Call it graduation inflation. The latest California School Dashboard, compiled by the state Board of Education, showed the graduation rate for all students rose to 87.8% in 2025, up 1 percentage point from 2024. It included all public schools, folding charters into their local districts or county departments of education (not the chartering authorities).

According to the state’s 2024-25 Smarter Balanced tests, only 48.8% of all students met the state’s English Language Arts standards and just 37% their grade-appropriate math standards. That’s still down from the abysmal 2018-19 figures of 51.1% proficiency in English Language Arts and 39.7% in math.

It doesn’t do students any good to hand them diplomas and tell them they have succeeded, when they have not, but that’s exactly

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