WCCUSD test scores lag behind state, with sharp swings that show disparity among schools

Last in a two-part series examining West Contra Costa Unified School District student data. Read Part One here.

The majority of West Contra Costa Unified School District students did not meet state standards on the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress test last school year. Across the district, scores trailed the statewide average by 13 percentage points in math and 14 percentage points in English language arts. 

But not all WCCUSD schools performed the same. A Richmond Confidential analysis shows that at 12 schools, the majority of students met or exceeded state expectations in both subjects. However, 16 schools scored over 90% below standards in math and English language arts. Schools with the lowest scores tended to have fewer credentialed teachers and higher rates of chronic absenteeism, according to data from the California Department of Education. 

The challenge of hiring additional credentialed teachers is exacerbated by the district’s ongoing financial stress. The district must cut $7 million from next school year’s budget, or face a deficit of $15 million.

WCCUSD includes six cities and two unincorporated areas whose challenges and demographics differ, Raechelle Forrest, the district’s interim communications director, noted in an emailed response to Richmond Confidential’s questions. “Addressing these disparities requires tailored interventions that consider each school’s context,” she added.

Forrest said he district is addressing test scores by monitoring schools through districtwide assessments, and by providing teachers with professional development opportunities. She said it also is piloting different learning initiatives but did not provide details.

Attendance matters

California pubic school students in grades three through eight and 11 are required to take the CAASPP, a standardized test that measures students’ progress in meeting state standards. In WCCUSD schools, more than three-quarters of students did not meet the math section standards, while two-thirds fell short in English language arts.

Meanwhile, WCCUSD’s charter schools showed a slight edge over district schools, outperforming them by 2 percentage points in math and 7 percentage points in English language arts. However, the district’s charter schools still fell short of both state averages for district and charter schools.

The wide performance gap between the district's top-performing and struggling schools points to broader disparities between campuses, particularly in attendance. Richmond Confidential's data analysis suggests that poor test scores at underperforming schools across the district are linked to lower rates of regular attendance, a relationship observed by national experts.

“I'm looking at a kid that’s performing below grade level, then I have to ask a couple of things,” Jamela Smith-Folds, WCCUSD School Board president, said. “What’s the kid’s attendance?”  

Chronic absenteeism has spiked nationwide since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a report released by the White House last year, which analyzed data from 40 states. A student is considered chronically absent if they miss 10% or more of instructional days in a school year.

The report linked the rise in absenteeism to academic setbacks, estimating it was responsible for nearly a quarter of the decline in math scores and more than a third of the drop in reading performance. In WCCUSD, 12% of students, on average, were chronically absent at the highest-scoring schools, compared to 48% at the lowest-performing schools, such as DeJean Middle School, Lincoln Elementary School, and Stege Elementary School.

The five worst-performing schools in English language arts were in Richmond, along with four of the five schools that performed the worst in math.

Reducing chronic absenteeism may prove difficult. A district presentation to the School Board last spring identified many factors that contribute to rising absenteeism rates, including student anxiety, limited public transportation, and the need for students to stay home and care for family members. Students at risk of chronic absenteeism reported feeling they were falling behind and disengaged from their lessons. 

In July, Public Advocates, a San Francisco-based nonprofit firm, filed a lawsuit against the school district, citing persistent teacher vacancies and heavy reliance on substitutes at Stege, Helms Middle School, and Kennedy High School. A judge, pointing to the district’s efforts to fill the staffing gaps, ruled in favor of  WCCUSD in October.

In 2022, parents protested over the vacancies, and last year, the teachers union criticized the district for asking educators to use their preparation periods to substitute in other classrooms. 

An average of 28% of teachers were not fully credentialed at the lowest-performing WCCUSD schools, compared to 16% of teachers at the highest-performing schools in both subjects, according to Richmond Confidential’s analysis. 

“When there are teacher shortages in districts, it means that students aren't getting the adequate attention in education they need to succeed and thrive in today's education, and, frankly, in their workforce when they graduate,” said Hilary Wething, an economist who covers labor markets and the ongoing national teacher shortages at the Economic Policy Institute. 

Faced with tight budget constraints and a competitive job market, WCCUSD has turned to emergency federal COVID-19 relief funding to cover educator salaries. According to Wething, this strategy has allowed districts across the nation to bring in additional staff, which has led to notable improvements for students.

Districts that have used those funds on instruction or staffing have seen “big rebounds” in test scores, she said.  

But relief funds expired in September, leaving WCCUSD without a crucial source of financial support. Between 2020 and 2023, WCCUSD received $53 million through the program. 

“Student achievement is a product of strong school districts. So when districts don't have the funds to support their teachers and their education support staff, they're under stress, and they're often given too many workloads, too many classrooms to teach,” Wething said. 

Expiring funds are not the district’s only financial challenge. In California, state funding makes up the bulk of public school district budgets, with allocations partially based on student attendance rates. As a result, chronic absenteeism creates a cycle: Lower attendance leads to reduced funding, making it harder to afford more educators to address the issue. 

The district is committed to improving test scores, Forrest said via email. “Hiring highly qualified teachers and staff remains a priority, alongside leveraging various funding sources to maximize support for students.”

Program shows promise

While stabilizing the district’s budget to hire more teachers may help raise test scores, some schools have introduced new instructional strategies that have rapidly improved English language arts performance and could serve as a model for the district as a whole.

Nystrom Elementary in Richmond reported substantial gains in student reading performance, according to data shared during a Nov. 20 School Board meeting. Over three years, the school increased the percentage of students reading above grade level from 3% to 31%, a leap educators attribute to a new reading curriculum.

“Prior to making all these changes, I would see students really struggle, kind of shut down and not have a very good time. They would start to disconnect from school,” Masa Peterson, a first-grade teacher at Nystrom, said. “And now that we have all of these programs and we have these structures, and I have the professional knowledge that I can use to support my students to learn to read, I see many more students are happier in school.”

The new curriculum, called “Walk to Read,” mixes students across grades and organizes them into groups based on skill level, so students receive reading instruction appropriate for their current ability. 

The district provides a standard curriculum that campuses can choose to supplement with additional materials and strategies. Nystrom introduced the new reading instructional method in 2021 after receiving a state grant allocated to California’s 75 worst-performing schools in English language arts. The grant provided the school with an instructional coach for three years to support the new curriculum. 

“​​Those students can spend some time and get the instruction that they need, rather than sitting in the instruction that's too hard for them and not learning anything,” Peterson said.

According to Peterson, individual schools have the freedom to add to the district curriculum, but the district has not instructed them to implement the Walk to Read strategy. 

The district has not released a plan to increase test scores or close the gaps between the best and worst-performing schools. For now, the quality of education students receive in WCCUSD largely depends on which school they attend.   

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WCCUSD schools are losing students to charter schools at alarming rate, stressing district budget