Kern Students Continue Academic Gains, Exceed State in Graduation, Attendance Rates

Kern County students continued to make academic gains during the 2025–26 school year, with results from California’s Smarter Balanced assessments showing improvements in English language arts and mathematics for the fourth consecutive year. Newly released state data also shows that Kern County’s graduation rate exceeds the statewide average, while its chronic absenteeism rate remains lower than the state’s.

According to results released today by the California Department of Education (CDE), 40.67 percent of Kern County students met or exceeded state standards in English language arts, up from 39.94 percent the previous year. In mathematics, 25.26 percent met or exceeded standards, compared with 24.25 percent in 2024–25.

The Smarter Balanced assessments are administered annually to students in grades three through eight and grade eleven to track progress toward meeting California’s academic standards.

Since 2021–22, Kern County’s English language arts proficiency rate has increased by 2.79 percentage points, while mathematics proficiency has risen by four points.

“The steady gains we’re seeing in English language arts and mathematics are encouraging and reflect the hard work of our students, educators, and parents,” said Kern County Superintendent of Schools Dr. John G. Mendiburu. “There is still much work to be done, and we remain committed to helping every student succeed.”

Kern County’s academic results must also be viewed in the context of the challenges facing many local students and families, experts say. Economic hardship, language barriers and limited access to educational resources can create additional obstacles to learning, making continued support for students both inside and outside the classroom especially important.

Kern County’s results show gradual but consistent improvement in both subjects since 2021–22.

School Year	ELA	Math
2021–22	37.88%	21.26%
2022–23	38.23%	22.74%
2023–24	38.46%	23.37%
2024–25	39.94%	24.25%
2025–26	40.67%	25.26%

Percentages represent students meeting or exceeding state standards.

Kern County’s progress comes as California students continue to make academic gains statewide.

Across California, 49.3 percent of students met or exceeded standards in English language arts, an increase of half a percentage point from the previous year. In mathematics, 38.4 percent met or exceeded standards, up 1.1 percentage points.

Kern County’s improvement in English language arts outpaced the statewide increase this year, climbing 0.73 percentage points compared with 0.5 points statewide. In mathematics, Kern County’s 1.01-point increase nearly matched the statewide gain of 1.1 points.

Meanwhile, newly released graduation data offers another encouraging indicator of student success in Kern County, with local graduation rates exceeding statewide averages. During the 2025–26 school year, Kern County’s four-year graduation rate reached 89.3 percent, compared with 87.9 percent statewide. Of the 15,617 students included in the county’s four-year graduation cohort, 13,946 earned a regular high school diploma.

The data also highlights students’ academic accomplishments. Among Kern County’s four-year graduates, 5,611 completed coursework required for admission to the University of California and California State University systems. 1,924 earned a State Seal of Biliteracy, recognizing proficiency in English and at least one other language, while 5,062 earned a Golden State Seal Merit Diploma for demonstrating high academic achievement.

Kern County also outperformed the state in chronic absenteeism, an important measure of student engagement and school attendance. During the 2025–26 school year, 16.1 percent of Kern County students missed at least 10 percent of the school year, compared with 18.3 percent statewide.

Families and community members can explore individual school and district results at caschooldashboard.org. Additional historical data is available through the CDE data portal DataQuest. 

Delano Union School District Superintendent Rosalina Rivera works alongside students as part of the district’s commitment to improving attendance, academic achievement and student engagement through its Promise 180: Every School Day Counts initiative.