The Facts

Reading scores at SFUSD are not on track. SFUSD’s winter literacy proficiency for third graders fell to 51.8% from 53.1% in fall 2025, against a 62% year-end target, and English learner proficiency was 12.4%. SFUSD’s stated goal is 70% third-grade literacy by 2027.

Math scores, however, have ticked up slightly since 2023.

The Context

That goal started from a 52% baseline in 2022, so SFUSD is not building steady momentum yet. Mississippi shows improvement is possible, but not quick: its 2013 literacy law paired reading instruction, intervention, and promotion standards, and more than a decade later its fourth graders scored 219 in NAEP reading, above the national 214, moving from 49th in the country to 9th.

The GrowSF Take

There is no quick fix here. SFUSD should commit to the basics for years: phonics-based reading instruction, extra tutoring for kids who are behind, and holding back students who are not ready to move forward. That is also why GrowSF is backing Josh Newman for State Superintendent: California needs sustained, evidence-based literacy reform, not more drift.