Senate Republican Leader Scott Wilk (R-Santa Clarita) issued the following statement after the California Superintendent of Public Instruction released data today highlighting major educational failures within our state:
“Democrat policies get an F. It is no wonder these scores were kept under lock and key. They are a clear referendum on the failed policies advocated by the governor, legislative leaders, and the state superintendent of public instruction for years – not just during the pandemic. After shuttering schools for the better part of two years, student failure is on steroids. If we continue doubling own on policies that don’t work, our kids will not be prepared for much of anything.
“Very few Californians can afford to put their kids in private school, like the governor did. Last year, 100,000 students left the state’s public school system. With scores like these, it is no wonder parents are pulling up stakes.”
In September, Senate Republicans demanded that these statewide test scores be released immediately to address the severity of learning loss that has occurred over the last two years. Initially, the California Department of Education (CDE) stubbornly declined to release the CAASPP statewide scores and refused to announce a date to release the data. With intense pressure from social media and our letter, the CDE agreed to release statewide test scores in October.
The CAASPP test scores are a key tool for assessing student progress or lack thereof and are critical to assessing the anticipated pandemic-related learning loss for California’s students.
Below is the Republican letter sent nearly a month ago and media outlets can download the letter here:
