{"id":299573,"date":"2025-10-13T09:32:11","date_gmt":"2025-10-13T09:32:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/299573\/"},"modified":"2025-10-13T09:32:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-13T09:32:11","slug":"morning-report-student-test-scores-are-up-but-still-lower-than-pre-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/299573\/","title":{"rendered":"Morning Report: Student Test Scores Are Up, but Still Lower than Pre-Pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cSan Diego Unified students still haven\u2019t made up the academic ground they lost after the pandemic, the district\u2019s latest standardized test scores show,\u201d wrote reporter Jakob McWhinney about last year\u2019s statewide test scores<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to the latest state standardized test scores, released on Thursday, that\u2019s still true.\u00a0<\/p>\n

About 56 percent of San Diego Unified students met state standards in English \u2013 a two-percentage-point increase from the year before \u2013 and about 45 percent met standards in math, a nearly 1.5-percentage-point increase.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The increases and overall scores were higher than the countywide figures. But despite three years of at times halting growth, San Diego Unified students\u2019 English and math scores were about one and three percentage points, respectively, below where they were before the pandemic.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile we celebrate these gains, we know that equity gaps remain, and we are committed to ensuring every student\u2014regardless of background\u2014has the support and opportunities they need to thrive,\u201d Superintendent Fabiola Bagula wrote in a statement.<\/p>\n

And she\u2019s right. The longstanding achievement gaps that have plagued schools across the country are still alive and well at the district. Nearly 30 percent fewer Black and Latino students met state English standards than their White peers. In math, 31 percent fewer Black students and 27 percent fewer Latino students met state standards.<\/p>\n

Stunning Reversal by Registrar of Voters<\/strong><\/p>\n

We pulled the following section from the Politics Report. That\u2019s our member-exclusive newsletter on San Diego politics. Become a member today and support our journalism.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Editor Scott Lewis writes that after decades of imposing a strict, unforgiving interpretation of compliance with petitions, the Registrar of Voters has quietly updated its guidance to employees reviewing signatures.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This move follows a court ruling<\/a> on a petition to raise a parcel tax to support libraries and parks within the city of San Diego.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Supporters came up short in part because signature gatherers had screwed up the dates they put on petitions. But the Registrar of Voters had also disqualified signatures for very minor mistakes by the people signing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cElection officials, however, acted arbitrarily in rejecting signatures due to some misspellings, illegibility, or nonstandard abbreviations,\u201d the court opined.<\/p>\n

The county said in May it would comply with the ruling but now we know it has dramatically changed how it reviews petitions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Continue reading here if you\u2019re a member.\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

About That Regional ADU Boom<\/strong><\/p>\n

The city of San Diego permitted more new housing units in 2023 and 2024 than it has in decades \u2013 and accessory dwelling units helped bolster those numbers.<\/p>\n

The Union-Tribune reported<\/a> that ADUs made up more than a quarter of permitted units last year \u2013 and that the city still has lotsa work to do to meet its 2029 state housing goals.<\/p>\n

Not alone on ADUs: <\/strong>As our Lisa Halverstadt recently reported, ADUs have provided a major shot in the arm<\/a> to housing production efforts outside incorporated cities too. Halverstadt\u2019s recent analysis found that ADUs also made up 45 percent of housing units that the county government permitted in areas in 2024.<\/p>\n

Elo-Rivera Wants to Preserve \u2018Free Fun\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

Beachfront yoga, music in parks and fire pit gatherings are three popular and free San Diego things that have been under siege in recent history.<\/p>\n

At Politifest on Saturday, Oct. 4, Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera argued the city needs to stop trying to shut down free fun.<\/p>\n

Our Mariana Mart\u00ednez Barba reviewed recent city debates over \u201cfree fun\u201d and Elo-Rivera\u2019s argument that the city shouldn\u2019t be robbing residents of these opportunities.<\/p>\n

Read the full story here<\/strong>.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

LIVE! From Politifest\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Our Solutions Showdown brought out spicy debates between elected officials and local experts. Spoiler alert: they didn\u2019t actually fist fight, but they did present some ideas to tackle San Diego\u2019s biggest problems.<\/p>\n

At the end of our event, the podcast crew invited the winners on stage to discuss their proposed solution.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Cajon Valley Union School District Superintendent David Miyashiro took inspiration from Swiss school systems and San Diego\u2019s Behavioral Health Officer Dr. Aaron Meyer talked about how the county system needs to improve accommodations for diverse needs.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Listen to the podcast here.\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Sacramento Report: A Convo with a Coastal Commissioner\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Chula Vista Councilmember Jose Preciado\u2019s idea of fun is reviewing planning permits and development projects. That\u2019s probably why he was well-suited to join the California Coastal Commission.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Our Sacramento reporter Nadia Lathan spoke with Preciado about his role on the powerful Coastal Commission and his take on development along the coast.<\/p>\n

Also: Cheaper gas is now available across California pumps thanks to a bill authored by Chula Vista Democratic Assemblymember David Alvarez. The bill was signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom last week, giving folks an option for a more affordable blend of gas.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read the Sacramento Report here.\u00a0<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

In Other News<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Morning Report was written by Mariana Mart\u00ednez Barba, Jakob McWhinney, and Lisa Halverstadt. It was edited by Andrea Sanchez-Villafa\u00f1a.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cSan Diego Unified students still haven\u2019t made up the academic ground they lost after the pandemic, the district\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":236149,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5134],"tags":[5229,1582,276,9081,3549,7264,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-299573","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-diego","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-california","11":"tag-morning-report","12":"tag-san-diego","13":"tag-sandiego","14":"tag-united-states","15":"tag-united-states-of-america","16":"tag-unitedstates","17":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","18":"tag-us","19":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115366169353854744","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299573","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=299573"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/299573\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/236149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=299573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=299573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=299573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}