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Parents expressed outrage at Los Angeles public school officials gatheringThursday to pat themselves on the back over the latest state test scores — even as the majority of LA students still can’t meet basic reading and math standards.
An event Thursday attended by high-ranking LA Unified School District officials, but lacking any parents or students, highlighted a slight uptick in academic performance for the county’s schoolchildren.
Only 48.3% of LAUSD students met or exceeded state standards in English language arts on the 2025-26 Smarter Balanced tests, while 39.7% did so in math, according to California Department of Education data.
That represents a bump of roughly 2 percentage points in English and 3 points in math over last year.
While the district technically edged past its pre-pandemic numbers, the reality remains grim: More than 60% of students are falling short of state standards in math, and over half aren’t meeting basic literacy goals.
“Behind every data point is a student whose future we are working to strengthen,” LAUSD Superintendent Andrés E. Chait said. “These results encourage us to keep raising expectations, learning from what works, and ensuring that every school is equipped to help every child succeed.”
Students in the nation’s second-largest school managed to slightly beat California’s statewide average of 38.4% in math proficiency.
But the gains come as the district faces a deepening budget crisis.
On Oct. 6, the state’s Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team, a school finance watchdog, told the school board that the LAUSD is at “high risk” of insolvency.
The district’s latest budget plan calls for about $3.6 billion in cuts over three years, including an estimated 6,000 layoffs — more than 10% of its workforce.
Furious parents say the district is celebrating a delusion while ignoring systemic failures.
Diana Guillen slammed the LAUSD for throwing money at the problem without holding staff accountable.
“I feel that LAUSD takes no responsibility, because when negotiations with UTLA take place, they only discuss benefits for employees — there is no mention in the contract of the teachers’ commitment to their students!” Guillen told the California Post, referencing the United Teachers Los Angeles union.
“Millions are spent on training sessions that require neither results nor active participation. Many of these sessions take place via Zoom; participants simply turn on their screens, but they aren’t actually present — yet they still collect their pay,” she added, noting she had to buy a private online math program just to get her son up to speed.
Even as LAUSD loses students year after year, staffing levels have remained high, raising questions about why additional resources per student have not translated into more substantial academic gains.
When asked by The Post to respond to parents’ criticism, Chait defended the district’s record.
“Every parent has the right to expect that when their children are with us, they are receiving a high-quality education that includes everything their students need in order to succeed and thrive,” he said. “Until every student is at proficiency or higher, our work continues.”
Some parents argue that the district’s upbeat messaging actively harms families by obscuring the scale of the problem.
“LAUSD teachers and administrators lull parents into a false sense of complacency when they celebrate tiny test score increases on an average, district-wide basis, and downplay the importance of standardized tests,” said Maria Luisa Palma, executive director of Oleada, Inc. and a former LAUSD parent.
“Combined with grade inflation on report cards, many parents — especially low-income and non-English-speaking parents — are unaware their children are not performing at grade level,” she told The Post.
Sonia Reiter, who has two high school students in the district, echoed the frustration with the official spin.
“People don’t know their kids can’t read, so they take the district’s word for it and think their own kids have historic gains, and that’s a tragedy,” Reiter said.
“Eventually parents learn the truth about their kids’ performance and it’s too late. The district is not honest enough about how far behind many kids are. The slightest generalized gain is celebrated as ‘historic,’” she continued.
Other large Southern California districts outperformed LAUSD by significant margins.
In Irvine Unified, 74.3% of students met or exceeded the English standard and 70.7% met the math standard, compared with 48.3% and 39.7%, respectively, in LAUSD.
Poway Unified and Capistrano Unified also topped 60% proficiency in both subjects.
San Diego Unified, the state’s second-largest district, posted proficiency rates of 53.9% in English and 45.9% in math.
Closer to home, neighboring Long Beach Unified edged LAUSD in English, with 51.1% of students meeting or exceeding the standard compared with 48.3% in LAUSD. The districts were nearly tied in math, with Long Beach at 39.9% and LAUSD at 39.7%.