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After years of post-pandemic struggle, the Tamalpais Union High School District has attained higher state test scores in both English and math.

The results are from the 2026 California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress, or CAASPP, which was administered in April.

Eleventh-graders at the district’s five high schools posted an average gain of 12.5 percentage points in the number of students who met or exceeded the standards for English, and a 9-point average rise in meeting or exceeding math standards.

“There is so much to celebrate this year,” said Kelly Lara, an assistant superintendent who presented the results to trustees at their board meeting on Sept. 15. “Our students made such significant growth in English language arts and in mathematics.”

The average English scores rose from 69% who met or exceeded the standards in 2024-25 to 81% in 2025-26. In math, the percentage rose from 54% to 63%.

Lara said both results are the district’s highest recorded in the past five years.

“I think it’s a testament to our kids’ abilities and our teachers getting them prepared to be their best and to show what they know and can do,” said Courtney Goode, the district superintendent. “This is a really remarkable improvement — but all credit goes to them.”

The test also reflected an average 94% participation rate, the same as the prior year. That was well above the 70% participation rate in 2022-23, when the state Department of Education penalized the district for failing to meet its 95% target.

The penalties came in the form of downgrading the district’s rankings on the California School Dashboard. In reaction, members of the district board rebuked teachers and staff at a public meeting for not impressing on students the importance of the exam.

“I think that their being critical of that low participation rate was necessary,” Goode said. “Those rates were woefully low.”

Goode noted that after the dip in 2022-23, the average participation rate rose significantly, hitting 90% in 2023-24 and 94% in both 2024-25 and 2025-26.

In the latest results, Tamalpais High School had a 97% participation rate, the highest of the three comprehensive high schools. Archie Williams High School had 93%, and Redwood High School had 96%.

“Intentional efforts were made to explain the purpose of CAASPP and why that matters to students,” Lara said. “That has been impactful.”

Of the three comprehensive schools, 82% of Redwood 11th-graders met or exceeded standards in English, and 68% met or exceeded standards in math. That was up from 70% in English and 57% in math the prior year.

At Archie Williams, 83% of 11th-graders met or exceeded standards in English and 56% met or exceeded standards in math. That was up from 63% in English and 55% in math the prior year.

At Tam High, 81% of 11th graders met or exceeded standards in English and 64% met or exceeded standards in math. That rose from 71% in English and 53% in math in 2024-25.

“We should expect our kids to give their best effort on whatever’s put in front of them,” Goode said. “There was a lot of emphasis on that last year, and I think that really helped. We woke up the sleeping giant.”

Trustees said they were pleased to see the improvements in scores and participation, particularly at the comprehensive high schools.

“Thank you for taking this seriously,” Cynthia Roenisch, the board president, said to Lara after the presentation.

Roenisch noted that the board had expressed displeasure with the CAASPP results for three years before the latest data.

The district’s two alternative schools had mixed results.

At Tamiscal High School, 87% of 11th graders met or exceeded the standard for English, up from 69% last year. In math, 58% met or exceeded the standard, up from 35% in 2024-25.

Tamiscal’s participation rate dropped from 94% to 85%. Lara said the state could penalize the district again for not meeting or coming close enough to the 95% target.

Lara attributed some of the decline to challenges with schedules that some Tamiscal students have in terms of taking college classes or special programs.

“It’s not an excuse,” Lara said. “We need to examine this more closely. I will be supporting the site to help them face these challenges and to see if we can get their participation rate back up. Certainly we expect 100% participation.”

At San Andreas High School, 15% met or exceeded the standard for English, down from 18% the prior year, and 0% of students met or exceeded the standard for math. The participation rate at San Andreas fell from 89% in 2024-25 to 76%.

Lara said she is “confident that we could make adjustments” this year that will have a significant impact on the San Andreas numbers.

The test results are preliminary. The state Department of Education will release official results and scores on Oct. 15. Some of the totals could change in the October report.

While the CAASPP is only administered in 11th grade at high schools, it is also given from third through eighth grades in elementary and middle schools.

Preliminary results are released to school districts mostly for internal review. However, they can be released to the public, Goode said.