Murrieta USD Student Test Scores Fall After COVID Shutdown

MURRIETA, CA — The pandemic took a toll on student learning in California and nationwide, including in the Murrieta Valley Unified School District, according to a report released this week by California’s Education Department.

Only about a third of the state’s students are meeting math standards and less than half are meeting English language standards, according to the 2021-22 California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress test results released Monday. Golden State students meeting math standards was 33%, a drop of 7% compared to pre-pandemic test results. Those meeting English language standards dropped 4% to 47%, according to the state data.

In the MVUSD, the 2021-22 school year results were better than the state: 58.05% of district students met or exceeded state standards for English language arts while 41.16% met or exceeded mathematics standards, according to the data. Since 2018-19, however, MVUSD students meeting or exceeding standard in English language arts and mathematics declined by approximately 6% and 10%, respectively.

The data were available statewide and locally for grades three through eight, as well as 11th graders. According to district officials, early grades were more prone to fall behind amid the COVID shutdowns than their older cohorts. The current standardized testing was paused during the 2019-20 and 2020-21 school years due to the pandemic.

"It’s clear that younger students were adversely affected by learning loss more than older students," according to a district statement. "It’s important to note for many of these students, this was their first time taking a standardized test. As a district, we know that the testing is only one measure taken at one point in time of a student’s progress. Hence, we use several tools throughout the year that allow us to recalibrate and focus on improvement. To this end, we are concentrating on a multi-prong approach which includes, academic interventions such as office hours, extended after-school programming, and professional development that fosters collaboration among teachers."

Results from the statewide data as well as federal data released Monday by the National Assessment of Educational Progress — known as the “The Nation’s Report Card” — show California's school children suffered less learning loss than in other states.

Gov. Gavin Newsom's office released a statement Monday, touting California as one of the only states to outperform others in "minimizing learning loss."

“California focused on keeping kids safe during the pandemic,” Newsom said, “while making record investments to mitigate learning loss and transforming our education system.”

Along with California’s own dashboard, the federal data provide the first comprehensive analysis of the pandemic’s academic toll on America’s school children.

Nationally, nearly four in 10 eighth graders failed to grasp basic math concepts in the biggest decline in math scores in decades, according to the NAEP data that assesses reading and math proficiency for students in grades four and eight.

Reading scores among fourth graders also slid to the lowest level since 1990. The national declines in fourth and eighth graders’ scores in mathematics were the largest ever recorded.

The national test indicated that the achievement gap among some of California's students of color widened, which is contradictory to the state test.

“While California’s students experienced less learning loss than those in most other states during the pandemic, these results are not a celebration but a call to action — students are struggling academically and we need to keep getting them the resources they need to thrive," Newsom said.

A national spokesperson released similar comments.

“It is a serious wake-up call for us all,” Peggy Carr, commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, a branch of the United States Education Department, told The Associated Press.

Some of California's Republican leaders weighed in after the results were released.

"Democrat policies get an F," Senate GOP leader Scott Wilk of Lancaster said in a statement. The data "are a clear referendum on the failed policies advocated by the governor, legislative leaders, and the state superintendent of public instruction for years — not just during the pandemic. After shuttering schools for the better part of two years, student failure is on steroids."

U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said the national test results are a sign that schools need to redouble their efforts, using billions of dollars Congress gave schools to help students recover.

“Let me be very clear: these results are not acceptable,” Cardona said.

Carr said recovery isn’t as simple as a reset to pre-pandemic normalcy.

“Academic recovery cannot simply be about returning to what was ‘normal’ before the pandemic, as the pandemic laid bare an ‘opportunity gap’ that has long existed,” Carr said in the news release. “It also showed how every student was vulnerable to the pandemic’s disruptions. We do not have a moment to waste.”

The results make clear that schools must address the “long-standing and systemic shortcomings of our education system,” said Alberto Carvalho, superintendent of Los Angeles schools and a member of the National Assessment Governing Board, which sets the policies for state testing.

“While the pandemic was a blow to schools and communities, we cannot use it as an excuse,” he told the AP. “We have to stay committed to high standards and expectations and help every child succeed.”

Other recent studies have found that students who spent longer periods learning online suffered greater setbacks. But the NAEP results show no clear connection. Areas that returned to the classroom quickly still saw significant declines, and cities — which were more likely to stay remote longer — actually saw milder decreases than suburban districts, according to the results.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.