With standardized state tests being taken digitally last year, schools across California have seen a significant drop in average scores. 

Despite this fall, scores at Diamond Bar High School have generally stayed consistent over distance learning and even improved in the past year, further exceeding the state of California’s average score.

Many teachers found various difficulties adjusting to online classes during the period of distance learning due to a lack of suitable teaching methods and the ensuing work environment change, resulting in most districts in California postponing the annual tests. 

Because of this unprecedented upheaval, only 25 percent of all students in the state of California had the opportunity to participate in the annual statewide assessments during the recent 2020-21 school year.

Another factor that impacted scores was student absenteeism skyrocketing by 8.8% during the pandemic. 

Due to this particular factor, students could not learn the required material, resulting in lower scores compared to those during in-person instruction.

“Students really did not try as hard as they did in distance learning because they are not motivated enough,” sophomore John Mok said. “Distance learning did not give them the right help they needed for tests.”

According to the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress result portal, the state average in 2018-2019, pre-pandemic, showed 51.1% of students meeting or exceeding the standard for English Language Arts. 

In comparison, DBHS recorded that 80.4% of students met the mark. 

In mathematics, the state standard was 39.7% while DBHS surpassed the average with a 72.8% passing rate.

Due to the toll of distance learning, there has been a reduction in California’s scores overall, with the state seeing a 2 percent decrease in ELA and a 6 percent drop in mathematics. Brahmas, on the other hand, saw a 1 percent drop in English, while math saw a 5 percent increase.

Compared to Walnut High School’s results in the 2020-2021 school year, ELA scores were virtually the same, with the Mustangs surpassing DBHS by 0.38%. However, DBHS managed to exceed WHS by 7% in the mathematics portion of the CAASPP. 

In the pre-pandemic year, Walnut’s results for ELA were 82%, exceeding Diamond Bar by nearly 2%. In mathematics, 70.93% of students from Walnut met or exceeded the standard for math, around 1% less than Brahmas.

Overall, despite the challenges presented in the 2020-21 school year, Diamond Bar students prevailed and even improved upon their scores.