California Math Scores Are Rising—But the Next Step Is Turning Progress Into Mastery

California reports another year of math gains

California’s 2025–2026 assessment results show continued statewide improvement in English language arts, mathematics, and science. Mathematics is an especially important part of the story: 61.8% of students demonstrated Developing, Proficient, or Advanced performance in math, according to the state’s summary of the California assessment and dashboard results.

The report also says that the percentage of students scoring Proficient or Advanced increased across the three tested subjects for the third consecutive year. Science performance has moved above pre-pandemic levels, while math and English results continue to trend upward.

That is meaningful progress. At the same time, the 61.8% figure reminds us that many students are still working toward consistent grade-level performance. A statewide improvement is encouraging, but it does not mean every student—or every topic within mathematics—is secure.

The strongest lesson is consistency

The state highlights several districts where math results improved alongside changes in instruction and student support. In Downey Unified, the percentage of students demonstrating proficient or advanced math knowledge increased by 2.8 percentage points. Exeter Unified reported a 2.3-point increase, and Union Elementary reported a 2.0-point increase.

These districts describe a similar pattern: progress comes from sustained work rather than a single program. Schools analyzed assessment information, strengthened core instruction, supported teachers, expanded tutoring or learning opportunities, and addressed barriers that can keep students from participating fully in school.

For math students, this kind of consistency matters. A student who misses foundational work with place value, fractions, proportional reasoning, or algebraic thinking may encounter difficulty again and again as the curriculum becomes more complex. Reviewing assessment information can help teachers and tutors identify the specific gap instead of simply assigning more practice.

Attendance and belonging are part of math instruction

The state also reports that chronic absenteeism declined across all grade levels and that suspension rates reached their lowest levels since 2019 outside the pandemic period. Those changes matter academically because students cannot benefit from strong instruction when they are frequently absent or disconnected from school.

Union Elementary’s approach, as described in the release, combines math interventions with efforts to support attendance, mental health, family needs, and students’ sense of belonging. This is a useful reminder that mathematics achievement is not separated from the rest of a student’s life. Transportation problems, food insecurity, stress, and discouragement can all affect a student’s ability to learn and persist.

For families, the practical question is not simply whether a child received a particular score. It is also whether the child is attending regularly, understands current concepts, can explain their reasoning, and knows what to do when a problem becomes difficult.

Gains for historically underserved students are encouraging

The state reports that Black or African American students, Hispanic or Latino students, socioeconomically disadvantaged students, and students experiencing homelessness made gains in mathematics. Hispanic or Latino students reportedly outpaced statewide gains in math, with positive trends across all grades, while students experiencing homelessness showed particularly strong improvement in mathematics.

These results deserve attention, while also being interpreted carefully. Group-level gains do not erase differences among individual students or eliminate opportunity gaps. They do show that targeted supports and sustained school improvement can be associated with progress among students who have often faced unequal access to resources.

What families and educators can do next

The most useful response to these results is neither complacency nor alarm. Families can ask schools which math skills their children have mastered, which skills remain developing, and what practice would be most helpful at home. Teachers and tutors can use short checks for understanding to distinguish a computation error from a deeper conceptual difficulty.

Students also benefit when adults treat mistakes as information. A missed problem can reveal confusion about vocabulary, a missing prerequisite skill, or a strategy that has not yet become reliable. The goal is not merely to complete more worksheets. It is to build accurate understanding, flexible problem-solving, and confidence.

California’s latest results offer a reason to recognize the work of students, families, educators, and schools. They also set a clear next goal: make sure rising averages translate into stronger mathematical understanding for more individual students, especially those who remain below grade level. Continued progress will require the same qualities the state’s highlighted districts describe—careful use of data, strong instruction, targeted support, and steady attention to the conditions that help students learn.