A ‘pocket of hope’: This California school district made a difference on Black students’ scores

BY CAROLYN JONES | CALMatters (CALMATTERS) – For most K-12 student groups in California, test scores have been maddeningly flat since the pandemic. But for Black students, stagnant scores have been particularly frustrating: Black students’ math and English language arts scores inched downward for most grade levels last year, notching some of the lowest scores among any student group. At least one district, however, has reversed that trend. Emery Unified, a small district tucked between Berkeley and Oakland in the east Bay Area, saw its Black students — who make up 45% of the student population, one of the highest rates in the state — show dramatic gains from 2022. Math scores nearly doubled over last year and English language arts scores far surpassed pre-pandemic results. Chronic absenteeism dropped 8.4 percentage points, far more than the state average.& “I saw those scores and I was elated,” said Jessica Goode, principal of Emery High School. “All the work we’ve done has paid off. It’s been a challenge — there’s no road map because almost no one’s ever done this successfully.” Emery Unified’s scores are still far below average, but they’re trending upward at a time when scores statewide are unchanged or...