Test scores are trending up in west Contra Costa schools — and perhaps reflect the district’s best overall increase in state metrics since the pandemic.
The state measures student performance on a data dashboard with eight main categories: math, English and science scores, graduation rates, suspension rates, chronic absenteeism, English language learner progress and college and career readiness. In five of these categories, WCCUSD showed improvements since last year and maintained performance in two areas. The only decline was due to the district’s higher rate of chronic absenteeism.
“This is phenomenal,” said LeRoy Gaines, WCCUSD associate superintendent of Educational Services, at the Oct. 21 school board meeting.
While English and science scores stayed the same (remaining below state standards), math scores have continued to improve year after year. The area where WCCUSD improved the most is in its college and career readiness, with an 8% increase in the number of students who are considered prepared for life after high school based on test scores and courses taken, among other measures. Suspension rates decreased, and graduation rates rose to more than 88%.
School district officials credit the college and career improvements to a variety of factors, including more career pathway programs; how it works closely with high school students to map out four year high school plans; and how district and school sites cooperate to ensure the right classes are offered.
Superintendent Cheryl Cotton said there are still growth opportunities, especially because all of the scores are still below state standards, but the increases show that the district is on the right track.
Gaines shared four priority areas for this school year:
- Adopting new English language arts curriculum and establishing a consistent approach to early literacy;
- Improve classroom instruction through professional learning, coaching, and feedback, including monthly classroom visits by principals;
- Using assessment tools and results to adjust instruction and better meet student needs; and
- Strengthen attendance, belonging and targeted student supports with monthly check-ins and explicit monitoring of outcomes for African American students, English language learners and students with disabilities.
More WCCUSD students are prepared for life after graduation
The state measures high school graduates in the College/Career Indicator (CCI) by three performance levels: Prepared, Approaching Prepared and Not Prepared.
In the 2025-26 school year, 51% of WCCUSD graduates were considered prepared, meaning they completed their course requirements, did well in a pathway program, passed AP classes/exams and scored well on standardized tests.
The district is not far behind the state average where 55% of graduates were considered prepared last year.
It’s also a big jump for WCCUSD, which scored 47% the previous year.
“This is one of the highest rates that we’ve had, particularly in the last few years,” said Gaines. “Once you start to peel back the layers of the college and career work that we’re doing, you’ll see it’s multifaceted. There’s lots of really exciting work that’s happening.”
He said programs like the Y-Plan, where students are expected to develop stronger critical thinking, public speaking, research and collaboration skills, and pathway programs have been impactful. The district team has also been data-centered.
“That team is constantly looking at data, seeing where students are, their counselors are, looking at the transcripts and making sure students are taking the right courses, and that the school sites are having offerings that match up with the college indicators,” Gaines said. “The work between our district team and the site level team seems almost seamless.”
Graduation rates have also increased by 3.1% year-over-year and are 8% higher than they were in 2018.
And fewer students are being suspended. The district’s suspension rate decreased by 1 percentage point. For years, the district has hovered around a 4-5% suspension rate.
“We just saw some huge drop, like a full percentage drop.” Gaines said. “A percent doesn’t sound like a lot, but when you look at it in terms of the numbers and what that actually takes to move a percentage point, that’s a huge shift in terms of suspension rates in one year.”
He said the district’s positive climate team led by Executive Director Lashante should get credit for that.
“Kids learn when they feel like they’re in relationship,” WCCUSD board Trustee Jamela Smith-Folds said. “When they’re in relationship with their teachers, their school site, their community, they learn.”
Math scores improve while English and science scores remain below state standards
In the last decade, math scores at WCCUSD have trended up. In the 2025-26 school year, WCCUSD had its highest math scores — though it is still 73.3 points below state standards.
The state average for math is nearly 40 points below proficiency.
Gaines said math scores have increased over time because the district has implemented “a strong, coherent, aligned math curriculum” that is the same across schools.
“We want to do the same thing for (English language arts),” Gaines said. “And we’re looking into an ELA adoption so that we can have that similar standards-based, rigorous curriculum across the board for our schools as we move into the future.”
While math scores improved by 3.5 points, English scores decreased by 2 points.
The district English scores are 54.4 points below state standards — the lowest in about a decade.
Gaines said WCCUSD, like many districts across the state, is experiencing a “literacy crisis” and that addressing reading skills must be a top priority for the district. Cotton agreed, saying the district lacks instructional coherence around English.
“Right now, we’re doing, I don’t know, 20-30 different things at our elementary level,” Cotton said. “If we’re looking as a system, that is one thing that we can do to move toward shared strategies, shared support, shared professional development, and something consistent across our schools. I think that that will definitely make a difference.”
WCCUSD is launching a curriculum review process, with plans to pilot potential materials later this year and adopt a new curriculum by the end of the 20216-26 school year. The California Department of Education also said the State Board of Education is expected to consider new English Language Arts and English Language Development materials in January 2027, as part of new state law.
The state also recently started measuring science scores. Unlike English and math scores — which are measured by how far students are “above or below standard” —the Science Indicator uses a simplified 0–100 point scale.
WCCUSD scored a 43.6, meaning across all tested students (grades 5, 8, and once in high school), the average score sits roughly in the lower-middle tier. The score is 1.5 points higher than it was the previous year.
Chronic absenteeism rose
The district increased its chronic absenteeism number by 9%, meaning that 39% of students were absent for at least 10% of the school year, or at least 18 days.
Cotton said this is likely because of the four-day strike last December, when most teachers were on the picket lines and school wasn’t in session for five days. However, trustees pushed back and said there are likely other factors.
Student trustee Brooke Miles said fears around immigration enforcement activities could be a factor in absenteeism. Smith-Folds said it would be helpful for district staff to do a more in-depth analysis on absenteeism because it could differ by city, school site or a number of other factors.
The district has had a problem with absenteeism for years. The state first started measuring chronic absenteeism in 2018. At that time, 15.5% of WCCUSD students were chronically absent. That number gradually increased and peaked in 2022, a time when 42.4% of students were chronically absent.
“The Board should direct the district to identify the schools and student groups facing the greatest attendance challenges beyond strike-related absences, explain how families are helping shape solutions, and report on whether those efforts are improving attendance this year,” Mark Heringer, a director of GoPublic Schools, wrote in an email to the community. “That work should begin now, with outreach and support for students already missing school and monthly updates on attendance and the district’s response. Students need help staying connected to school this semester – action cannot wait for next year’s planning cycle.”
