Desert Sands USD Student Test Scores Fall, New State Data Show

LA QUINTA, CA — The pandemic took a toll on student learning in California and nationwide, including in the Desert Sands 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 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 state data.

In the DSUSD, the results were worse. Just 40.48% of district students met or exceeded state standards for English language arts while 24.89% met or exceeded mathematics standards, according to the data released for the 2021-22 school year.

The data were available statewide and locally for grades three through eight, as well as 11th graders.

DSUSD's drop, compared to pre-pandemic levels, was higher than the state.

"Students in Desert Sands Unified, like students across the state, were impacted academically by the COVID-19 pandemic," according to a district statement. "This is evidenced by the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) results released [Monday]. Results show that the percentage of [DSUSD] students meeting or exceeding standard in English Language Arts declined by 9.2% since 2019 and 10.6% in mathematics. 2022 CAASPP results are a new baseline in this post-pandemic era. Our priority is to provide high-quality instruction, needed intervention, as well as opportunities and resources for our students to improve and excel."

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.