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In a win for the nation鈥檚 second-largest school district, Los Angeles Unified students bounced back from the pandemic, posting big gains on state reading and math tests. 

L.A. Unified surpassed pre-pandemic math, reading and science levels on 2024-25 state test scores released Thursday and closed the gap with the rest of California, even as the state鈥檚 test scores rose overall.

District officials attributed the increases to tactics such as targeted funding for struggling schools, small group instruction, tutoring and using the phonics-based science of reading.

But disparities remain. 

While LAUSD students narrowed achievement gaps between Black, Hispanic; and white and Asian students, inequities persist, with 68.9 percent of white students meeting reading standards compared to 41 percent of Latino students, who make up most of the district鈥檚 enrollment. Overall, 53.3 percent of the district鈥檚 540,000 students are still not reading at grade level, compared to 51.2 percent of the entire state. 

The district also continues to face challenges including falling enrollment, financial troubles and threats from the federal government.  

Still, officials celebrated the increases across the state and in L.A. Unified in particular.

鈥淭his is a proud moment,鈥� said Governor Gavin Newsom at a press conference with LAUSD superintendent Alberto Carvalho held inside the Alexander Science Center School in Exhibition Park, a neighborhood in the south region of L.A., where many students are low income. 鈥淲e鈥檙e not only moving in the right direction; we鈥檙e leading in that respect.鈥�  

L.A. Unified students made big gains in reading on the exams, outpacing those made by the state as a whole, and achieving a 46.5% reading proficiency level on 2024-25 Smarter Balanced assessments, up from 43.1% the previous year and 44.1% in 2018-19.

Likewise, 36.8% of LAUSD students achieved math proficiency on the 2024-25 state exams, up from 32.8% the previous year and 33.5% in 2018-19.

Statewide, reading proficiency rose to 48.8% and math proficiency rose to 37.3%. LAUSD, a huge and diverse urban school district, historically underperforms the state overall and serves a higher percentage of higher-needs students. 

鈥淟os Angeles Unified is having a very special moment in history, one without precedent,鈥� said Carvalho. 鈥淭oday, we celebrate the fact that we can proudly say that as Los Angeles goes in terms of education, so goes the state of California.鈥�  

Carvalho said the district鈥檚 early adoption of approaches aligned with the science of reading helped boost students鈥� test scores. Newsom cited  he signed Thursday to promote the use of phonics-based techniques for teaching reading in all California schools.

As the largest school district in California, LAUSD鈥檚 new test scores helped lift those of the state overall and capped a string of positive metrics for the district. Carvalho, who boasted of L.A. Unified鈥檚 progress in his opening of schools address, just reupped his contract with the district to remain superintendent for another four years.

In an interview with reporters on Wednesday, Carvalho explained that the district鈥檚 improvement was not only due to using the science of reading, but also to tactics that targeted increased funding at underperforming schools, providing needier students with extra tutoring and supplemental training for teachers.

鈥淲e outperformed last year鈥檚 already improved performance,鈥� said Carvalho, 鈥渨ith Black, Latino, low income, poor kids, students with disabilities, performing better than pre-pandemic levels.鈥�

Black students showed the strongest gains overall on the Smarter Balanced assessments, and Latino students also made larger gains compared to both white and Asian kids in reading and math on the exams.

LAUSD Deputy Superintendent of Instruction Karla Estrada said LAUSD鈥檚 improvements were also the result of the district鈥檚 deployment of small group instruction, wraparound social services, and efforts to boost attendance.

Carvalho said the district is already looking to redouble those efforts.

鈥淲e are already examining and analyzing and detailing over the practices that we believe produce these results, and refining the approach to actually accelerate the rate of improvement that we鈥檝e seen,鈥� Carvalho said. 鈥淭his is strategic. It is deliberate. I believe it settles a number of contentious unknowns of the past.鈥�

Former LAUSD board member David Tokofsky, who consults with districts and labor groups on policy and operations, said LA Unified鈥檚 latest test scores are impressive, but the district and the state can still do better to achieve stronger results.

鈥淭he gap between Black and brown kids and white and Asian kids continues to be expansive,鈥� said Tokofsky of the new scores. 鈥淭he good news is the gap between the state scores and the district scores has been reduced to near nothing.鈥�

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