Morning Report: Student Test Scores Are Up, but Still Lower than Pre-Pandemic
EM - News Moderator 
“San Diego Unified students still haven’t made up the academic ground they lost after the pandemic, the district’s latest standardized test scores show,” wrote reporter Jakob McWhinney about last year’s statewide test scores.
According to the latest state standardized test scores, released on Thursday, that’s still true.
About 56 percent of San Diego Unified students met state standards in English – a two-percentage-point increase from the year before – and about 45 percent met standards in math, a nearly 1.5-percentage-point increase.
The increases and overall scores were higher than the countywide figures. But despite three years of at times halting growth, San Diego Unified students’ English and math scores were about one and three percentage points, respectively, below where they were before the pandemic.
“While we celebrate these gains, we know that equity gaps remain, and we are committed to ensuring every student—regardless of background—has the support and opportunities they need to thrive,” Superintendent Fabiola Bagula wrote in a statement.
And she’s right. The longstanding achievement gaps that have plagued schools across the country are still alive and well at the district. Nearly 30 percent fewer Black and Latino students met state English standards than their White peers. In math, 31 percent fewer Black students and 27 percent fewer Latino students met state standards.
Stunning Reversal by Registrar of Voters
We pulled the following section from the Politics Report. That’s our member-exclusive newsletter on San Diego politics. Become a member today and support our journalism.
Editor Scott Lewis writes that after decades of imposing a strict, unforgiving interpretation of compliance with petitions, the Registrar of Voters has quietly updated its guidance to employees reviewing signatures.
This move follows a court ruling on a petition to raise a parcel tax to support libraries and parks within the city of San Diego.
Supporters came up short in part because signature gatherers had screwed up the dates they put on petitions. But the Registrar of Voters had also disqualified signatures for very minor mistakes by the people signing.
“Election officials, however, acted arbitrarily in rejecting signatures due to some misspellings, illegibility, or nonstandard abbreviations,” the court opined.
The county said in May it would comply with the ruling but now we know it has dramatically changed how it reviews petitions.
Continue reading here if you’re a member.
About That Regional ADU Boom
The city of San Diego permitted more new housing units in 2023 and 2024 than it has in decades – and accessory dwelling units helped bolster those numbers.
The Union-Tribune reported that ADUs made up more than a quarter of permitted units last year – and that the city still has lotsa work to do to meet its 2029 state housing goals.
Not alone on ADUs: As our Lisa Halverstadt recently reported, ADUs have provided a major shot in the arm to housing production efforts outside incorporated cities too. Halverstadt’s recent analysis found that ADUs also made up 45 percent of housing units that the county government permitted in areas in 2024.
Elo-Rivera Wants to Preserve ‘Free Fun’
Beachfront yoga, music in parks and fire pit gatherings are three popular and free San Diego things that have been under siege in recent history.
At Politifest on Saturday, Oct. 4, Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera argued the city needs to stop trying to shut down free fun.
Our Mariana Martínez Barba reviewed recent city debates over “free fun” and Elo-Rivera’s argument that the city shouldn’t be robbing residents of these opportunities.
LIVE! From Politifest
Our Solutions Showdown brought out spicy debates between elected officials and local experts. Spoiler alert: they didn’t actually fist fight, but they did present some ideas to tackle San Diego’s biggest problems.
At the end of our event, the podcast crew invited the winners on stage to discuss their proposed solution.
Cajon Valley Union School District Superintendent David Miyashiro took inspiration from Swiss school systems and San Diego’s Behavioral Health Officer Dr. Aaron Meyer talked about how the county system needs to improve accommodations for diverse needs.
Sacramento Report: A Convo with a Coastal Commissioner
Chula Vista Councilmember Jose Preciado’s idea of fun is reviewing planning permits and development projects. That’s probably why he was well-suited to join the California Coastal Commission.
Our Sacramento reporter Nadia Lathan spoke with Preciado about his role on the powerful Coastal Commission and his take on development along the coast.
Also: Cheaper gas is now available across California pumps thanks to a bill authored by Chula Vista Democratic Assemblymember David Alvarez. The bill was signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom last week, giving folks an option for a more affordable blend of gas.
Read the Sacramento Report here.
In Other News
- CalMatters reports that Gov. Gavin Newsom signed off on Senate Bill 79 to override local zoning restrictions to allow for more housing development. The outlet also reported on Newsom signing off on SB 27, which San Diego County has estimated could expand its CARE Court numbers by as much as 48 percent.
- More than 100,000 San Diegans are preparing to miss their paychecks this week after the government shutdown. KPBS reports how nonprofits are stepping up to assist military families.
- Data shared by KPBS reveals ICE’s historic increase in detentions is largely fueled by immigrants with no criminal records, with approximately 80 percent of those labeled as “No ICE threat level.”
- Logan Heights residents are complaining about dirty bathrooms in Memorial Park despite dozens of Get It Done complaints since 2021, reports NBC 7 San Diego.
- The Coastal Commission voted on Thursday to slap a hefty $1.4 million fine on a Carlsbad resident and ordered him to remove a gate, reports the Union-Tribune. The resident and Coastal Commission have been stuck in a perpetual back-and-forth over a handful of allegations to public access, unpermitted construction, and habitat preservation on the coast.
- A federal judge sanctioned San Diego County after they failed to retain footage related to the death of a 22-year-old man in the downtown central jail in 2022, reports the Union-Tribune.
- The Union-Tribune also reports that Urban Crops named a new CEO after a report revealed the company’s former executive used employees to renovate a house he owned.
- San Diego County on Friday announced two interim appointments following the planned departures of county Health and Human Services Chief Kim Giardina and Self-Sufficiency Services Director Rick Wanne later this year.
- Voice reporters Jim Hinch and Lisa Halverstadt joined KPBS Roundtable to talk about their Politifest panels on street homelessness and behavioral health. Listen here.
The Morning Report was written by Mariana Martínez Barba, Jakob McWhinney, and Lisa Halverstadt. It was edited by Andrea Sanchez-Villafaña.
The post Morning Report: Student Test Scores Are Up, but Still Lower than Pre-Pandemic appeared first on Voice of San Diego.
