New data released by the California Department of Education shows progress in academic achievement and graduation rates and a decline in chronic absenteeism across the state. Locally, the Turlock Unified School District saw a marked decline in absenteeism and suspension rates, but only recorded an increase in one academic category (mathematics).

The 2024 California School Dashboard and accompanying DataQuest reports are now online, and includes the latest data on graduation rates, suspension rates, test scores, English learner progress, the college/career indicator, chronic absenteeism, and local indicators.

“Across California, we’re seeing that when we provide for the most vulnerable in our communities all students reap the rewards. Our migrant students and socioeconomically disadvantaged students show marked improvements in consistent school attendance and graduation rates, reflecting the dedication of our educators and students alike,” said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond. “It’s especially encouraging to see more students earning distinctions like the State Seal of Biliteracy, a skill that is increasingly vital to success in an increasingly globalized economy. Yet, we know there is still much work to be done to ensure every student has the support and resources needed to succeed. We must not waver in our commitment to education and our dedication to serve every child.”

Key findings across the state include: 

• All student groups show significant increases in consistently attending schools, with a 16.7% year-over-year decline in chronic absenteeism.

• There is continued statewide growth in student graduation rates, with the largest cohort of students graduating K–12 schools since 2017.

• Over 10,000 students graduated in their fifth year during 2023–24 as members of the class of 2023.

• Upon graduating, students are earning distinctions such as the State Seal of Biliteracy at higher rates than ever.

• Suspension rates have declined for every student group, though there is a need for a continued focus on disparities in suspension for Black/African American students, foster youth, Long-Term English Learners, homeless youth, and students with disabilities.
• College and career readiness has been maintained for all students and increased for specific student groups, narrowing equity gaps for Black/African American students, American Indian/Alaska Native students, and Long-Term English Learners.

The four-year cohort graduation rate for the class of 2024 is 86.4 percent, representing a slight increase from last year and a higher rate than pre-pandemic levels. Graduation rates are largely stable, trending upward for many student groups, especially migrant students and socioeconomically disadvantaged students.

The 2023–24 four-year adjusted cohort also included more graduates who meet the University of California/California State University admission requirements than prior to the pandemic, with 227,463 students (51.4 percent of graduates) eligible for admission at California’s public universities. This represents a continued increase from the prior year, when 50.4 percent of graduates were eligible for UC/CSU admission. 

Students statewide earned 64,261 State Seals of Biliteracy during the 2023–24 academic year, a 2.3 percent increase from 2022–23 and the largest number of students ever earning this distinction. The State Seal of Biliteracy, marked by a gold seal on the diploma or transcript, recognizes high school graduates who have attained a high level of proficiency in speaking, reading, and writing one or more languages in addition to English.

The Dashboard results are presented in five color-coded levels of performance from red to blue with red being the worst, then orange, with yellow in the middle, followed by green and then blue being the best. The performance levels are determined using current year and prior year data. Along with the color performance level, each assessment area also receives one of three ratings — met, not met, not met for two or more years.

The Turlock Unified School District — with an enrollment of 13,376 total across its 16 campuses — had mixed marks in the 2024 Dashboard results. For academic performance, the district had a slight decline in English Language Arts (orange), an increase of 3.1 points in mathematics (yellow) and declined 5.3% in English Learner Progress (orange).  Chronic Absenteeism declined 5.8% for TUSD, putting in the yellow level and graduation rates were maintained in the green level. Suspension rates also declined (2.8%) to be in the green.

The district also received a “standard met” rating for “Implementation of Academic Standards,” “Access to Broad Course of Study,” “Basics: Teachers, Instructional Materials, Facilities,” “Parent and Family Engagement” and “Local Climate Survey.” 

“Each year we look forward to diving into the CA School Dashboard results to celebrate gains and analyze those areas requiring additional focus.  Like other Districts across the State, TUSD is continuing to rebound from the pandemic and we were pleased to see several areas of growth.  After the Thanksgiving Break, our Educational Services Team will be working with site administrators to drill down on this data who will then carry this work forward to their site Professional Learning Communities.  We are proud of the work TUSD has done to support not only students’ academic needs but also our work in improving overall campus climate including counseling/mental health supports, family resources, and positive behavior interventions,” said Marie Russell, TUSD’s Director of Communications, Family Engagement & Outreach.

Walnut Elementary Education Center received the best scores overall in all three academic categories with green levels in English Learner Progress, English Language Arts and Mathematics. The north Turlock magnet school is also the highest for making progress in stopping chronic absenteeism with a decline of 4.3% and a blue level.

There are areas of improvement needed at school sites across TUSD.  Cunningham and Crowell elementary schools both received red levels for English Language Arts and Turlock Junior High has a higher Chronic Absenteeism (orange) than other sites. Also, Pitman High saw a 4.9% increase in College/Career Readiness to be in the green level, while across town, Turlock High had a 14.9% decrease in the same category to be in the orange level.

“Each year we look forward to diving into the CA School Dashboard results to celebrate gains and analyze those areas requiring additional focus.  Like other Districts across the State, TUSD is continuing to rebound from the pandemic and we were pleased to see several areas of growth.  After the Thanksgiving Break, our Educational Services Team will be working with site administrators to drill down on this data who will then carry this work forward to their site Professional Learning Communities.  We are proud of the work TUSD has done to support not only students’ academic needs but also our work in improving overall campus climate including counseling/mental health supports, family resources, and positive behavior interventions,” said Marie Russell, TUSD’s Director of Communications, Family Engagement & Outreach.

The complete Dashboard results for TUSD and other local districts can be found at: caschooldashboard.org.