California made incremental gains in boosting student graduation rates, reducing chronic absenteeism and seeing more students ready for college or careers, according to newly released state data. But the state's slow progress means the majority of California's students may not reach proficiency in English Language Arts and math for many years. "At the current pace of progress it will take many, many more decades and leave behind multiple generations of students," said Melissa Valenzuela-Stookey, the director of P-16 research at EdTrust-West, an educational advocacy nonprofit.
On top of the typical anxieties of the college application season, California's high school class of 2025 had some unusual hurdles to clear. First, there was the two-month delay in when the 2025-26 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form was available to students and their parents. Then, devastating wildfires in the Los Angeles area that disrupted so many lives.
Nearly three-quarters of California public high school seniors applied for federal financial aid this year, soaring past last year's figures by 11% and giving further indication that California's efforts to get more students to apply for federal grants are paying off. This time last year about 307,000 high school seniors completed a financial aid application. This year, that number is around 340,000.
In a press release Wednesday, the department said California must rescind its guidance permitting participation based on gender identity, issue written apologies to cisgender female athletes, restore records and titles 'misappropriated by [transgender] athletes,' and adopt binary 'biology-based definitions' of sex.