Alta California Elementary: Scores climb 2.5 points from grade 3 to grade 5. But one in four miss a month of school or more.
Alta California's strongest signal is real. Attendance is the number to ask about — and both belong on the same page.
| Scope | % Exceeded | % Met+ | Growth | Absence | Suspension | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 56 | 25% | 48% | +2.5 | 25.4% | 0.1% |
| CA average · Elementary School | 45 | 21% | 43% | -2.9 | 17.9% | 1.6% |
Alta California Elementary scores 56 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 77th 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 “48% proficient” and call it done. Alta California deserves a closer read. The school sits in Panorama City, where nearly all students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.
Alta California's low-income kids hit 48.9% proficiency in ELA — a number the same group reaches at 38.2% statewide. If you're trying to read past zip-code-driven test scores, that's the signal worth weighing.
The seven-year arc
Climbed from the 46th to the 77th percentile since 2019 — past roughly 1700 elementary schools.
The pandemic drop is behind this school: 48% of students meet the standard today, above the 44% who did in 2019.
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 43% | 33% | 42% | 44% | 48% |
| Grade 4 | 42% | 34% | 35% | 50% | 44% |
| Grade 5 | 46% | 50% | 49% | 48% | 61% |
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 51% | 36% | 38% | 45% | 53% |
| Grade 4 | 42% | 30% | 38% | 36% | 39% |
| Grade 5 | 40% | 34% | 38% | 39% | 45% |
The story this school is actually telling
separates this year's grade 3 from its grade 5. The state average rises 4.5pp over the same span. Following the same students from 2023 G3 → 2025 G5 points the same way.
of students miss a month or more of school, versus 17.9% statewide. High absence often tracks community stress — a school visit will tell you more than this number.
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 holds steady across grades; the floor rises 12.8pp. The state average rises 4.5pp over the same span. A school visit and conversation with teachers will tell you more than this number.
Alta California's most underrated number
48.9% of low-income students met the ELA standard — versus 38.2% for the same group statewide. That's the strongest kind of signal a school can post: it holds across income lines.
The 6 things our score weighs
Ask how the school tracks and follows up on attendance. High absence often reflects community stress, not classroom quality — a visit will tell you which.
- Ask how the school follows up when a student starts missing days — chronic absence often starts outside the classroom, not inside it.
- Ask how teachers track each child's growth over the year, not just where the class lands on test day.
- Ask whether extra support — tutoring, counseling, small groups — reaches kids across income lines, not just the students already ahead.
- 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.
How every group of students does here
At Alta California Elementary in Panorama City, 48.9% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 40.9% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Alta California Elementary outperforms its district average for low-income students by 8.0 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (45.6% Math proficient); Hispanic students (47.0% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 37.5 percentage points for english learner students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 331 students tested.
5 of 12 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.
Low-income student ELA proficiency rises by 15.5pp from grade 3 to grade 5 at this school. District average: +4.5pp.
Showing up, and staying in class
Where the path goes
The path below follows attendance boundaries — scores shown for each next step.
Feeder patterns derived from NCES attendance boundary data. Boundaries are approximate and may have changed — verify with your school district for current assignments.
The people teaching here
Pay is set by the district, not the school.
What gets spent here
$2,730 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), 21% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 but never enters the Scope Score.
Frequently asked questions
Is Alta California Elementary a good elementary school?
What are Alta California Elementary's CAASPP test scores?
How does Alta California Elementary rank in California?
Is Alta California Elementary getting better or worse?
What is the attendance and school culture like at Alta California Elementary?
How does Alta California Elementary compare to other schools in Panorama City?
How does Alta California Elementary serve low-income and underrepresented students?
Your other options
Nearby Elementary Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 65
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 | 140 | 29% | 19% | 19% | 33% | 48% | +4 |
| Grade 4 | 112 | 26% | 18% | 19% | 38% | 44% | −1 |
| Grade 5 | 94 | 29% | 32% | 16% | 23% | 61% | +13 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 141 | 31% | 23% | 16% | 31% | 53% | +7 |
| Grade 4 | 118 | 10% | 29% | 37% | 24% | 39% | −3 |
| Grade 5 | 99 | 25% | 20% | 23% | 31% | 45% | +10 |
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5/8/11 | 99 | 6% | 15% | 59% | 20% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 331 | 48.9% | +8 | +11 |
| Hispanic/Latino | 317 | 47.0% | +6 | +8 |
| English Learners | 95 | 12.6% | +6 | +2 |
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alta California Elementary ← | — | 56 | 25.0% | 48.3% | +2.5 | 0.1% |
| Mayall Street Elementary | 2.7 mi | 70 | 44.2% | 68.9% | +13.9 | 0.1% |
| Lashon Academy | 1.8 mi | 65 | 27.2% | 50.8% | +5.1 | 0.1% |
| San Jose Street Elementary | 2.1 mi | 60 | 28.4% | 48.9% | +6.7 | 0.5% |
| California average | — | 45 | 21.3% | 42.7% | −2.9 | 1.6% |
| Year | Scope | Pctile | Rank | Exc | Met+ | Absent | Susp | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 41 | 46 | #2953 | 18.3% | 44.0% | 19.6% | 0.5% | -3.8pp |
| 2022 | 42 | 64 | #2066 | 15.4% | 36.2% | 47.6% | 0.6% | +7.7pp |
| 2023 | 41 | 56 | #2507 | 17.3% | 40.0% | 35.8% | 0.4% | +3.5pp |
| 2024 | 50 | 69 | #1793 | 19.0% | 43.7% | 28.5% | 0.1% | -1.5pp |
| 2025 | 56 | 77 | #1302 | 25.0% | 48.3% | 25.4% | 0.1% | +2.5pp |
| Group | 2019 | 2025 | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 17.4% | 25.9% | +8.5pp |
| Male | 21.6% | 25.6% | +4.0pp |
| Hispanic/Latino | 19.8% | 26.6% | +6.8pp |
| Students with Disabilities | 33.3% | 34.3% | +1.0pp |
| English Learners | 22.1% | 22.9% | +0.8pp |
| Homeless | 25.7% | 27.1% | +1.4pp |
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 19.7% | 25.8% | +6.1pp |
| All Students | 19.7% | 25.7% | +6.0pp |
| Asian | — | 10.0% | — |
| Filipino | — | 9.1% | — |
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