State test scores for Midpeninsula schools are still below pre-pandemic levels, and that includes Menlo Park City School District. Although the local school district’s results have been stagnant for the last few years, school administrators are working on implementing new strategies to boost numbers amid a changing student population.
Earlier this month the California Department of Education released its state test scores for the 2024-25 school year. The California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress tests third through eighth grade students in English language arts and math.
During the 2024-25 school year, results showed that 79.61% of Menlo Park students scored advanced or proficient on the English language arts exam, an increase of 0.35 percentage points from the previous year. In math, 78.13% of students scored advanced or proficient in math, showing no improvement compared to the year before.
Student performance dropped noticeably during the pandemic. In 2018-19, 82.51% of Menlo Park students met or exceeded state standards in math, compared to 76.85% in 2021-22. In English, the share of students meeting or exceeding standards went from 84.19% to 80.62%.
During a school board meeting on Oct. 23, district officials explained that the pandemic’s impact on students and families’ emotional, academic and social lives has had a “detrimental effect.” While school board members shared their disappointment in the lack of significant improvement in scores, they expressed their confidence in the district’s strategies to boost academic achievement.
“We are working to identify the root causes of our achievement gaps, particularly using race-based data and processes to inform our work,” said Katherine Strach, MPCSD’s coordinator of data, assessment and English language services, during the meeting.
Since 2021, the percentage of students from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds has increased, said Associate Superintendent Jammie Behrendt. Although the district has been putting forth initiatives to improve its efforts, “student needs are changing and our socioeconomically disadvantaged student group is steadily increasing,” she added.
Behrendt also pointed out that these families are often working multiple jobs, don’t have the funds for after-school tutors and lack resources and access to advantages other students have.
Test scores in English and math show that overall, socioeconomically disadvantaged students are scoring about 40 percentage points below those who are not. In the most recent school year, 44.39% of disadvantaged students scored proficient or advanced in English language arts, compared to 84.48% of students who are not socioeconomic disadvantaged. In math, 40.1% of socioeconomically disadvantaged students scored proficient or advanced, compared to 83.42% of non-socioeconomically disadvantaged students.
The results also show persistently lower scores for the district’s Latino students, compared to their peers. Last spring, 53.48% of Latino students scored proficient or advanced in English, compared to 92.55% of Asian students, 88.33% of white students and 92.15% of multi-racial students. In math, 48.7% of Latino students scored proficient or advanced, compared to 93.89% of Asian students, 82.73% of white students and 89.61% of multiracial students.
Strach presented six strategies for the district to focus on as a way to address the most recent test score outcomes including consistent use of data and assessments, foundational literacy, science focus, stronger classroom instruction, collaborative leadership and empowering leaders.
“We believe that a focused alignment and expectation toward academic excellence will create a more cohesive, efficient and effective system for achieving our educational goals and improving outcomes regardless of race, socioeconomic status or ability,” said Strach.
Strach highlighted that the use of assessments through an online program called iReady can help teachers and school sites plan targeted lessons and track student progress. She also encouraged the district to consistently implement literacy curriculum in early grades with a focus on vocabulary and to ensure that continues in higher grades.
Superintendent Kristen Gracia added that specific campuses have been using different strategies to improve academic growth.
“There were some very specific strategies put in place at our schools that we are tracking (to see) what happened with those kids and where we’re seeing bumps (in the data),” said Gracia.
Changes for improvement
According to Gracia, the district is currently in its second year of its six year strategic plan to grow student belonging, strengthen academic excellence and create inspiring environments.
She added that the utilization of an assessment system that spans elementary and middle school classrooms is a new implementation that has allowed administrators to easily keep track of student test score data.
The district has also made changes to its literacy program over the past two years. Gracia expressed her confidence in the idea that these foundational shifts will serve as building blocks for improving academics.
School board member Scott Saywell commented on his disappointment to see that scores were still lower than pre-pandemic levels despite all of the good work that the district had been doing to push for improvements. However, he looks forward to how things improve in the next year or two.
Despite the disappointment, school board President Sherwin Chen is positive that academic achievement will improve with the strategies that are currently in place.
“It is an incredibly hard thing to get back to pre-COVID (levels), but we know it can be done… There’s no silver bullet and it’s going to take a while. I think a combination of patience and urgency is what we need here,” he said.
