Student achievement in math and reading took a hit during the pandemic, and new research from Harvard and Stanford universities finds schools across California are still trying to get students back to pre-COVID-19 levels.
According to the Education Recovery Scorecard, average student achievement in California is still 31 percent of a grade equivalent below 2019 levels in math and 40 percent in reading.
In the San Luis Coastal Unified School District, scores are above state averages.
“We are significantly outperforming the state in both English arts and math,” said Lisa Yamashita, San Luis Coastal Unified School District Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services.
In 2019, 70% of San Luis Coastal students in 3rd through 8th grades were at or above grade level in English language arts, which was 20% higher than the state’s average.
However, that number dropped 6% after the pandemic and is currently at 64%.
As for math, 64% of San Luis Coastal students were at or above grade level in math before the pandemic, almost double California’s math levels at the time. But after the pandemic, that dropped to 55%.
Yamashita said chronic absenteeism was a problem during the pandemic.
“This year we have been focusing on the impact of regular attendance and helping students come to school because if you're not at school, it's much harder to learn the content of school,” Yamashita said.
The district has also introduced a new English language arts program in the elementary schools, which Yamashita says is having a direct impact on test scores.
“Students are focused on explicit, direct instruction including phonics and phonemic awareness and oral language development,” she said.
At Sylvan Learning Center in San Luis Obispo, Robbie Zbin says they have seen an increase in students who need tutoring support since the pandemic.
“Students who were impacted by learning loss are now making strong gains. They are rebuilding their skills and regaining confidence,” Zbin said.
Math instruction, reading instruction, homework support, and SAT prep are offered at the center.
“The best way to know if your child needs help is to watch for those slipping grades. If they're frustrated, losing confidence or not motivated in school, that's the time to get tutoring,” Zbin said.
Having staff in place to help support the students and their learning in any way they can is San Luis Coastal’s ultimate goal.
“We focus on giving every student a connection and feeling like there's an adult at school that cares about them,” Yamashita said.
"We would say that there are talented and committed educators across the entire system that are digging deeply into the data and identifying what are the strengths in the current system and what are the areas of the system where we want to improve," said Dr. Joe Koski, San Luis Obispo County Office of Education Assistant Superintendent. "I think we can point to the fact that when parents and community members and students are equal partners in the educational process, everybody is more successful."
Dr. Koski added that the County Office of Education is also focusing on reducing the number of days students are absent.
Click on the links below to see the scorecard results for other local school districts:
San Luis Obispo County:
- Atascadero Unified School District
- Coast Unified School District
- Lucia Mar Unified School District
- Paso Robles Joint Unified School District
- San Luis Coastal Unified School District
- San Miguel Joint Union School District
- Shandon Joint Unified School District
- Templeton Unified School District
Santa Barbara County:
- Blochman Union School District
- Buellton Union School District
- Goleta Union School District
- Guadalupe Union School District
- Hope School District
- Lompoc Unified School District
- Orcutt Union School District
- Santa Barbara Unified School District
- Santa Maria-Bonita School District
*Data not available for all districts.
