School reopening - CalMatters

State test results show California students overall performed much worse in math and English language arts than pre-pandemic, but a persistent achievement gap didn't worsen, as initially feared. Photo Photo by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters

California student test scores plunge — but some achievement gaps narrow. See how your school compares.

by Joe Hong and Erica Yee October 24, 2022May 2, 2023

The results — the most thorough look yet at the pandemic’s toll on learning — left education officials and experts neither surprised nor hopeless.

Kindergarteners wear masks while listening to their teacher amid the COVID-19 pandemic at Washington Elementary School in Lynwood on Jan. 12, 2022. AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez

Get ready for new school mask rules, California

by Emily Hoeven February 28, 2022February 28, 2022

Alisson Argueta, 8, is given a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) test at a back-to-school clinic in South Gate, Los Angeles on August 12, 2021. Photo by Lucy Nichols/REUTERS

Big COVID changes could land today in California

by Emily Hoeven February 14, 2022February 14, 2022

Are California schools failing students of color?

by Emily Hoeven February 7, 2022February 7, 2022

The San Francisco Unified School District Building in San Francisco on Dec. 2, 2021. Nina Riggio for CalMatters

Vaccines, grades, tests, math: Equity becomes flashpoint in California schools

by Emily Hoeven December 6, 2021December 6, 2021

Gov. Gavin Newsom cites California’s strong economy and low infection rates of COVID-19 at IBEW Local 6 in San Francisco on Sept. 14, 2021. On Nov 10, he extended an emergency order. Photo by Anne Wernikoff, CalMatters

Newsom extends COVID emergency rules

by Emily Hoeven November 15, 2021November 15, 2021

People pass by a vaccination verification station at the entrance to the San Jose Jazz Summer Fest in San Jose, on Aug. 13, 2021. Photo by Anda Chu, Bay Area News Group

Are California’s vaccine rules making inequality worse?

by Emily Hoeven November 8, 2021November 8, 2021

California Gov. Gavin Newsom tours a new COVID-19 testing facility on Oct. 30, 2020, in Valencia. The state is working with corporate partner PerkinElmer to run the lab which will enable the state to process an additional 150,000 COVID-19 tests per day. (Photo by Marcio Jose Sanchez, AP Photo/Pool

State renews $1.7 billion contract with troubled COVID lab

by Emily Hoeven November 1, 2021November 1, 2021

More than a thousand gathered in front of the California Capitol building to protest Gov. Gavin Newsom's stay at home order and demand that the state re-open on May 1, 2020. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

Parents plan school walkout over vaccine mandate

by Emily Hoeven October 18, 2021October 18, 2021

Why many California students keep missing school

by Emily Hoeven September 28, 2021September 28, 2021