California Schools Show Significant Improvement in Graduation and Academic Achievement

Published: Thursday, November 13, 2025 — 11:21 am

California education officials have recently unveiled promising results regarding the state’s academic performance, unveiling the latest insights from the California School Dashboard. The report reveals an encouraging uptrend in graduation rates, academic achievements, and readiness for college and careers.

According to the California Department of Education, the California School Dashboard assesses various metrics, including academic performance, chronic absenteeism, and English learner progress. The findings indicate a remarkable graduation rate of 87.5%, marking the highest level since 2017. Furthermore, there was an impressive 3.1% increase in college and career readiness, alongside a 1.5 percentage point decrease in chronic absenteeism.

Linda Darling-Hammond, President of the California State Board of Education, noted, “Today’s dashboard results show California continuing to make important strides in post-pandemic recovery. We’re getting more students reengaged in the classroom, graduating students in greater numbers, and getting more of them prepared for college and careers.”

The recently released statewide test scores corroborate these optimistic findings, demonstrating year-over-year academic improvement. Specifically, during the 2024-25 academic year, the proportion of students achieving advanced or proficient levels in both math and English Language Arts surged by 1.8 percentage points, marking the largest increase since before the Covid pandemic.

The California School Dashboard employs a color-coded system to visually represent schools’ performance across multiple areas. A blue rating denotes top performance, followed by green, yellow, orange, and finally red. Schools categorized with a red rating in any priority area are quickly referred to county Offices of Education for assistance.

For the third consecutive year, the number of California school districts that required support due to low test scores has decreased. Currently, 418 districts are in need of assistance, a decline from 436 districts the previous year, indicating a positive trend in overall educational quality.

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The upward trajectory of California’s educational landscape signifies a monumental step toward restoring stability and quality in learning post-pandemic, benefiting students across the state.