California schools’ report card: C-minus

Education leaders in recent years have lauded achievement gains and progress of California’s K-12 students, but an annual national report card has rated the Golden State below mediocre — a solid C-minus, 10th from the bottom among the 50 states and Washington, D.C.

Nearly across the board in multiple categories graded by the magazine Education Week, California scored below the national average. California earned 69.9 out of 100 points. As a whole, the nation received a C. Massachusetts ranked at the top, followed by New Jersey, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maryland and Connecticut; all earned a B.

The state ranked 41st in conditions that help children succeed, 39th in school finance, and 30th in achievement.

“California has refused to take meaningful action to address the education issues facing our state, so it was unsurprising to see California’s poor grade remain the same year over year,” Silicon Valley entrepreneur Dave Welch, who financed a failed challenge to California’s teacher-protection laws, wrote in an email. The lawsuit, known as Vergara v. California, maintained that tenure and layoff laws harm poor children and those most needing access to high-quality teachers.

The Education Week report looked at multiple ways that states are educating and preparing children for school. For pupil achievement, for instance, the magazine considered 18 measures such as graduation rates, reading and math tests, Advanced Placement exam results, equity and achievement gaps.

In academic performance — as measured by the 2015 National Assessment of Educational Progress test and by poverty figures — California earned a D-plus. But in improvement over time, the state posted a C. In equity, California scored a relatively high B-minus — but that was still 41st in the nation, and below the national average of a B.

How is it that though state officials laud educational progress, California compares so poorly to other states? Robert Oakes, a spokesman for state education chief Tom Torlakson, pointed out that Education Week relies on old data. “It’s outdated,” he said.

However, other state data in the survey is equally old. But, Oakes said, “California is moving in a positive direction. We’ve dramatically increased our investment in education.”

The rankings reflected not just schools, but also society — the conditions that contribute to children’s success. So while California’s fourth- and eighth-grade reading and math proficiency rates were all below 30 percent, California also got dragged down by its poverty, employment and low parental education levels.

At least the findings were consistent in one way: On all significant national and international assessments of K-12 education, California compares poorly.

Only in a few areas did California exceed the nation. In school-finance equity — largely attributed to Jerry Brown-engineered funding revision that awards more money to schools educating more immigrant and poor students –California earned a B-plus, above the national average — B. In improvement over time, California posted a C, elevating it to ninth in the nation, which had an average of D-plus.

The data, Oakes said, “does show we need to keep moving forward.”