The Brief

California’s K-12 students showed moderate progress academically last year, with some bright spots but otherwise plateauing after years of post-pandemic improvements, according to the new California School Dashboard released today.

Chronic absenteeism, discipline rates and progress among English learners all remained mostly unchanged, with slight improvements. Academic performance improved , but still lagged behind pre-pandemic levels.

The Dashboard is a user-friendly, color-coded guide for the public to understand schools’ performance. Schools get credit for their students’ scores, but also for how much progress they’ve made — a metric that some have said can be misleading . The dashboard assigns colors to reflect schools’ performance, with blue being the best and red triggering interventions from the state. Last year was the first year all categories earned a yellow or green, indicating improvement.

“Seeing modest improvements on every Dashboard indicator should encourage us to deepen our investments in every child’s progress,” State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond said. “We must not rest until all students’ outcomes represent their brilliance and potential.”

College and career readiness a bright spot

A highlight was college and career readiness, with a record-high number of students graduating last year prepared for college and the job market.

Nearly 52% of last year’s crop of graduating seniors satisfied the requirements to attend a public university in California or completed a 2-to-4-year career pathway. The number was up 3.1% over the previous year, bringing the overall total to its highest level since the state introduced the dashboard almost a decade ago.

California has been promoting career pathways in high schools for years, providing money and guidance for schools to train students in health care, engineering, environmental science, agriculture and other careers. Typically, students take a sequence of career-themed courses linked to their academic work, often combined with out-of-school internships or classes at local community colleges.

Last year, nearly 27% of students completed a career pathway, up about 1 percentage point from the previous year.

College readiness also improved, but that was partly because the state now includes completion of Advanced Placement courses among its measurements. Last year, 55% of students took at least one AP class.

Record-high graduation rate

The graduation rate also hit its highest level — 88% — since the Dashboard was introduced in 2017, when the rate was about 83%.

“Today’s Dashboard results show California continuing to make important strides in post-pandemic recovery — we’re getting more students reengaged in the classroom, graduating students in greater numbers, and getting more of them prepared for college and careers,” California State Board of Education President Linda Darling-Hammond said in a statement.

Slight improvement in absenteeism 

But other dashboard measurements were lackluster. Chronic absenteeism, for example, which soared to 30% during the pandemic, fell only 1 percentage point last year. After several years of steep declines, the rate all but stalled at just over 19%. Before the pandemic, about 11% of students were chronically absent, which means they missed 10% or more of the school year.

The Los Angeles wildfires and a surge in immigration raids are among the reasons for the stalled progress in attendance, said Hedy Chang, executive director of Attendance Works, a research and policy organization. Thousands of students missed school due to the fires, while others stayed away due to fears of deportation.

"I'm not surprised," Chang said. "It's a sign that we need a statewide game plan to address attendance. I also think this will require perseverance over time."

Schools that prioritized personal relationships with families tended to have better attendance, she said. Attendance also improved at schools that identified individual students who needed assistance getting to school every day and then provided that assistance.

English learner progress was also stagnant, with only 46.4% of students making progress toward English language proficiency. The number increased less than 1% from last year.

Big improvements in Dinuba

Dinuba Unified, a rural district southeast of Fresno, was among the state’s bright spots. The 6,000-student district, where a third of students are English learners and more than 85% are low-income, saw across-the-board improvements last year. English language arts test scores soared more than 10 percentage points, math scores jumped nearly 6 percentage points, and the graduation rate topped 95%.

District administrators attributed the success to low staff turnover and grant funding that allows teachers ample time to prepare lesson plans, collaborate and understand new curriculum, particularly in math. The newly rebuilt high school also has popular career pathways, including construction management and transportation, which entice students to stay in school and graduate, said Lisa Benslay, the district’s director of intervention.

“Our mission is to end generational poverty through education,” Benslay said. “People have really bought into that. They see the need, and feel a moral conviction.”

Funding expires

Statewide, students’ performance tanked during the pandemic, when most schools closed for in-person learning, but rebounded significantly the past few years. The state and federal government poured billions into programs to help students recover, such as tutoring, after-school and summer programs, mental health counseling and enticements meant to boost attendance.

But that money largely expired last year, and schools have had to cut many of those programs. Some are also getting less money from the state due to declining enrollment.

This article was originally published on CalMatters and was republished under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives license.

State Farm is facing another investigation into its handling of Eaton and Palisades fire insurance claims, Los Angeles County’s top attorney announced Thursday.

The civil investigation is focusing on “potential violations” of the state’s unfair competition law , which prohibits unlawful or unfair business practices, the Office of County Counsel said.

“We are committed to thoroughly investigating State Farm’s actions and making sure they are treating claimants fairly and resolving their claims quickly and in full compliance with the law,” County Counsel Dawyn Harrison said in a statement.

How we got here

The move comes as the insurance giant already is dealing with a state probe into the same issue. Some residents have raised concerns that State Farm isn’t moving fast enough.

“In the absence of state leadership, today's county investigation is a major step forward,” the Eaton Fire Survivors Network said in a statement. “It matters not only for Los Angeles fire survivors but for every Californian who pays premiums and expects the protection they paid for when disaster strikes.”

Customers have reported much higher rates of denials, lowball claim estimates, poor communication and challenges with multiple adjusters, according to a third-party survey of fire survivors.

State Farm won the first emergency rate hike in the state earlier this year. The company told officials it was in financial distress and expected to pay more than $7 billion in January fire claims.

Signs of that came back in July, when a nearly $900,000 check for an Altadena resident was put on hold because of insufficient funds.

About the investigation

In response to the investigation, State Farm said it has been "cooperating fully" with the California Department of Insurance.

"The goals of this investigation by L.A. County are unclear, but what is clear is that it will be another distraction from our ongoing work in California to help our customers recover from this tragedy," the company said in an update , alongside a list of actions it's taken.

The county counsel has sent State Farm a letter with demands for claim information. It says the investigation is looking at a number of alleged problems, including:

• Timely communications
• Switching adjusters, resulting in delays
• Misrepresenting policy language
• Failing to reimburse survivors’ living expenses
• Failing to disclose estimate documents upon request
• Not reasonably investigating smoke damage or paying for testing and remediation

County officials have given State Farm until Nov. 20 to respond. As California’s largest private insurance provider, State Farm manages more than 2.8 million residential and commercial policies statewide.

In the latest culture war to hit Westminster city hall, the City Council on Wednesday voted to rename a street after Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist who was shot and killed in September, and designate Oct. 14 in his honor.

The vote came despite the majority of public speakers at the meeting calling it a political move meant to serve congressional ambitions at a time when city leaders should be focusing on serious ongoing financial challenges.

Westminster has flirted with filing for bankruptcy numerous times in the past few years, and one reason observers and residents say they haven't been able to address the issues is because City Council meetings get pulled into culture wars and in fighting .

Mayor Chi Charlie Nguyen, who proposed changing All American Way to Charlie Kirk Way, said it would “honor someone who has encouraged a new generation to care about their country, to get involved and to speak up for what they believe in.”

“This is freedom of speech,” he said. “Charlie Kirk’s message has inspired countless young Americans to think critically, serve their communities and appreciate the freedom we enjoy.”

In September, Kirk, a right-wing activist and ally of President Donald Trump, was fatally shot during an outdoor speaking event at Utah Valley University. Kirk rose to fame for espousing right-wing Christian values and connecting with young people on college campuses.

But Councilmember Carlos Manzo, the sole voice of dissent on the dais against the street renaming, said the move  was just “exploiting a tragedy for political gain.” He pointed out that Nguyen and Councilmember Amy Phan West are running for Congress in 2026 and using their nonpartisan council seats to spotlight “national divisive issues” that they can use to campaign on a Republican platform.

Public weighs in

A cross section of city residents, including self-identified conservative Republicans, spoke out against the proposals, calling them a waste of money and time.

“ I am against spending tax dollars to name the street after Charlie, as much as I like him,” said Michael Verrengia, a longtime Westminster resident and veteran. “He didn't live in Westminster. He didn't do anything for Westminster.”

Another resident, Tammy Hamill, called the move “campaigning from the dais.”

“You guys are putting this stuff on there to get the word out to your party leaders,” she said.

Westminster residents approved increasing the city’s sales tax in 2022 and again in 2024 to save the city from filing for bankruptcy. Hamill said residents reluctantly voted for those tax increases to save the city from filing bankruptcy, not to spend on “pet projects.”

Others suggested the council use the $3,000 allocated to renaming the street toward youth programming or honoring the Mendez family. In the 1940s, the Mendez family in Westminster successfully challenged the segregation of Mexican American children in California schools, which was used as a precedent for the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision that desegregated schools across the country.

Once again, Taylor Swift tops this week's Billboard albums and singles charts. Elsewhere, two holidays collide, as Halloween perennials coexist with the charts' first flurries of the Christmas season. Along the way, Michael Jackson's Thriller shoots up the chart, making this the sixth consecutive decade in which Jackson has scored at least one top 10 hit. That's an all-time chart record.

Top story

Before the streaming era, holidays rarely had much of an impact on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart. You'd see an occasional novelty hit here and there, but generally speaking, the Hot 100 in December didn't look all that different from the Hot 100 in, say, March.

The streaming era has changed that radically — and in ways that extend well beyond Christmas time. Just this year, Toby Keith 's 35 Biggest Hits compilation zoomed back into the top 10 in the aftermath of July 4. Earth, Wind & Fire 's Greatest Hits re-entered the Billboard 200 albums chart because so many fans like to stream the group's 1978 song "September" — with its famous question, "Do you remember the 21st night of September?" — on Sept. 21.

And Halloween? Well, Halloween has become a musical season unto itself — for at least a few weeks, anyway.

Last week's charts reflect the seven days immediately before Halloween — the "spooky season," you might say, but not the holiday itself or the weekend that followed. And several titles did re-enter the charts, led by Michael Jackson's "Thriller," which resurfaced on the Hot 100 at No. 32.

This week's charts cover a seven-day stretch beginning with Halloween, so you get a full reflection of costume-party playlists and titles streamed on front porches for the benefit of trick-or-treaters. And, though it can't compare to the annual pre-Christmas onslaught, a handful of spooky and spookiness-adjacent songs do make their way back onto the Hot 100 this week.

The songs themselves are more or less exactly what you'd expect: Bobby "Boris" Pickett & The Crypt-Kickers' "Monster Mash" (No. 21), Ray Parker Jr.'s "Ghostbusters" (No. 22) and Rockwell's "Somebody's Watching Me" (No. 24) all reemerge from their respective crypts in lockstep, with The Citizens of Halloween's "This Is Halloween" (from Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas) right behind them.

But one Halloween jam outshines them all — and hits some massive milestones in the process.

"Thriller" was the seventh single from Jackson's 1982 mega-blockbuster of the same name and hit No. 4 during its initial chart run. It became a durable classic — and Halloween staple — thanks to its iconic video , which premiered in December 1983.

"Thriller" has re-entered the Hot 100 numerous times since then, most prominently in the aftermath of Jackson's death in 2009. This week, it jumps from No. 32 all the way to No. 10.

For Jackson, that triggers a remarkable chart milestone: He's the first artist in history to hit the top 10 in six different decades. Before, he was tied with … who, The Beatles ? Nope. Elvis Presley ? Nuh-uh. The answer is Andy Williams , who had loads of hits in the '50s, '60s and '70s, then returned to the top 10 in the 2010s and 2020s thanks to the streaming-fueled holiday hit "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year."

In Jackson's case, his six decades have been consecutive — and there's even a seventh with an asterisk, because The Jackson 5 cracked the top 10 with "I Want You Back" in December 1969. Prior to this week's "Thriller" renaissance, Jackson's last appearance in the top 10 arrived thanks to his posthumous appearance in Drake 's 2018 hit "Don't Matter to Me."

Don't expect "Thriller" to remain in the top 10 now that Halloween is an increasingly distant memory. The spooky season is well and truly over, provided you don't look too closely at the Hot 100 and grimace in terror as you spy the song at No. 31.

It's Mariah Carey , who reenters the chart — earlier than ever — with "All I Want for Christmas Is You." Eeeeeeeeeeeek!

Top albums

For the fifth straight week, Taylor Swift's The Life of a Showgirl sits atop the Billboard 200 albums chart. But Swift's grip on the top spot would at least appear to be slipping, with several high-profile albums on the immediate horizon.

Though she's yet to hit the Billboard 200's top 10 in her career, Rosalía 's LUX is due to hit next week's charts, and has gotten tremendous reviews. (Seriously, it's so great.) Summer Walker 's Finally Over It drops this Friday and will enter the Billboard 200 the following week. Michael Bublé 's Christmas has — [emits deep, tortured sigh, followed by a three-minute stare, unblinking, into the middle distance] — already reentered the chart at No. 65.

The Life of a Showgirl easily survived this week's top new threat, as Florence + The Machine debuted at No. 4 with a Halloween-friendly new album called Everybody Scream. And a huge chart leap for Tyler, The Creator 's CHROMAKOPIA — boosted by the release of deluxe editions surrounding the anniversary of its release — only sent it from No. 117 to No. 5.

Still, for The Life of a Showgirl — and for those of us who toil aggressively to avoid exposure to Bublé's music — winter is coming.

Case in point: There are now four Christmas albums on the Billboard 200. Bublé leads the way, followed by the Vince Guaraldi Trio 's A Charlie Brown Christmas (No. 85), Carey's Merry Christmas (No. 113) and Bing Crosby 's Ultimate Christmas (No. 160). Whole lotta holiday-music enthusiasts are out there opening their gifts early this year.

Top songs

Taylor Swift is a master of extending her chart runs, thanks to a deep bag of tricks that includes remixes, staggered releases on vinyl and CD, acoustic versions and more. The woman possesses a great many talents, but she's an all-timer when it comes to leveraging her fans' enthusiasm.

On the albums chart, it's a challenge to extend The Life of a Showgirl's run at No. 1, in part because she's already exhausted so many of those opportunities in the album's first week of release. The price of that record-setting sales week is that it gets harder and harder to go back to the well and sell fans more copies of the same album.

But when it comes to "The Fate of Ophelia," which tops the Hot 100 for a fifth straight week, she's still got some bullets in the chamber as she labors to remain ahead of two colossal hits. And she needs them, because the song isn't No. 1 in streaming or radio airplay this week.

The top song on streaming is HUNTR/X's "Golden," from the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack. When it comes to commercial radio airplay, the top song is Alex Warren 's "Ordinary," which is likely evident to anyone who's tried to listen to a commercial pop station since, say, June. But the former lags a bit in airplay, the latter lags a bit in streaming and "The Fate of Ophelia" leads the field in sales — an area where Swift's bag of tricks comes in especially handy.

"The Fate of Ophelia" gets a boost this week from two alternate versions: an "Alone in My Tower Acoustic Version" that's padding her streaming and sales numbers, and a brand-new remix by the duo Loud Luxury that dropped on Nov. 6.

Those moves were enough to keep the song atop the Hot 100 for another week, but as the holidays loom, all three songs face a force as predictable as the tides. Today, they're jockeying for the top of the charts; tomorrow, they'll all be eating Paul Anka 's dust.
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