell sharply in both math and English language arts, indicating it could take years for students to fully recover from the pandemic.

John Fensterwald And Daniel J. Willis

Testing and Accountability

October 23, 2022

Scores nationwide crater on national math test, California’s not quite so much

Scores for the nation and California took a historic drop in fourth and eighth grade math on the National Assessment for Educational Progress or NAEP. There was some good news, too, for California, despite the pandemic.

John Fensterwald

State Education Policy

October 18, 2022

Preliminary glimpse at test scores shows steep declines in reading, math

Results from some of California's largest districts show that pandemic challenges lingered through 2022.

Carolyn Jones And Daniel J. Willis

Anne's Insights

October 7, 2022

Why EdSource pushed for the release of California test scores

My children, who were in 4th and 9th grade when the world shut down in March 2020, lost some ground over the last two years in key academic areas. How could they not?

Anne Vasquez

Testing and Accountability

September 27, 2022

California reverses course, will release Smarter Balanced test scores next month, official says

State test results that will reveal how students fared through the pandemic will be released in October, a state official now says. This is a reversal of of the state's position just last week in which it refused an EdSource public records request to release the data.

Thomas Peele

Testing and Accountability

September 22, 2022

State delays public release of English, math and science test score results to later this year

Delaying the public release of Smarter Balanced tests taken last spring undermines the urgency of addressing setbacks in learning during the pandemic.

John Fensterwald And Thomas Peele

Los Angeles Unified

June 22, 2022

Strategic plan aims to prepare students for life beyond Los Angeles Unified

Superintendent Alberto Carvalho's plan, which aims to create a foundation for student success, will shape district priorities for the next four years.