Fourth grade math scores are improving in the San Diego Unified School District, but a performance gap between students who are and aren’t economically disadvantaged remains. That’s according to national testing data released Wednesday.
The National Assessment of Educational Progress tests fourth and eighth graders on reading and math every two years. Fourth graders tested in 2024 were in kindergarten when the pandemic began.
San Diego Unified’s data show fourth grade math scores improving. Four in 10 students scored at or above the math test’s proficient level, up from 3 in 10 in 2022. Students who score at that level understand things like factors and multiples and can solve one-step equations.
Fourth graders who were economically disadvantaged had lower scores than those who weren’t. For those students, 3 in 10 scored proficient in math, compared to 7 in 10 students who are not economically disadvantaged.
The performance gap between economically disadvantaged students and not has grown since the district first started participating in the test in 2003, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.
Ricardo Holguin is a counselor at Horton Elementary School in Emerald Hills. He said about 40% of the students there are homeless or in foster care.
“Imagine coming to school and thinking about if I'm going to have a place to sleep at night,” he said. “Am I going to have warm food? Am I going to be able to do my homework?”
Staff work together to identify students’ needs both in and out of the classroom. They’ve recently surveyed students on things like their sense of belonging at school.
“Once you start tackling those social emotional concerns with the student, then the student will slowly feel that, ‘I'm capable. I can do this,’” Holguin said.
Winnie Gonzales is a fourth grade teacher at Horton. She’s been finding ways to build her students’ confidence.
“Math is almost theatrical in here. We will act out word problems, we do little exercises,” she said. “They're very tired. And sometimes you just need to get them, you know, awake and alive and interested.”
She said many students were juggling multiple responsibilities during remote learning.
“If in their homes, they didn't have a set schedule and weren’t able to focus, then they brought that back to the classroom,” she said. “Even though they had instructions to be on their laptop at a certain time and all of that, a lot of them had to be caregivers for their other family members.”
San Diego’s fourth grade reading, eighth grade reading and eighth grade math scores remained steady compared to 2022. Nationally, reading scores declined.
“These results illustrate the hard work being put in by students each day, and the support they’re getting from our district and their families,” Interim Superintendent Fabiola Bagula said in a written statement. “I couldn’t be prouder of progress we have made as a team, but there is more work to be done.”
