Student Achievement Analysis: Results of the 2016-17 Smarter Balanced Assessments

Recently, the California Department of Education released statewide test results that show how schools and districts are doing. These assessments measure the types of high-level skills students need to be ready for college or a rewarding career. Ed Trust–West’s team of data analysts conducted a robust analysis of the results. Our analysis shows that while some schools and districts are significantly improving student achievement, for the vast majority of our state’s schools and districts, improvement from last year to this year has slowed—in some places to a trickle. For more on the trends in California’s latest student achievement results, including what we can and cannot tell from the data, see below.