Data-Driven Education Journalism for the Golden State
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The chronic rate for students who are currently homeless has fallen from its COVID peak, but the count reached a new high of 102,268 as California's housing crisis feeds its attendance crisis.
The white-Hispanic graduation gap in California shrank from 6.5 to 2.1 percentage points as 287,000 Hispanic students approach graduation parity with white peers.
739,000 Hispanic students are chronically absent, making up nearly two-thirds of the state's attendance crisis. The Hispanic-white gap doubled since pre-COVID.
Oakland Unified's graduation rate dropped 5.5 points in one year to 75.1%, the largest decline of any large California district and the lowest among urban peers.
California elementary grades cut chronic absenteeism by 1 to 1.6 points last year. Grades 9-12 improved just 0.2 points and stayed near 24%.
Students in foster care graduate at 68.5% in California, 19 points below the state average — the widest equity gap among graduation subgroups.
At 37.3%, foster youth have the highest chronic absence rate of any student group and are the only one where the rate increased last year.
Compton Unified rose from 83.5% to 93.7% graduation rate in seven years, now nearly six points above the California state average.
A 6,400-student Kern County district achieved a 5.3% chronic absenteeism rate -- well below the state average and its own pre-COVID baseline.
Of 607 large school districts, just 45 have returned to their pre-COVID chronic absenteeism rates. The median district remains 6.8 points above baseline.
California's white-Black graduation gap shrank from 15.6 to 6.4 percentage points as Black students posted the largest gains of any racial group.
California's statewide graduation rate reached an all-time high of 87.8% in 2025, with 69% of districts improving, but the state still hasn't crossed 90%.
Dashboard Alternative School Status schools have a 38-point chronic absenteeism gap over traditional schools, the largest structural divide in California's attendance data.
Charter schools had 5.8 points lower chronic absenteeism than traditional schools at the pandemic peak. By 2025, the gap has essentially closed.
Bakersfield City School District went from 51.6% chronic absenteeism to 18.9% in three years, dropping below the state average.
