Downey Unified, 15 schools named to California Honor Roll

DOWNEY – Downey Unified School District and 15 of its schools have been named to the 2026 California Honor Roll, a recognition highlighting academic achievement, improvement over time and progress in closing achievement gaps.

Educational Results Partnership, a nonprofit organization that analyzes education data, announced the honorees Monday following the release of California’s 2026 Smarter Balanced test scores.

Downey Unified was among the 22% of California school districts selected for the recognition, according to the organization.

The district’s honored campuses included 11 elementary schools: Alameda, Carpenter, Gallatin, Imperial, Lewis, Old River, Price, Rio Hondo, Rio San Gabriel, Unsworth and Williams.

Doty, Griffiths and Stauffer middle schools also made the list, along with Warren High School.

Now in its 12th year, the Honor Roll recognizes public schools, charter schools and districts that outperform their peers, particularly in serving higher-poverty and historically disadvantaged student populations.

The organization used publicly available California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress data from 2024 through 2026 to identify this year’s honorees.

Selection criteria included consistently higher levels of achievement across student populations, academic improvement over time and reductions in achievement gaps among historically disadvantaged students, according to the organization.

“We cannot predict every career that will exist tomorrow, but we can recognize the schools doing an exceptional job of preparing students for whatever the future holds,” said Alex Barrios, president and CEO of Educational Results Partnership.

“At a time of unprecedented technological change, the ability to think critically, solve problems, communicate effectively, and continue learning will be more valuable than ever.”

The Honor Roll is part of an effort to involve business leaders in recognizing successful schools and identifying educational practices that can be replicated elsewhere.

The California program is supported by the Campaign for Business and Education Excellence and presented in collaboration with chambers of commerce across the state, including the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce and the California Chamber of Commerce’s Foundation for Commerce and Education.

“While the release of academic performance data often draws attention to what isn’t working in education, our coalition of business leaders chooses to focus on what is working. We use these data to shine a light on schools achieving success with all students served, understand what drives their results, and explore how those successes can be replicated,” Barrios said.

More information about the Honor Roll program is available at edresults.org.