What percentage of students in San Diego Unified School District are proficient in math?
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About 41% of 4th graders and 31% of 8th graders were considered proficient in math in 2024, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).
41%
of San Diego Unified School District 4th graders were proficient in math in 2024
31%
of San Diego Unified School District 8th graders were proficient in math in 2024
The NAEP uses a scale of 0-500 points to group 4th and 8th grade students into three achievement levels (basic, proficient, or advanced). "Proficient" is the benchmark used to describe students who demonstrate competency with challenging subject matter. However, NAEP proficiency is not the same as being on "grade level," which is often assessed by other state and district tests. More information on NAEP skill expectations at each grade level is available here.
In 2024, 10% of 4th graders in San Diego Unified School District were advanced in math and 32% were proficient, which means that about 3 out of 5 (59%) scored at basic or below. In 8th grade, 69% scored at basic or below.
In San Diego Unified School District, 4th grade math proficiency scores in 2024 were higher than California overall. 8th grade proficiency was also higher than the California average.
In 2024, the percentage of San Diego Unified School District 4th graders at a proficient or advanced math level was higher than the California average.
Percentage of students at each NAEP achievement level in 4th and 8th grade in 2024 in San Diego Unified School District and California
How has math proficiency changed over time?
From this point onward, “proficiency” includes students who were at or above proficient in math (proficient and advanced students).
Among 4th graders, math proficiency in San Diego Unified School District was higher than California in 7 test years (2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2017, 2019, and 2024). It was lower in 1 year (2003). In all other test years, there was not a significant difference between San Diego Unified School District and California. Among 8th graders, math proficiency in San Diego Unified School District was higher than California in 7 test years (2009, 2011, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2022, and 2024). It was lower in 1 year (2003). In all other test years, there was not a significant difference between San Diego Unified School District and California.
Data are available in San Diego Unified School District beginning in 2003.
San Diego Unified School District 4th graders had higher math proficiency than California in 7 out of 11 test years
Percentage of 4th and 8th graders proficient in math in San Diego Unified School District, California, and the US, 2003–2024
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How do San Diego Unified School District students compare to other districts in math proficiency?
The NAEP collected data in 25 other large urban school districts in 2024. San Diego Unified School District had 95,492 students enrolled as of the 2023-24 school year, making it the 13th-largest district in this sample.
Among 4th grade students, San Diego Unified School District had the fifth-highest math proficiency rate compared to other districts. It was 8 percentage points lower in proficiency than Miami-Dade County Public Schools, the district with the highest rate (49%).
Among 8th grade students, San Diego Unified School District had the second-highest math proficiency rate compared to other districts. It was 1 percentage points lower in proficiency than Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, the district with the highest rate (32%).
San Diego Unified School District is fifth-highest in 4th grade math proficiency and second-highest in 8th grade among the 26 districts tested
Percentage of 4th and 8th graders in each district who were proficient in math in 2024
Why is there data for San Diego Unified School District but not all districts?
The NAEP randomly chooses public, private, and charter schools from across the country and in each state and Washington, DC to participate in testing. This random process ensures that the test scores from students in these schools represent how the US and each state are performing as a whole. In addition to national- and state-level reporting, for several years the NAEP has also administered the test to a random sample of schools within 26 of the nation's largest school districts in 2024, of which San Diego Unified School District was one.
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USAFacts standardizes data, in areas such as time and demographics, to make it easier to understand and compare.
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USAFacts endeavors to share the most up-to-date information available. We sourced the data on this page directly from government agencies; however, the intervals at which agencies publish updated data vary.
