Students in the Gustine Unified and Newman-Crows Landing Unified school districts continue to fall short of state academic standards in English and math, according to new state testing data.

The 2024 California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress, or CAASPP, shows just 23.15% of Gustine Unified students met or exceeded the English standard, a drop of 2.84 percentage points from 2023. In math, only 11.91% met or exceeded the standard—down slightly from the previous year and the district’s lowest rate since at least 2015.

In Newman-Crows Landing Unified, 34.43% of students met or exceeded English standards, with 17.55% doing so in math. While those scores reflect modest declines from 2023, the district’s overall results remain above neighboring Gustine’s but below statewide averages.

Gustine’s breakdown reveals persistent disparities. More than 54% of students failed to meet English standards, and over 63% did not meet math standards. Performance was especially low in the middle grades. In Grade 7, just 14.73% of students met or exceeded English standards. In math, fewer than 9% of sixth graders met the standard.

Among ethnic groups, 64% of Hispanic students did not meet the math standard compared to 61.2% of white students. The pattern held in English, where only 4.4% of Hispanic students exceeded the standard versus 8.6% of white students.

Economically disadvantaged students in Gustine were also less likely to succeed. Just 6.67% met the standard in math, compared to 14.62% of their more affluent peers.

Gender gaps persisted, with 19.75% of female students meeting English standards, compared to 16.45% of males. However, more male students exceeded the math standard than females—4.97% compared to 2.99%.

In Newman-Crows Landing Unified, Grade 11 students posted the highest English proficiency rate at 47.11%, while Grade 3 math scores were the strongest at 31.92% meeting or exceeding standards. But test performance declined through the upper grades. By Grade 11, just 11.93% of students were proficient in math.

Breakdowns by ethnicity showed that 56.38% of Hispanic students did not meet the math standard, and 39.13% did not meet it in English. Filipino students outperformed other groups across both subjects, with 37.5% exceeding English standards and 18.75% exceeding in math.

Disparities by economic status were also evident. In English, 41.95% of economically disadvantaged students in Newman-Crows Landing did not meet the standard, compared to 28.24% of more affluent peers. In math, the gap was similar: 57.63% of disadvantaged students did not meet the standard, compared to 48.23%.

Across California, some districts have made measurable gains by investing in targeted academic supports and whole-child strategies.

In Compton Unified, test scores rose by nearly 3 percentage points in both English and math after the district expanded in-class tutoring, after-school programs, and professional development for teachers. The district used a combination of state grants and federal pandemic relief funds to support these efforts.

Benicia Unified saw a 7.7-point increase in math proficiency after hiring a districtwide instructional coach and aligning teaching strategies across classrooms. The district also used Educator Effectiveness funds to support teacher training and student engagement initiatives.

At San Andreas High School, a continuation school in Marin County, English scores jumped from 7.7% to 62.5% in one year. Staff credited the gains to trauma-informed practices, student feedback, and a focus on building trust and comfort during testing.

Heber Elementary in Imperial County improved math scores by nearly 5 points by using frequent assessments aligned to state standards and providing coaching support to teachers.

Statewide, student performance inched up in 2024. English scores rose to 47% of students meeting or exceeding proficiency, up from 46.7% in 2023. Math increased slightly to 30.7% from 30.2% the previous year. However, these remain well below pre-pandemic levels.

In 2019, more than half of California students—51.7%—were proficient in English, and 37.1% met math standards. Scores fell sharply following the shift to remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic, and many students have yet to recover fully.

Linda Darling-Hammond, president of the State Board of Education, said she sees reason for optimism in the statewide numbers.

“California’s public schools are making encouraging gains in all of the key subject areas, and these gains are largest for our most vulnerable groups of students,” she said in a statement. “Our governor and the Legislature have, in recent years, prioritized … accelerating learning and equity: community schools, expanded learning time, transitional kindergarten, and investments in literacy and math. Those efforts are paying dividends.”

The CAASPP exams, including Smarter Balanced assessments in English and math, are given annually to students in grades 3 through 8 and grade 11.