California Is Failing My Generation. The Test Scores Are the Proof

A STUDENT’S VIEW - California tells young people that we are the future. But the latest test scores force a much harder question: What kind of future are we supposed to build when our education system isn't preparing us for it?

Only 49.3% of California students met or exceeded English language arts standards in the 2025-26 school year. In math, just 38.4% met the standard.

Think about that. More than half of California students are falling short in English, and more than six in ten are falling short in math.

That isn't a disappointing statistic. It is an educational emergency.

Yet we are supposed to feel encouraged because the numbers improved slightly. English proficiency increased just half a percentage point from the previous year. Math increased 1.1 percentage points.

For students sitting in classrooms right now, that isn't good enough. We don't get to put our childhoods on hold while Sacramento waits another decade for the numbers to improve.

California certainly isn't starving its schools of money. The state spent about $134 billion from all sources on K-12 education in 2025-26 roughly $26,450 per student. Per-student spending is even higher this year.

So, students and parents have every right to ask: Where are the results?

This isn't an attack on teachers. Great teachers change lives every day, often while working inside a system that makes their jobs harder. This is about whether the people making decisions at the highest levels are willing to accept responsibility when enormous spending produces unacceptable outcomes.

The numbers are especially devastating for economically disadvantaged students. About 61.1% failed to meet English standards, while 72.6% fell short in math.

Education is supposed to be the great equalizer. But when the students who need opportunity, the most are falling furthest behind, something is fundamentally wrong.

And my generation needs to acknowledge another problem: technology. Phones compete constantly for our attention. Social media can consume hours of our day. Now artificial intelligence can write an essay, solve a math problem, or summarize a book almost instantly.

AI can be an incredible educational tool. But if we use it to avoid thinking instead of helping us think better, we aren't becoming smarter. We are outsourcing our education.

Still, adults cannot simply blame students, smartphones, COVID, or AI.

Students didn't build this system. Adults did.

State officials decide how billions of dollars are spent. Legislators write education laws. District administrators set priorities. School boards approve policies. With that authority comes responsibility.

COVID caused enormous learning disruption, but it cannot remain California's permanent excuse. The latest scores still haven't returned to pre-pandemic levels in English or math.

It is 2026. How many more years are students supposed to wait?

California needs evidence-based reading instruction implemented aggressively, serious math intervention, effective tutoring, high academic expectations, and clear accountability when programs fail.

And we need to stop confusing how much government spends with how much students learn.

Money is an input. Education is the outcome.

If billions more are spent while students still cannot read or perform math at grade level, announcing another record education budget should not be treated as an accomplishment.

My generation is told that we will inherit some of the greatest challenges in modern history: artificial intelligence, a changing economy, unaffordable housing, global competition, and jobs that may not even exist yet.

Then prepare us for them.

California is home to Silicon Valley, extraordinary universities and companies transforming the world. A state capable of producing revolutionary technology should also be capable of teaching every child to read, write, calculate, and think critically.

We should not accept mediocrity because the numbers improved by a fraction of a percentage point. We should not accept excuses because fixing the system is difficult. And we should never accept a California where a child's ZIP code or family income determines whether that child receives a real opportunity to succeed.

Adults will debate these statistics. Politicians will defend their records. Administrators will explain their programs.

But students will live with the consequences.

California keeps telling us that we are the future.

Then stop failing us in the present.

(Shoshannah Kalaydjian is a young Jewish student who writes about education, identity, and the challenges facing the next generation. Growing up in today’s climate, she has witnessed firsthand how rising antisemitism affects young people in classrooms and on college campuses.  She is committed to sharing the perspectives of Jewish youth, amplifying student voices, and encouraging leaders to create safer, more inclusive environments for all students.)