Academic Disparities in California’s Central and Imperial Valleys

Executive Summary

Introduction

California, known for having the largest economy in the United States, faces significant educational inequities. This report focuses on the racial and ethnic academic disparities in California’s Central and Imperial Valleys (CIV). Despite California’s overall economic strength, the CIV remains a pocket of severe socio-economic hardship, with marked disparities in educational outcomes that have persisted over time. Using a decade’s worth of data on K-12 students, we examine standardized test scores in mathematics and English language arts (ELA), absenteeism, and graduation rates while controlling for student-level demographics and school district characteristics. We find persistent achievement gaps between racial/ethnic groups in standardized test scores, absenteeism, and graduation rates despite efforts to address these disparities through state policies and funding. The findings in this report underscore the pressing need for targeted policies and interventions to address these disparities. In addition to threatening affected students’ long-term well-being and economic prospects, persistent inequities in California’s education system may hinder the state’s and nation’s future economic growth and result in a significant loss of untapped human potential.

A summary of the study's findings (Executive Summary) and the full research report are attached.