SAN DIMAS/LA VERNE – Bonita Unified School District students achieved record-setting scores on the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) in 2023-24, reflecting the District’s success in fully overcoming the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on academic performance.

According to recently released CAASPP results for spring 2024, 72.5% of Bonita Unified students met or exceeded standards in English language arts (ELA) and 60.5% met or exceeded standards in math, marking an all-time high in both subjects for the District. The results indicate a slight increase over 2022-23 scores, which already marked significant progress in mitigating learning loss related to the pandemic.

Less than five percent of unified school districts in California have mitigated these academic impacts in both subjects, according to Bonita Unified Superintendent Matt Wien, and of those districts, only five – including Bonita Unified – have at least 70% proficiency in ELA and 60% proficiency in math.

“These scores are emblematic of the sense of purpose that is felt throughout the District and drive our students and employees alike to a new benchmark of achievement,” Wien said. “Our dedicated administrators, teachers, and staff continue to work tirelessly with fully engaged and focused students, determined not just to reach a new level of success, but to push past it and establish academic expectations beyond anything we have ever seen before in Bonita Unified.”

The spring 2024 scores place the District’s ELA program in the top eight percent and its math program in the top nine percent of unified school districts in California. Anne Neal, Bonita Unified’s Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services, attributes the record scores to the District’s continued emphasis on student mastery of standards, its continuous improvement model, and its effective use of differentiated instruction.

Over the last three years, Bonita Unified bolstered its instruction by providing staff and intervention services to get students back on track following the pandemic.

During this period, the District hired elementary-level reading and math intervention teachers to provide additional instruction; increased paraeducator support in classrooms to assist with academic intervention for students; enhanced the District’s summer school programs to provide comprehensive instruction at the elementary, middle, and high school levels to students needing intervention; and offered additional sections of intervention instruction at the secondary schools.

Prior to the pandemic, Bonita Unified’s scores had improved 15 percentage points in both ELA and math over a five-year period; now that the District has mitigated learning loss, it will seek to continue a trajectory of growth in the coming years, Neal said.

Bonita Unified’s continued success in fostering reading competency also earned a No. 1 ranking in the state on the California Reading Coalition’s (CRC) California Reading Report Card for two years in a row, and its history of continued academic achievement has yielded two back-to-back National Blue Ribbon School Awards and two consecutive California Distinguished School designations.

“An overlooked factor in Bonita Unified’s academic growth is our beautiful and nurturing campuses, which empower our students to challenge themselves in all aspects of their education,” Neal said. “It is truly a collective effort; our administrators, teachers, and staff are all aligned in their mission to support student achievement in every way we can, and our students have proven themselves willing and able to put in the effort to learn and succeed.”

PHOTO:

BUSD_CAASPP_2024: A Gladstone Elementary student is all smiles during a class activity. Bonita Unified School District recorded its highest-ever English language arts (ELA) and math scores on the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress in spring 2024, with 72.5% of students meeting or exceeding ELA standards and 60.5% percent meeting or exceeding math standards.