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Los Banos Unified posts modest 2025 CAS gains and exits district assistance, officials say
Summary
District officials told the board the 2025 CAS results show modest gains — roughly +2% in ELA and +1% in math — and that Los Banos Unified no longer qualifies for state 'district assistance' on the new dashboard; presenters flagged subgroup gaps and plans to focus on fifth and eighth grades.
Los Banos Unified officials reported modest districtwide gains on the 2025 California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAS) and said the district no longer qualifies for state "district assistance" under the updated dashboard.
"We increased by 2% in ELA and 1% in mathematics," Dr. Sean Ritchie said while presenting the CAS results for an absent Dr. Sutton. He told the board that 34% of students districtwide met or exceeded standards on the assessed grades and that about 5,800 students participated in the ELA and math assessments.
The superintendent and his staff emphasized that growth varied by grade: fourth grade showed the largest gains, third grade and fourth grade showed steady improvement, while fifth grade and eighth grade represent areas of concern because standards jump and students historically face larger performance shifts there. "Fifth grade historically is a grade where it's more difficult to see growth because the standards change pretty dramatically," Ritchie said.
Staff also reviewed subgroup performance. Students with disabilities scored roughly 25 percentage points lower than all students, English learners performed about 26 percentage points lower, and socioeconomically disadvantaged students trailed the district average by about 2.2 percentage points. The district reported about 84–85% of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals, which staff said affects subgroup comparisons.
Officials described this year's dashboard release as notable because, for the first time since the dashboards were introduced, Los Banos Unified does not qualify for district assistance. "This is the first time we did not qualify," Ritchie said, characterizing the change as evidence of progress while urging continued focus on persistent gaps.
Board members asked for copies of the district-level slides and the new dashboard data; staff said a fuller dashboard presentation will follow in December. The superintendent said the district will continue to disaggregate data by school and subgroup and focus resources on transition points such as fourth-to-fifth grade to sustain the gains.
The presentation concluded with board requests for distribution of the CAS slides and a December follow-up on dashboard details and targeted interventions for grades and subgroups that lag behind.
