2026 report
California public schools, 2024–25
Three years of data on every public school in the state. Here's what changed.
From CDE SARC, cycles 22-23, 23-24, 24-25. Last refreshed 2026-05-15.
Statewide math proficiency
29.0%
+1.0 pp
Median across all CA public schools, % met or exceeded standards
Chronic absenteeism
18.9%
+1.4 pp
Sign flipped — a decline in absenteeism is an improvement
Fully credentialed teachers
88.0%
+0.1 pp
Median school % with fully credentialed staff
1 · The post-COVID recovery
Three cycles after the bottom of the pandemic, where do California's public schools actually stand? Not where they started, and not where they were before. Here's the path back, dimension by dimension.
Math proficiency (% met/exceeded)
29.0% (latest)
Reading proficiency (% met/exceeded)
41.0% (latest)
Science proficiency (% met/exceeded)
24.2% (latest)
Chronic absenteeism rate (%)
18.9 (latest)
Suspension rate (%)
1.5 (latest)
Fully credentialed teachers (%)
88.0% (latest)
Average class size
22.8 (latest)
Teacher pay share of total compensation (%)
28.9% (latest)
4-year graduation rate (%)
90.4% (latest)
A dot per cycle, plum line connecting them. Each card shows the statewide median across all CA public schools (or all high schools, for the graduation rate). Drill into a single dimension — math proficiency, chronic absenteeism, or teacher credentialing — for county leaderboards and the full statewide trend.
2 · Biggest movers
Which California schools improved most between 23/24 and 24/25? Movement is measured as the change in a school's default fit score — what it would look like to a parent with no priorities tuned.
Top 10 most-improved schools
By default-fit-score change, 23/24 → 24/25.
| # | School | District | 23/24 | 24/25 | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Kid Street Charter | Santa Rosa Elementary | 4.6 | 6.6 | +1.9 |
| 12 | iHigh Virtual Academy | San Diego Unified | 5.0 | 6.9 | +1.9 |
| 13 | Primary Charter | Tracy Joint Unified | 5.0 | 6.9 | +1.9 |
| 14 | Indigo | Oak Grove Elementary | 6.4 | 8.2 | +1.8 |
| 15 | Palmdale Academy Charter | Palmdale Elementary | 2.1 | 3.9 | +1.8 |
| 16 | Escondido Charter High | Escondido Union High | 5.4 | 7.1 | +1.7 |
| 17 | Bridges Preparatory Academy | Los Angeles County Office of Education | 2.8 | 4.5 | +1.7 |
| 18 | New Pacific Charter - Roseville | Roseville Joint Union High | 2.8 | 4.4 | +1.6 |
| 19 | Tehachapi Independent Learning Academy | Tehachapi Unified | 1.8 | 3.4 | +1.6 |
| 20 | Cambridge Virtual Academy | Anaheim Union High | 6.1 | 7.7 | +1.6 |
| 21 | Online Academy | Ontario-Montclair | 3.6 | 5.2 | +1.6 |
| 22 | Pine Hill Elementary | South Bay Union Elementary | 3.5 | 5.0 | +1.6 |
| 23 | Washington Middle College High | Washington Unified | 6.4 | 7.9 | +1.5 |
| 24 | Sparrow Academy | La Mesa-Spring Valley | 5.3 | 6.8 | +1.5 |
| 25 | Irvine International Academy | Orange County Department of Education | 5.8 | 7.3 | +1.5 |
| 26 | The Pleasanton Virtual Academy | Pleasanton Unified | 5.9 | 7.3 | +1.5 |
| 27 | Matt Garcia Career and College Academy | Fairfield-Suisun Unified | 0.6 | 2.0 | +1.4 |
| 28 | Highgate Elementary | Panama-Buena Vista Union | 5.7 | 7.1 | +1.4 |
| 29 | Virtual Academy of International Studies/Humanities (World Languages and Cultures) | Los Angeles Unified | 0.8 | 2.2 | +1.4 |
| 30 | Dolores Huerta Middle | Santa Clara Unified | 4.8 | 6.2 | +1.4 |
| 31 | Miwok Village Elementary | Elk Grove Unified | 4.9 | 6.3 | +1.4 |
| 32 | Fahari L. Jeffers Elementary | Chula Vista Elementary | 5.4 | 6.8 | +1.4 |
| 33 | Leadership & Public Service Virtual Academy | Los Angeles Unified | 0.9 | 2.3 | +1.4 |
| 34 | Oakland Unity Middle | Alameda County Office of Education | 3.9 | 5.3 | +1.4 |
| 35 | Delta Keys Charter | New Jerusalem Elementary | 2.6 | 3.9 | +1.4 |
| 36 | Home INstead INnovation Academy | Temecula Valley Unified | 6.5 | 7.8 | +1.4 |
| 37 | Citrus High | Porterville Unified | 0.8 | 2.1 | +1.3 |
| 38 | Opal Robinson Elementary | Manhattan Beach Unified | 7.4 | 8.8 | +1.3 |
| 39 | Benchley/Weinberger Elementary | San Diego Unified | 7.0 | 8.3 | +1.3 |
| 40 | Hallmark Academy | Sanger Unified | 4.2 | 5.5 | +1.3 |
| 41 | Mangini Ranch Elementary | Folsom-Cordova Unified | 7.1 | 8.4 | +1.3 |
| 42 | EPIC Academy | Banta Unified | 4.6 | 5.8 | +1.3 |
| 43 | Hart-Ransom Charter | Hart-Ransom Union Elementary | 6.9 | 8.1 | +1.3 |
| 44 | Carver Elementary | Compton Unified | 4.7 | 6.0 | +1.3 |
| 45 | Loma Rica Elementary | Marysville Joint Unified | 4.6 | 5.8 | +1.3 |
| 46 | Abram Agnew Elementary | Santa Clara Unified | 5.1 | 6.4 | +1.3 |
| 47 | AeroSTEM Academy | Sutter County Office of Education | 3.6 | 4.8 | +1.3 |
| 48 | Environmental Academy of Research Technology and Earth Sciences | Conejo Valley Unified | 7.6 | 8.8 | +1.3 |
| 49 | Sally Buselt Elementary | Menifee Union | 1.3 | 2.5 | +1.2 |
| 50 | Westside Elementary | Westside Elementary | 3.6 | 4.9 | +1.2 |
Comeback counties
Top 10 counties by average default-fit movement, 23/24 → 24/25.
- 1Yuba+0.91
- 2Modoc+0.78
- 3Nevada+0.77
- 4San Benito+0.63
- 5Madera+0.46
- 6Marin+0.28
- 7Merced+0.25
- 8Shasta+0.25
- 9Santa Cruz+0.23
- 10Santa Clara+0.22
Tap any school for its full priority-tuned page. Comeback counties are a back-of-envelope average — see methodology for the math.
3 · The teacher credentialing crisis
California's teacher pipeline is fraying. Across three cycles, the share of fully credentialed teachers has held roughly flat — but in individual counties, the gap between staffing-rich and staffing-poor districts is widening.
Pay share is the fraction of total school compensation going to teacher salaries (vs. administration and benefits).