Quick look: OCDE hosted its first State of the Student Forum on June 12 to review the latest data on student outcomes with educational and community partners. The report highlights key successes and areas for growth, with the goal of driving positive, data-informed change.
Orange County remains a state leader in graduation rates, English and math assessment scores, and reductions in chronic absenteeism — but there are still clear opportunities for growth, particularly in supporting high school students and historically underserved groups.
Those were some of the findings from the 2025 State of the Student Report, a publication developed by the Orange County Department of Education’s Research, Evaluation and Data Inquiry team. Although the report has been shared in previous years, Thursday marked the first time OCDE hosted a forum to present its findings, creating a space that encouraged deeper conversations about how to support students.
Held at the Sonesta Irvine, the inaugural State of the Student Forum brought together educational leaders and community partners to examine an assortment of countywide data on academic performance, student engagement, school climate and behavioral health.
“My hope today is that this becomes a yearly tradition, a time to reflect with one another, recalibrate and recommit,” County Superintendent Dr. Stefan Bean said during his opening remarks. “Thank you for being here. Thank you for your leadership, because it matters.”
Dr. Bean noted that the report aligns with OCDE’s 5-3-1 Strategic Plan and lays the foundation for continued collaboration.
“This forum is about partnership — not blame, not bureaucracy,” he said. “It’s about linking arms across our districts and our county and our departments and asking how we do better together. How do we use this data to drive real change and decision?”
Successes, growth opportunities
Using publicly available metrics, the State of the Student report shows that chronic absenteeism across the county dipped to 15 percent — a sharp decline from pandemic-era highs — while suspension rates declined across student groups. The percentage of students completing career technical education, or CTE, pathways also rose from the previous year.
At the same time, high school students lagged in math proficiency and had the county’s highest rates of chronic absenteeism, with nearly 1 in 5 considered chronically absent. Students in historically underserved groups — including foster youth, multilingual learners and students with disabilities — faced persistent gaps in academic performance, school connectedness and mental health.
Orange County’s public school population includes approximately 437,000 students. Of that total, 20 percent are multilingual learners, 4 percent are classified as long-term English learners and 55 percent are socioeconomically disadvantaged. Thirteen percent of students have disabilities, 5 percent qualify for McKinney-Vento services as homeless youth, and 0.4 percent are in foster care, according to the report.
Engaging in healthy behaviors
The Orange County Department of Education has two primary roles: It serves the county’s most vulnerable students and provides critical support to 28 local school districts, including professional development, fiscal oversight, payroll, internet connectivity, legal services and student programs.
During the forum, members of OCDE’s data team guided attendees through a structured activity designed to help them analyze trends and discuss implications within their own local contexts. The At one point, the Lowell Joint School District was spotlighted as an example of how data can be used to drive student-centered decisions and measurable outcomes.
Aubrey Roy, who led the report’s development, noted that most students are engaging in healthy behaviors, with fewer than 6 percent reporting the use of illicit substances. About half said they feel optimistic about the future — a finding that highlights both progress and areas for growth.
“Our team always uses the phrase, ‘Data is a flashlight, it’s not a hammer,’” said Roy, OCDE’s coordinator of evaluation and continuous improvement. “It’s really there to shine a light on, ‘What are some areas we need to dive a little deeper into?’”
The Orange County State of the Student Report draws primarily from 2023–24 data published by the California Department of Education, along with results from the California Healthy Kids Survey, which is administered every two years and includes responses from students in grades seven, nine and 11.