WCCUSD shows some gains in ELA and Math, but troubling results for ELs

GO WCC | October 14, 2025

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Last week, the California Department of Education publicly released the results of the 2024-25 state assessments (SBAC, CAST, and ELPAC).  These results can help us better understand where schools across the district are showing progress and identify areas in need of greater support and improvement.  

Studies show that almost 9 in 10 parents believe that their children are “on grade level” and most report that their children are receiving “B” grades or better.  However, the assessment results paint a very different picture. If families rely only on grades to understand their children’s progress, they may miss out on important opportunities to advocate for needed supports or services.  

These results are an important part of the broader toolkit that gives families, students, educators, and the community a well-rounded picture of student learning, school performance, and system equity. This annual assessment data is vital for exploring trends in what is working and what is not, and can serve as a catalyst for meaningful conversation and collective action.

Today, we are sharing a first glimpse into the data, pulling out the trends across the district. We will dive deeper into this data in our upcoming Kids Can and Forward Together data reports. 

Key Data Points from WCCUSD

SBAC English Language Arts (ELA) results show slight gains 

In 2024-25, 1 in 3 WCCUSD students (33.4%) met or exceeded standards for ELA. This represents a modest increase of 0.9 percentage points from the previous year.  It is still  below pre-pandemic levels, and consistent with district results over the past decade. 

When broken down by student group, we see striking differences in the data. 

• Black or African American students had a 2.4 percentage point increase, with about 1 in 5 (20.7%) meeting or exceeding standards.
• Latino students also had an increase (1.1 percentage points), with 21.5% on grade level.
•  Students with Disabilities and English Learners had slight declines, with 1 in 10 (10%) students with disabilities and fewer than 1 in 20 (4.2%) ELs meeting standards. 

All of this underscores the urgent need for a stronger, evidence-based literacy approach across WCCUSD. Currently, literacy practices vary widely from school to school and the district lacks a cohesive, research-aligned ELA curriculum. WCCUSD took positive steps forward last spring, creating a strong implementation plan for the new Reading Difficulties Risk Screener.  This could set a foundation for future literacy work in the district, but is just one needed step of many.

With a new superintendent comes new opportunities, and we hope that Superintendent Cheryl Cotton makes literacy a priority and ensures that teachers and students have access to the high-quality materials and support they need.

If you are interested in advocating for literacy in West Contra Costa, join our community-led committee (https://bit.ly/LiteracyCLC).

SBAC math results reach a district high

Math results remain lower than for ELA overall (a pattern consistent statewide), but this year’s scores show meaningful progress. In 2024-25,  25.9%, or slightly over 1 in 4 WCCUSD students met or exceeded math standards, a 2.6 percentage point increase from the year before. This marks the highest math performance in the district since the Smarter Balanced Assessment began in 2015 and surpasses pre-pandemic levels.

We also see increases in math results for many student groups, including Black or African American students (+3.4 percentage points), Latino students (+2.5), English learners (+0.4) and students with disabilities (+0.9). 

This growth is encouraging. However, with 1 in 4 students districtwide meeting grade level standards, and less than 1 in 6 in these key student groups, there is still substantial work needed. 

One positive step the district took last spring was to adopt a new, high-quality math curriculum.  Ensuring that teachers have the resources, support, and professional development needed to implement it effectively will be critical to sustaining and expanding this progress.  

Bright Spots in ELA and Math

There were notable gains at several WCCUSD schools last year. There were double-digit gains at Richmond High for ELA and at Hercules High and Ohlone Elementary for math. What new strategies or practices were adopted at these schools last year? How can we scale and spread these practices and results district-wide?

*Among schools with at least 90% test completion. 

ELPAC results 

The state also released the results for the English Language Proficiency Assessments for California (ELPAC).  This test is taken every spring by all English learner students, and is one of the key data points required for reclassification.  Students must score a 4 out of 4 in order to reclassify (and must also satisfy 3 other criteria).  

This year, only 7.5% of WCCUSD English learners scored at Level 4 this year, less than half of the statewide average. This is a 3.6 percentage point decrease from the year before.  These results have real consequences for our students.  It means that only 7.5% of EL students may be eligible for reclassification this year, a number that is likely to be lower due to the other criteria needed as well. 

These results, combined with the EL students’ results on the SBAC, highlights the urgent need for stronger, targeted support for English learners. WCCUSD has made difficult cuts in staffing departments throughout the district, including English learner services.  It is time to prioritize our most vulnerable students, including English learners, and invest more in staff and services for this population.

Next Steps

GO’s next step will be to take a deeper look at this data, along with key take-aways and action steps, in our 2025 Kids Can student data report, which will be released in December.  In this report, we will examine differences in outcomes by student groups (e.g., by race/ethnicity and economic, language, and disability statuses), by school site, and looking at trends over time in a wider data pull that includes both traditional district and public charter schools.  

In addition, our updated Forward Together: A Parent’s Guide to Reclassification,  will provide detailed English Learner data and actionable tips for supporting EL students and their families through the reclassification process. This year’s Forward Together will be released in November.   

Our goal is for these reports to anchor conversations and action grounded in a shared understanding of what is currently true in our schools and across our district. When we collectively understand where we are, we can work together to create a plan for where we want to go. 

Explore the Data

• You can explore your school’s results at https://caaspp-elpac.ets.org. 
• Check out GO’s new How to Access Assessment Data guide for step-by-step instructions.
• For more on statewide trends, see this article in EdSource.