Fremont Unified Statewide Assessments Results, Rates of Absenteeism

Statewide data with results of 2022-23 academic assessments and rates of chronic absenteeism were released by the California Department of Education (CDE) today. The data show emerging trends in student attendance and academic performance two years out from the return to in-person instruction following pandemic-related distance learning.

“The instruction each of our students receives from educators in the classroom and through needs-responsive intervention support at each of our schools is supporting tremendous growth. The data show that Fremont Unified students have not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels of academic performance and attendance rates, and our work to meet students’ academic, social and emotional needs will continue to be of vital importance in the coming years. I remain very pleased with our high level of student achievement throughout all the challenges of the last four years,” said Fremont Unified School District Superintendent CJ Cammack.

2022-23 Rates of Chronic Absenteeism

The 2022-23 rate of chronic absenteeism for FUSD of 13.4 percent was substantially lower than those reported across Alameda County (26.7 percent) and the state (24.9 percent). This was nearly level compared to the 2021-22 chronic absentee rate of 13.6 percent within the District, but remains more than double the 2019 rate of 5.5 percent. The chronic absenteeism measure shows how many students were absent for 10 percent or more of the instructional days they were enrolled to attend.

Though chronic absenteeism data are historically released by the CDE as part of the California School Dashboard, statewide information was released today on the DataQuest platform with new Absenteeism by Reason reports.

2022-23 California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP)

The 2022-23 California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) summative assessments were completed in the spring of 2023, and included summative tests in English language arts (ELA), mathematics, and science.

Students in FUSD had a relatively strong performance and maintained high levels of overall proficiency. Continuing a multiyear trend, proficiency levels within FUSD surpassed Alameda County and statewide averages. FUSD did realize a small decrease in proficiency as measured by the 2023 Smarter Balanced (SBAC) summative assessments in ELA (down 1.7 percent) and mathematics (down 0.4 percent). However District proficiency rates in science increased by 1.7 percent as measured by the 2023 California Science Test (CAST).

Scores on SBAC and CAST assessments tests fall into one of four achievement levels: standard exceeded, standard met, standard nearly met, and standard not met.

Statewide results across all tested grades showed the percentage of students meeting or exceeding standards declined by 0.4 percentage points (from 47.1 percent to 46.7 percent) for ELA, increased by 1.2 percentage points (from 33.4 percent to 34.6 percent) for mathematics, and increased by 0.7 percentage points (from 29.5 percent to 30.2 percent) for science when compared to students who took the tests in 2021-22.

Overall, 75.8 percent of FUSD students met or exceeded the standard in ELA, compared to 55.8 percent for Alameda County and 46.7 percent for all of California. In mathematics, 69.7 percent of FUSD students met or exceeded the standard, compared to 46.7 percent for Alameda County and 34.6 percent for all of California. In science, 61.6 percent of FUSD students met or exceeded the standard, compared to 41.3 percent for Alameda County and 30.2 percent for all of California.

Nearly 98 percent of eligible students in FUSD successfully completed their SBAC exams in both ELA and mathematics, and the CAST exam in science.

Notable findings in the ELA results include:

• Overall, the 75.8 percent of students across FUSD who met or exceeded the standard in ELA decreased from the prior year by less than 2 percent, and remains within a fairly stable range of high values since 2016-17, which range from 75 to 78 percent.
• When disaggregated by grade level, the percentage of FUSD students who met or exceeded the standard in ELA ranged from a low of 71.6 percent of students in grade 3, to a high of 78.3 percent of students in grade 11.
• The percentage of FUSD students who met or exceeded the standard in ELA was 20 percentage points higher than the county average and 29 percentage points higher than the statewide average.

Notable findings in the mathematics results include:

• Overall, the 69.7 percent of students across FUSD who met or exceeded the standard in mathematics decreased from the prior year by less than 1 percent, and remains within a fairly stable range of high values since 2016-17, which range from 69.7 to 74 percent.
• When disaggregated by grade level, the percentage of FUSD students who met or exceeded the standard in mathematics ranged from a low of 64 percent of students in grade 11, to a high of 75 percent of students in grades 3 and 4.
• The percentage of FUSD students who met or exceeded the standard in mathematics was 23 percentage points higher than the county average and 35 percentage points higher than the statewide average.

Notable findings in the science results include:

• Overall, the 61.6 percent of students across FUSD who met or exceeded the standard in science increased from the prior year by nearly 2 percent and continues a multiyear pattern of modest growth from the first year the CAST was administered in 2019.
• When disaggregated by grade level, the percentage of FUSD students who met or exceeded the standard in science ranged from a low of 57 percent of students in grade 11, to a high of 66 percent of students in grade 5.
• The percentage of FUSD students who met or exceeded the standard in science was 20 percentage points higher than the county average and 31 percentage points higher than the statewide average.

Statewide Data

Chronic absenteeism data are available on the DataQuest platform with new Absenteeism by Reason reports. Details on each CAASPP assessment and student group results are accessible through the CDE Public Reporting website, where the public can view and compare aggregated statewide, county, district and school results.

The CDE will incorporate CAASPP data and rates of chronic absenteeism into the California School Dashboard, which is scheduled to be updated in December. The Dashboard provides additional information on school and district progress to present a more detailed, contextual interpretation of assessment data when paired with multiple additional measures of performance.