FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Monday, January 27, 2025
Contact: Matt Roman, [email protected], 617-835-3167
California County Scorecard Reveals Statewide Struggles in Education and Foster Care
Children Now’s Scorecard Analyzes Key Data on Kids’ Well-Being in All 58 California Counties
OAKLAND, CA —
The majority of students across California continue to fail to meet basic education standards, according to the 2025 California County Scorecard of Children’s Well-Being released today by Children Now. Published bi-annually since 2008, the County Scorecard compiles and analyzes county-level data to deliver a current and comprehensive picture of children’s health, education, and welfare in every one of California’s 58 counties.
Only 43% of 3rd graders met standards in English language arts, just 33% of 5th graders met standards in science, and a dismal 32% of 8th graders met standards in math. Those already-low percentages are even worse among Black and Latino/a students – just 20% of Latino/a 8th graders met standards in math, and for Black 8th graders, that number drops to 14%.
“When it comes to education, right now in California, we are failing our kids,” said Ted Lempert, President of Children Now. “It makes no sense for a relatively high tax state like California to be so far behind many other states in both funding and outcomes.”
Education outcomes for foster youth are even more alarming. Faced with distinct challenges that can disrupt their learning, youth in foster care performed worse across all the same categories, with just 21% meeting standards in English language arts, 11% meeting standards in science, and only 7% meeting standards in math.
“The state has a legal responsibility to care for its foster youth – they are our kids – and so few meeting grade level standards is an indisputable sign we must be doing more to support and prioritize them,” said Lempert. “Change needs to start this year by prioritizing kids in the state budget and making necessary reforms around transparency and accountability.”
The Scorecard’s data did reveal some bright spots, particularly in kids’ health, with over 97% of kids having health insurance and improvements in the percentage of low-income children accessing CalFresh food supports. Two new data sets added this year also show how many infants in Medi-Cal had 6 or more well-child visits and how many Medi-Cal enrollees had developmental screenings by age 3.
In addition to statewide data across 40 key indicators, the 2025 California County Scorecard of Children’s Well-Being provides an interactive tool to easily compare county-level data for all 58 California counties. This allows policymakers, community-based organizations, and other stakeholders to see how kids are doing across communities and share best practices to improve outcomes.
Children Now can provide customized support as requested and is hosting a webinar on Wednesday, January 29 at 10:30 a.m. on how the Scorecard can be used to help support kids (register here).
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By employing a game-changing, whole-child (pre-natal to age 26), antiracist, connector model, Children Now harnesses collective power to achieve transformational and systemic results for California’s kids, so that all children can reach their full potential. Children Now also coordinates The Children’s Movement of California, the most powerful and diverse network advocating for kids in the country composed of more than 5,600 organizations.
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