Modesto City Schools back from pandemic-era learning loss, students show multi-year progress, report finds

January 27, 2026

By Ximena Loeza
ximena@cvlocaljournalism.org

Modesto City Schools students have rebounded from pandemic-era learning loss, and they are beginning to surpass their pre-pandemic performance, according to a new report that shows multi-year gains across the district.

The district has shown steady and measurable improvement in graduation, enrollment and academic performance, according to The Kids Grow 2025: Modesto City Schools report. English learners and Latino students have done especially well, even as college readiness remains a work in progress for all students.

GO Public Schools is a nonprofit that organizes, provides resources, and supports families, educators, and community members to advocate for policies and system changes that expand access to high-quality, equitable public education for all students, especially those in historically underserved communities. They analyzed publicly available state data to track how students are progressing from early grades through high school in Modesto City Schools.

One of the clearest signs of improvement is graduation. The district’s four-year graduation rate rose to 92.9%, well above the state average of 87.5% according to the California Department of Education, and one of the highest levels Modesto has recorded, according to the report. Enrollment has also increased for three consecutive years, bucking statewide trends as many districts continue to lose students.

Academic achievement data shows similar upward momentum. In English language arts, 37% of students met or exceeded state standards, marking the district’s strongest performance in more than 10 years. Math proficiency also increased to 23%, continuing a gradual but steady climb. Chronic absenteeism declined for the third year in a row and is now approaching the state average.

“This year’s results were the highest Modesto has ever seen since the state test began more than a decade ago,” said Molly Moloney, director of policy and data at GO Public Schools. “What’s especially encouraging is that the improvement has been consistent for three years, not just a one-year spike.”

The report highlights notable gains for English learners, who make up nearly one-quarter of Modesto City Schools’ student population. When students who have been reclassified as fluent are included, nearly half of all students come from multilingual households.

“We’ve seen real improvement in reclassification rates,” Moloney said. “That matters because once students are reclassified, they gain access to a wider range of academic and college-prep courses.”

Latino students, the largest student group in the district, also posted modest but consistent gains in both English and math. GO Public Schools staff emphasized that improvement is happening across schools, not just at a handful of campuses.

Lexi Lopez Crothers, director of advocacy and communications at GO Public Schools, said every high school in Modesto increased its college prep course completion rates over the last three years.

“That means more students are graduating with college options than they were a few years ago, whether that’s vocational, community college, or a four-year university,” Crothers said.

Still, the report acknowledges that academic improvement has not yet translated into widespread college readiness. Only 37.6%t of graduates completed the coursework required for admission to California’s public universities, and even fewer students demonstrated readiness for college-level math or English on state assessments.

GO Public Schools staff described this gap as a reflection of a system still evolving rather than a lack of progress.

“Graduation is an important milestone,” said Debbie Avila Kruse, who works directly with families in Modesto as part of GO Public School’s Family Leadership Program for English Learner families. “What excites me is seeing the data move in the right direction year after year. That shows the work happening in classrooms is making a difference.”

The report emphasizes that continued gains will depend on sustained investment in early literacy, language development, math instruction, and clearer alignment between graduation requirements and college expectations.

The GO Public Schools staff is hopeful to see this upward trajectory for Modesto City Schools students continue.

“For that continued improvement, we’ve seen progress, but we want to see it keep happening. We’re not going to be happy until 100% of kids are proficient, so it’s an ongoing, continuous improvement that we hope to see,” Moloney said.

Modesto City Schools representatives were asked for comment, but did not reply in time for publication.

Ximena Loeza is the bilingual communities reporter for The Modesto Focus, a project of the nonprofit Central Valley Journalism Collaborative. Contact her at ximena@cvlocaljournalism.org.