Alder Creek Elementary: Two in five kids exceed the standard. But math slips between grade 3 and grade 5.
Alder Creek is one of the strongest elementary schools in Folsom by raw achievement. The catch worth understanding: the cohort doesn't gain ground year-over-year.
| Scope | % Exceeded | % Met+ | Growth | Absence | Suspension | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 66 | 45% | 73% | -3.3 | 1.0% | 0.4% |
| CA average · Elementary School | 45 | 21% | 43% | -2.9 | 17.9% | 1.6% |
Alder Creek Elementary scores 66 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 88th percentile of 5,744 California elementary schools (CDE CAASPP 2025).
Measures test performance, attendance, and climate — not arts, community, or your kid. How we score →
🌱 Building Momentum — This label means the data doesn't clearly sort the school one way or the other — ask what the school is proud of, and what it's working on.
Most rating sites would stop at “73% proficient” and call it done. Alder Creek deserves a closer read. It sits at the 88th percentile of 5,744 California elementary schools — but the ranking is the least interesting thing on this page.
Alder Creek's low-income kids hit 36.4% proficiency in Math — a number the same group reaches at 26.2% statewide. If you're trying to read past zip-code-driven test scores, that's the signal worth weighing.
The story this school is actually telling
of students scored in the top band on the state test. The California average is 21.3%.
math proficiency runs 78% in grade 3 against 63% in grade 5, while reading holds (76% to 84%). The state average rises by +4.5pp over the same span.
The school, grade by grade
ELA · CAASPP 2024–25Different students, same year — each bar is one grade's proficiency mix.
The honest read: the share exceeding falls 8.7pp across grades; the floor rises 8.1pp. The state average rises 4.5pp over the same span. The school's 5th graders aren't posting a wider lead than its 3rd graders. One question worth asking on a tour: are the strongest students being pushed, or coasting? A school visit and conversation with teachers will tell you more than this number.
The 6 things our score weighs
Ask the principal what changes between grade 3 and grade 5. Ask who teaches the older grades, and what the school does when a child starts falling behind.
- Ask what changes between grade 3 and grade 5 here, and who teaches the older kids.
- Ask whether the tour can step into a working classroom — watch how the teacher handles a student who's stuck.
- Ask to tour while school's in session, and notice how hallways and transitions feel — culture shows up between classes, not just in them.
- Ask how the school communicates with families when a child starts to struggle.
- Ask what a typical day looks like for a new student in the first few weeks.
How every group of students does here
At Alder Creek Elementary in Folsom, 36.4% of low-income students met or exceeded the Math standard in 2025, compared to 21.6% district-wide and 26.2% statewide. Alder Creek Elementary outperforms its district average for low-income students by 14.7 percentage points in Math. Other subgroups: Asian students (81.4% ELA proficient); Asian students (79.6% Math proficient). Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 22 students tested.
6 of 15 student groups here are too small to report — a privacy protection, not a gap.
Change in proficiency from the lowest tested grade — which groups gain ground the longer they stay. Groups with fewer than 10 tested students per grade are not shown.
Showing up, and staying in class
Where the path goes
The path below follows attendance boundaries — scores shown for each next step.
Estimated path based on proximity within the same district. Contact your school district for official feeder information.
The people teaching here
Pay is set by the district, not the school.
What gets spent here
$123 per student arrives as federal Title funding — a measure of concentrated need, not school quality.
The district's current expense of education per student, from CDE's annual SACS filing — the freshest district spending figure the state publishes.
District-level, from the district's own SACS general-ledger filing — school-by-school breakdowns aren't published by the state.
Source: NCES F-33 · Full district breakdown →
The neighborhood it serves
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024) · ZIP-level
Transitional kindergarten is offered here — confirmed by actual Census Day enrollment, not just the listed grade span.
On the state's science test (CAST), 59% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 but never enters the Scope Score.
Frequently asked questions
Is Alder Creek Elementary a good elementary school?
What are Alder Creek Elementary's CAASPP test scores?
How does Alder Creek Elementary rank in California?
Is Alder Creek Elementary getting better or worse?
What is the attendance and school culture like at Alder Creek Elementary?
How does Alder Creek Elementary compare to other schools in Folsom?
How does Alder Creek Elementary serve low-income and underrepresented students?
Your other options
Nearby Elementary Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 71
Private alternatives nearby
Private schools within ~10 miles. These schools do not participate in state testing and cannot be scored or ranked.
Every number on this page
Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and peer comparisons.
| ELA | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 96 | 50% | 26% | 13% | 11% | 76% | +33 |
| Grade 4 | 87 | 41% | 26% | 11% | 21% | 68% | +23 |
| Grade 5 | 63 | 41% | 43% | 8% | 8% | 84% | +36 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 96 | 51% | 27% | 16% | 6% | 78% | +32 |
| Grade 4 | 90 | 42% | 29% | 19% | 10% | 71% | +30 |
| Grade 5 | 63 | 46% | 17% | 22% | 14% | 63% | +28 |
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5/8/11 | 63 | 17% | 41% | 38% | 3% |
CAST is tested in grades 5, 8, and once in high school — not annually. Not part of the Scope Score.
| Subgroup · ELA | Tested | MET+ | vs district | vs CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asian | 161 | 81.4% | +1 | +7 |
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alder Creek Elementary ← | — | 66 | 45.3% | 73.5% | −3.3 | 0.4% |
| Silva Valley Elementary | 3.4 mi | 75 | 44.9% | 74.5% | +1.5 | 1.4% |
| Russell Ranch Elementary | 1.5 mi | 72 | 50.7% | 79.3% | +5.9 | 0.5% |
| William Brooks Elementary | 2.2 mi | 65 | 41.4% | 67.9% | −2.3 | 1.3% |
| California average | — | 45 | 21.3% | 42.7% | −2.9 | 1.6% |
| Group | 2019 | 2025 | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female | — | 0.0% | — |
| Male | — | 0.0% | — |
| Asian | — | 0.0% | — |
| White | — | 0.0% | — |
| Hispanic/Latino | — | 0.0% | — |
| Two or More Races | — | 0.0% | — |
| Students with Disabilities | — | 0.0% | — |
| English Learners | — | 0.0% | — |
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | — | 0.0% | — |
| All Students | — | 0.0% | — |
SchoolScope scores and verdicts are our interpretation of public California Department of Education data — independent analysis, not an official rating. How we analyze · Request a correction