Orange County students are steadily improving in reading, writing and working with numbers compared to the previous year, with 2024-25 scores nearing pre-pandemic levels, according to newly released assessment data from the California Department of Education.
The latest results from the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress released Thursday, Oct. 9, show that 48.8% of California students met or exceeded standards in English language arts — a 1.8 percentage point increase from last year. Math scores rose by the same margin, with 37.3% of students meeting or exceeding standards.
Smarter Balanced online tests in English language arts and math are taken each spring by 2.9 million students statewide across grades three through eight and 11. Rather than multiple-choice responses, the assessments prioritize critical thinking, problem-solving and written explanations.
“This is a proud moment,” Gov. Gavin Newsom told reporters during an Oct. 9 press conference at Alexander Science Center Elementary School in Los Angeles.
“When it comes to public education in this country, in this state, we tend to be focused on what’s wrong often, and it tends to manifest,” Newsom said. “But I hope what you heard today … distills a sense of well-being, that things are getting better, that we’re not only moving in the right direction, we’re leading in that respect.”
Orange County — home to 28 school districts, more than 600 schools and approximately 450,000 students — exceeded state testing averages by more than 10% in both English language arts and math.
The county’s students also steadily improved in reading, writing and working with numbers compared to the previous academic year, with 2024-25 scores nearing pre-pandemic levels.
Students scored particularly well for English language arts; of the 217,007 students tested, 58.9% scored “proficient” or “advanced.” The numbers trailed behind for math, where 49.2% of Orange County students met those same grade-level standards.
In both fields, results are within 1% of pre-pandemic scores.
It’s an all-around improvement. In both English language arts and math, 1.3% more students scored proficient or better compared to the 2023-24 school year.
That’s an unsurprising improvement for math skills; scores have been improving at a similar rate since the pandemic.
For English language arts, it’s a stark upswing. Since the 2021-22 school year there’s been a steady, albeit small, upward trend in the ELA scores, with more students each year scoring proficient or above compared to the last. But, the 2024-25 ELA scores reflect the sharpest improvement in post-pandemic years.
Staff Writer Teresa Liu contributed to this report.