After a drop in scoring results during the COVID-19 pandemic, Berkeley Unified School District students show gradual academic recovery, according to the latest California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) results.
CAASPP tests are administered every spring to grades three through eight, and again in junior year of high school. They are intended to measure English Language Arts (ELA) and math understanding. Based on student test results last spring, 72 percent of BUSD students met or exceeded ELA standards and 66 percent met or exceeded math standards, both up two percent compared to 2024. Jill Hoogendyk, the associate superintendent, shared how BUSD students are doing compared to others in the county and state. “BUSD students have scored higher than students in Alameda County overall, and that trend definitely has continued,” Hoogendyk said during the BUSD data presentation on Thursday, Oct. 23, 2025. BUSD students scored 16 percent higher in ELA and 18 percent higher in math than the county average, and 23 percent and 29 percent above the state average.
“It’s exciting to see steady, incremental progress, because it tells us that we are doing things that are moving us in the right direction,” BUSD Superintendent Enikia Ford Morthel said.
Although most K-12 students are tested, CAASPP measures high school performance only in junior year. BHS juniors’ scores also reflect an upward trend: 71 percent of juniors met or exceeded ELA standards and 59 percent met or exceeded math standards, improving by three percent in ELA and five percent in math compared to 2024 scores.
Much of this progress connects to the district’s “3x5 plan,” which aims for three percent annual growth for all students and five percent for “focal” students. Current focal groups are Latinx, Black/African American, low-income, socioeconomically disadvantaged (SED), and students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs). Ford Morthel explained the focus on these groups, stating, “Some students we need to do more for because the data has shown that historically, they have been under-resourced and differently served, but that they are just as brilliant as everyone else.”
“One thing that we do for all students is we look at data more regularly,” Ford Morthel said. She explained that district leaders and educators review students’ data, such as grades, attendance, and behavior throughout the school year to see how students are performing and determine if support like tutoring, specialized classes, or resources out of school are needed. “We want to make sure that we are accelerating their outcomes and not just moving them along,” Ford Morthel said.
BHS students met the three percent of overall improvement goal this year. The goal of five percent improvement from all focal groups was not achieved. In ELA, all focal groups improved slightly, apart from Black/African American students and students with IEPs, whose scores declined by nine percent and eight percent. In math, all focal groups increased but below the five percent improvement goal, except Black/African American students who decreased by 12 percent. Focal groups who met the five percent improvement goal were Latinx students, who increased by six percent, and SED students, who increased by eight percent, in ELA. In math, Latinx students increased by five percent and SED students increased by six percent.
Ford Morthel explained a potential reason for the increase in participation and scores has to do with the district’s efforts to connect with students and families by speaking about the importance of the test and how it’s crucial for decisions about the district’s resource allocation. Ford Morthel presented at various community meetings about these points. “We think that’s why we’ve seen this slow and steady uptick in participation,” Ford Morthel said.
She also emphasized the importance of student engagement and that she plans to involve the collective, saying, “We were already thinking about how to engage the student body in general.”
“I’m looking forward to engaging our students and figuring out how to get information out and how to get them more encouraged and engaged with this particular assessment, but also to really understand that assessments are really a way to monitor their growth and learning.” Ford Morthel said.
Ford Morthel shared future plans to brainstorm with BHS student delegates to understand their perspectives and needs regarding assessments such as CAASPP.
While individual scores don’t affect funding, the results impact the decisions the district makes about resources. “One student’s individual test score doesn’t make or break if Berkeley gets funding, it’s really about us knowing how we’re doing, if we’re actually moving you towards the standards that you are expected to know, and getting you ready for post-high school,” Ford Morthel said.
CAASPP scores can benefit individual students if they qualify for the Seal of Biliteracy, which can allow them to skip entry-level college courses. “This assessment is not just for us. It’s really helpful for our students who are graduating. It may also go on your transcript at some point. It hasn’t yet, but there’s definitely been conversations about it,” Ford Morthel said.
While CAASPP scores can be beneficial in allowing the district to check student achievement by benchmarks, the in-class testing itself takes multiple days of class time and students can opt-out without penalty. Nico Smok Blanchard, a BHS senior, explained, “I kind of felt unbothered by it.”
He added that many students don’t take the test seriously because it doesn’t impact grades, and that juniors often prioritize other things during their busy year. He suggested that encouraging students could help with increasing motivation, mentioning potentially adding incentives or explaining the importance. Last year BHS held a raffle for gift cards to local Berkeley restaurants that all students qualified for by completing state testing.
“We’re definitely proud of the progress that we’ve made, and at the same time, not satisfied. We have room to grow,” Hoogendyk said.