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Public elementary school

Bonny Doon Elementary

Santa Cruz, CA · Grades TK-6 · 92 students · Bonny Doon Union Elementary

A foundation in the reported results. Look across subjects and student groups.

63% of tested students are Proficient or Advanced in English and 53% in math. Explore the evidence alongside the opportunities your child would use.

Contact

DistrictBonny Doon Union Elementary
PrincipalMike Heffner
GradesTK-6
Enrollment92 students

Math

53%

Grades 3 & 5 · Proficient or Advanced

English

63%

Grades 3 & 5 · Proficient or Advanced

Students

92

Total enrollment

Chronic absence

26%

Students absent 10% or more of school days

What are you trying to decide?

The overall score is a starting point.

Look at subject results, trends and student groups, then consider the opportunities your child would use.

View school performance →

Academic performance

What do the results tell us?

2025 results · Grades 3 & 5 · weighted by students tested within each subject.

Proficient or Advanced combines Levels 3 and 4, formerly Standard Met and Standard Exceeded. California changed the names for 2025–26; the cut scores did not. About the labels →

Share at Proficient or Advanced

0%25%50%75%100%2019: 49%2022: 51%2023: 50%2024: 64%2025: 53%2019: 59%2022: 68%2023: 47%2024: 61%2025: 63%201920222023202420250%25%50%75%100%2019: 49%2022: 51%2023: 50%2024: 64%2025: 53%2019: 59%2022: 68%2023: 47%2024: 61%2025: 63%20192022202320242025
● Math┄ English

Gaps in the lines mark years without annual results.

Exact annual results
YearMathEnglish
201949%59%
202251%68%
202350%47%
202464%61%
202553%63%

Each year describes that year’s tested students. Changes between years do not follow the same children over time. Cohort-growth evidence, when available, is labeled separately below.

Annual results and the full academic record
Is it getting better · CAASPP 2019 to 2025

Has stayed near the 66th percentile since 2019.

Most rating sites would stop at “51% proficient” and call it done. Bonny Doon deserves a closer read. It sits at the 66th percentile of 5,721 California elementary schools — but the ranking is the least interesting thing on this page.

46 tested · 3 of 3 grades published · no cohort tracked

Bonny Doon Elementary scores 43 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 66th percentile of 5,721 California elementary schools (CDE CAASPP 2025).

This school hasn't fully recovered from the pandemic: 51% meet the standard today, versus 54% in 2019 — a gap worth asking about on a visit.

Percentile among 5,721 elementary schools statewide
Year detailsYear2019 · 67th percentile · Scope Score 46 of 1002022 · 71st percentile · Scope Score 45 of 1002023 · 63rd percentile · Scope Score 40 of 1002024 · 77th percentile · Scope Score 51 of 1002025 · 66th percentile · Scope Score 43 of 100
ELAGreen(Maintained)MathYellow(Declined)
ShowHide the by-grade tables, year by year
ELA — % met or exceeded, by grade
Grade20192022202320242025
Grade 340%71%42%67%68%
Grade 464%75%42%—43%
Grade 578%64%50%54%55%
Grade 659%64%42%——
Math — % met or exceeded, by grade
Grade20192022202320242025
Grade 327%71%75%80%74%
Grade 448%60%58%—50%
Grade 570%30%35%46%18%
Grade 659%45%33%——
Where students land · CAASPP 2024–25

More than half of students here meet the standard. One in five clear it by a lot.

ELA57% met or exceeded
Exceeded 24%Met 33%Nearly Met 37%Not Met 7%
Math52% met or exceeded
Exceeded 26%Met 26%Nearly Met 26%Not Met 22%
Exceeded Met Nearly Met Not Met
California elementary schools · average21% exceeded · 43% met or exceeded
This school against the California average
2019–2025 trend · CDE CAASPP
Scope% Exceeded% Met+GrowthAbsenceSuspension
This school4324%51%—25.9%0.4%
CA average · Elementary School3921%43%—17.9%1.6%
This schoolCA avg
Scope4339
% Exceeded24%21%
% Met+51%43%
Growth——
Absence25.9%17.9%
Suspension0.4%1.6%
California’s growth results and student groups
State growth model · CDE growth model 2024–25

California's own growth model splits here — the 49th percentile in reading against the 15th in math, among elementary schools.

Context — never part of the Scope Score

California runs its own growth model — it follows individual children in grades 4 through 8 and compares each one against a prediction from their own prior scores. On that measure this school sits a little below the middle of California elementary schools in reading, and the 15th in math. We show it; we don't score it.

— pts vs expected is scale-score points above or below what California's model predicted for these same children from their own prior-year scores. It is not a percentage and not a percent of anything. A typical California elementary school lands at +2 in reading, and the middle half of them fall between −5 and +9 — the spread is wide, so read the rank, not the sign. CDE blends two consecutive years into each published figure, so adjacent years share input data and no year-over-year trend can honestly be drawn from them. It covers grades 4-8 only, and it is not part of the Scope Score — we assessed it and left it out: it tracks school demographics roughly three times as strongly as our own growth measure does, and one published year is not enough to test how stable it is.

California's growth model, ranked against the schools it scores
State model · readingmatched students, grades 4-8California growth model, reading: +1 scale-score points versus the state's expectation, 49th percentile of 7,519 reported schools.49th pctile · +1 pts
State model · mathmatched students, grades 4-8California growth model, math: −13 scale-score points versus the state's expectation, 15th percentile of 7,518 reported schools.15th pctile · −13 pts
this school| the tick is the middle of the California field

Students & opportunity

Who shares in the school’s results?

Who it works for · CAASPP 2024–25

How every group of students does here

At Bonny Doon Elementary in Santa Cruz, 60.0% of white students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 60.0% district-wide and 61.8% statewide. Bonny Doon Elementary outperforms its district average for white students by 0.0 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: White students (64.0% Math proficient). Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 25 students tested.

Met or exceeded · reading and math combined
All students at this school: 55% met or exceeded
All StudentsAll Students: this school 55%, district —, state 43%55%
WhiteWhite: this school 62%, district 62%, state 56%62% · +7 vs school

8 of 10 student groups here are too small to report — a privacy protection, not a gap.

this school district, same group California, same group
ShowHide Student-group results by grade
Student-group results by grade

Results compare different grade groups in the same year, relative to the lowest tested grade. They do not track the same children over time. Groups with fewer than 10 tested students per grade are not shown.

ShowHide California's growth model by student group

The daily experience

What is it like to be a student here?

Students per teacher

Student–teacher ratio is a schoolwide staffing measure, not an average class size.

The people teaching · CDE staffing 2024–25

About 15 students for every teacher here.

Context — never part of the Scope Score

Students per teacher15 · district 15
Teaching staff10 teachers
Avg. experience12.8 years
Fully credentialed88%
PrincipalMike Heffner
ShowHide what the district pays
Teacher salary schedule$60,894 – $116,087
Superintendent salary$194,346

Pay is set by the district, not the school.

Attendance & discipline · 2024–25

Kids here miss more school, and get suspended less, than the state average.

Grades 4–6 students miss school at roughly three times the rate of TK/K students (37.5% vs 13.3%). Chronic absence here concentrates in the upper grades.

25.9% 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.

Chronic absenteeismChronic absenteeism: this school 25.9%, district 25.9%, state 17.9%25.9% · +8.0pp vs state
Suspension rateSuspension rate: this school 0.4%, district —, state 1.6%0.4% · −1.2pp vs state
This schoolDistrictCalifornia
ShowHide attendance by student group and by grade
Chronic absenteeism by grade band
Grades 4–637.5%
TK/K13.3%

Resources & neighborhood

What sits behind the school experience?

Explore school spending and the district budget
What gets spent · FY 2024–25

It spends $30,794 per student, more than the California average.

Context — never part of the Scope Score

$1,418 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.

Per-pupil spendingPer-pupil spending: $30,794, CA average $14,491$30,794 · spent at this school
Federal share$1,418 per student
District current expense · FY 2024–25$32,980 per student
This schoolDistrictCalifornia
Where the district's dollars go · FY 2024–25 · CDE SACS
Instruction 60%Instruction support 15%Student services 7%Administration 9%Buildings & maintenance 9%

District-level, from the district's own SACS general-ledger filing — school-by-school breakdowns aren't published by the state.

ShowHide the district's spending year by year
district detail, 2016–2020 — the newest published
2020$21,598 per pupil
2019$16,000 per pupil
2018$13,485 per pupil
2017$13,774 per pupil
2016$12,282 per pupil
The neighborhood · ACS 2024

One in five of students here qualify for free or reduced lunch, versus three in five statewide.

Context — never part of the Scope Score

Worth knowing

At 92 students, this school is much smaller than the typical California elementary school (≈480).

Transitional kindergarten is offered here — confirmed by actual Census Day enrollment, not just the listed grade span.

On the state's science test (CAST), 64% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 and once in high school, and it never enters the Scope Score.

Hispanic or Latino14.1% · district 14.1% · CA 56.1%
White70.7% · district 70.7% · CA 19.9%
Asian1.1% · district 1.1% · CA 10.2%
Black3.3% · district 3.3% · CA 4.8%
Other10.9% · district 10.9% · CA 9.0%
Free or reduced lunch22.8% · CA 64%
Median income$109K · CA $85K
Median home value$1.21M · CA $659K
Bachelor's degree+55% · CA 35%
ZIP population46,268
Median age37 years

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024) · ZIP-level

Culture & philosophy

What is the school’s approach?

School-stated approach · questions for your visit

Look beyond the brochure

A source-reviewed culture summary is not available for this profile yet. Ask how teaching, student support and family communication work day to day.

Read the school’s own website ↗

Family voices

What would you want another family to know about the daily experience here?

Ask a current family: “When your child needs help, how does the school respond?”

Educator voices

What should families understand about teaching, support and the school community?

Ask an educator: “How do you adapt a typical day for children with different needs?”

Bring these questions on a visit →

Compare nearby schools

What are the alternatives?

Compare schools serving the same grade stage. Private schools have no comparable state-test score.

2025 · elementary schools · combined reading and math measures. Percentiles compare schools within their enrollment group.

Private options →
SchoolTypePerformance bandAdvancedProficient or AdvancedDistanceSelect
Bonny Doon ElementaryPublicSolid24%51%School being viewed
Open the comparison tool →
More nearby public and private options
Your other options

Your other options

Private school options within 10 miles.

All schools in Santa Cruz →

Private schools do not receive a Scope Score or statewide ranking on SchoolScope.

1 private school within 10 miles
Not scored
What should I check before applying?
District public
Confirm the attendance boundary and any permit options.
Charter
Check applications, priorities and deadlines with each school.
Private
Confirm admission requirements, tuition and financial aid.

Moving & enrollment

Which schools could serve my child?

Check your address with the district

School location and nearby schools do not establish attendance eligibility. Confirm boundaries and permit requirements with Bonny Doon Union Elementary.

District information →School website →

Schools across the K–12 journey

Elementary · K–5

Middle · 6–8

No school established for this stage.

High school · 9–12

No school established for this stage.

Schools are grouped by grade stage. Nearby schools are not confirmed feeder links or address assignments. Verify the current path and eligibility with the district.

Plan your next step

What should I do next?

Worth a school visit

Ask how the school challenges kids who clear the standard early. The gap between meeting and exceeding is where pacing shows.

  • Ask how the school follows up when a student starts missing days — chronic absence often starts outside the classroom, not inside it.
  • 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.
Questions

Frequently asked questions

Is Bonny Doon Elementary a good elementary school?
Bonny Doon Elementary has a Scope Score of 43 out of 100, placing it in the 66th percentile of California elementary schools and ranked #1,964 statewide. 23.8% of students exceeded the state standard on the 2025 CAASPP assessment, which is 2.4 percentage points above the California average of 21.4%. The Scope Score weights 6 dimensions for elementary schools: exceeded standard (42%), met or exceeded (proficient) (23%), grade 3-to-5 growth (20%), chronic absenteeism (5%), suspension rate (5%), and ELPAC English Learner proficiency (5%). Data source: California Department of Education CAASPP 2025, analyzed by SchoolScope.
What are Bonny Doon Elementary's CAASPP test scores?
On the 2025 CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment, 51.3% of students at Bonny Doon Elementary met or exceeded the state standard in ELA and Math combined, and 23.8% exceeded it. The gap between those numbers matters: 27.5% of students are at the proficiency floor, while 23.8% went beyond it. Most rating sites report only the combined "proficient" number. SchoolScope surfaces the exceeded-vs-met split because it shows how many students go beyond the standard rather than only meeting it. 88 student-subject combinations were assessed.
How does Bonny Doon Elementary rank in California?
Bonny Doon Elementary ranks #1,964 among California elementary schools by Scope Score, placing it in the 66th percentile. This ranking is based on a weighted composite of 2025 CAASPP test performance (exceeded and met rates), grade-level growth (Grade 3 to grade 5 growth), chronic absenteeism, and suspension rate. Unlike single-number ratings, the Scope Score shows what drives the ranking so parents can decide what matters most to their family. See full methodology.
What is the attendance and school culture like at Bonny Doon Elementary?
25.9% of students at Bonny Doon Elementary are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days), compared to the California average of 17.9%. The suspension rate is 0.4%, indicating a low-discipline-incident environment. SchoolScope includes these culture metrics in the Scope Score because they reflect day-to-day school experience in ways test scores alone cannot.
How does Bonny Doon Elementary compare to other schools in Santa Cruz?
Bonny Doon Elementary scores 43/100 (66th percentile) among California elementary schools. To compare with nearby schools, SchoolScope shows the same metrics side by side: exceeded rate, proficiency, growth trajectory, and school culture indicators. The school serves 92 students. Use the schools in Santa Cruz page or the map view to compare all elementary schools nearby.
How does Bonny Doon Elementary serve low-income and underrepresented students?
At Bonny Doon Elementary in Santa Cruz, 60.0% of white students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 60.0% district-wide and 61.8% statewide. Bonny Doon Elementary outperforms its district average for white students by 0.0 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: White students (64.0% Math proficient). Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 25 students tested. SchoolScope shows disaggregated test scores by demographic subgroup so you can see how a school performs for your child's specific group — not just the school-wide average. Subgroup data is context, not part of the Scope Score: we don't penalize schools for who they serve. See our equity approach.

Use the published evidence to prepare questions, then verify fit and access with the school.

Behind the evidence

Inspect the full record

Public sources, visible methods and the underlying school record. Source years and limitations stay attached to the evidence.

How the Scope Score is calculated

On a narrow screen, scroll the table sideways to see the state comparison and weights.

What the score weighs · CAASPP 2024–25

The 5 things our score weighs

What the score weighs
What we weighHereStateWeight
Exceeded standard23.8%21.4%42%
Met or exceeded51.3%42.7%23%
Chronic absenteeism25.9%17.9%5%
Suspension rate0.4%1.6%5%
Grade gap (G3→G5, different students)-34.7pp-2.9pp—

Source CAASPP 2025 · California Department of Education. Measures test performance, attendance, and climate — not arts, community, or your kid. How the score is built

A closer look at the evidence

Bonny Doon Elementary: reading the evidence

Bonny Doon has an average Met + Exceeded rate of 51% and an Exceeded rate of 23.8% across the reported grades and subjects. Ask how students are supported and challenged at different starting points.

Subject proficiency describes tested students, while graduation describes a graduating cohort. These figures are not successive stages followed by the same students.

Explore the underlying data →
Every number: score factors, grades, student groups and downloads
Every number · For the data nerds

Every number on this page

Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and nearest schools.

Bonny Doon Elementary is ranked #1,964 statewide.

01Score factorsWeighted composite · 2024–25
Score factors
FactorSchoolStateWeight
Exceeded standard23.8%21.4%42%
Met or exceeded51.3%42.7%23%
Chronic absenteeism25.9%17.9%5%
Suspension rate0.4%1.6%5%
Grade gap (G3→G5, different students)-34.7pp-2.9ppnot scored
Exceeded standard
↑ vs CA 21.4% · index 52 · 50 = CA elementary-school midpoint
Met or exceeded
↑ vs CA 42.7% · index 56 · 50 = CA elementary-school midpoint
Chronic absenteeism
↓ vs CA 17.9% · index 37 · 50 = CA elementary-school midpoint · ▼ 3.5pp lower vs 2024
Suspension rate
↑ vs CA 1.6% · index 60 · 50 = CA elementary-school midpoint · ▼ 0.2pp lower vs 2024
Grade gap (G3→G5, different students)
↓ vs CA -2.9pp
02By grade & subgroupCAASPP 2024–25 · % of tested students
ShowHide table 02 — By grade & subgroup
ELATestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 31911%58%26%5%68%+25
Grade 41436%7%50%7%43%−2
Grade 51127%27%36%9%55%+7
Grade 6———————
MathTestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 31937%37%21%5%74%+28
Grade 41414%36%29%21%50%+9
Grade 51118%0%36%45%18%−17
Grade 6———————

We show the grade rows CDE publishes for this school. A missing grade or dash can mean the school does not serve that grade, that we hold no valid result for it, or that the tested group was too small to report. It does not mean zero.

Science (CAST)TestedEXCMETNEARNOT
Schoolwide119%55%27%9%

CAST is tested in grades 5 and 8, then once in grade 10, 11, or 12. This row is the school's all-student aggregate. Not part of the Scope Score.

Subgroup · ELATestedMET+vs districtvs CA
White2560.0%+0−2
03Nearest elementary schoolssorted by Scope Score · Grade gap = grade 3 vs grade 5, this year, different students; Cohort growth = one school's returning cohort tracked across grades (mostly, not exactly, the same kids), in scale-score points — that's the measurement the Scope Score weights
SchoolDistScopeEXCMET+Grade gapCohort growthSusp
Bonny Doon Elementary ←—4323.8%51.3%−34.7pp—0.4%
California average—3921.4%42.7%−2.9pp—1.6%
04More measurescontext · not all part of the Scope Score
ShowHide table 04 — More measures
YearScopePctileRankExcMet+AbsentSuspGrade gap
20194667#179925.9%54.5%11.3%0.3%+40.7pp
20224571#165619.9%62.0%31.1%0.3%-24.4pp
20234063#208720.0%50.3%36.2%0.4%-15.8pp
20245177#132129.6%61.7%29.4%0.6%-23.3pp
20254366#196423.8%51.3%25.9%0.4%-34.7pp
Grade gap = this year's grade 3 vs grade 5 result, two different sets of students, not a trend for any one child — it is not the measurement the Scope Score's growth dimension uses. See §01 above and /methodology#verdicts for the school's actual scored (cohort) growth.
NO STATEWIDE TESTING 2020–21 (COVID) · SCORE AND PERCENTILE ARE RELATIVE TO EACH YEAR'S FIELD
05Climate by student groupchronic absenteeism · 2019 vs 2025 — the two years CDE publishes at subgroup level
ShowHide table 05 — Climate by student group
Group20192025Δ
Female12.5%25.5%+13.0pp
Male10.5%31.9%+21.4pp
Hispanic/Latino9.1%12.5%+3.4pp
White11.3%29.4%+18.1pp
Students with Disabilities17.6%38.1%+20.5pp
Homeless7.7%——
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged6.9%29.2%+22.3pp
All Students11.4%28.6%+17.2pp
06California growth model, by student group2025 · scale-score points vs the state's prediction · shown, never scored
ShowHide table 06 — California growth model, by student group
GroupReadingnCDE bandMathnCDE band
All Students+123Average−1323Moderate
English Only+223not categorised−1323not categorised
White+118Average−1418Moderate

Whole scale-score points above or below what CDE's model predicted for these same children from their own prior-year scores — not a percentage, not a percentile. Statewide a typical school lands near +1 with a spread of about 13 points either side, so read a figure against its group's own typical value, not against zero. Muted rows have fewer than 30 students with a growth score — published by CDE, held back from the narrative sections above because at that size the figure swings about 17 points on its own. “Not categorised” is CDE assigning no band — English Only, Recently Reclassified, and English Learners Only receive a value and no band, for every school in the state. It is not a missing number. Most figures blend two consecutive years, so adjacent published years share input data and no trend line can honestly be drawn across them. A group absent from this table had fewer than 11 students with a growth score and was never published. Grades 4-8 only. None of this enters the Scope Score — it is more strongly correlated with school demographics than our own growth measure, and one published year is not enough to test its reliability.

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EXC = exceeded standard · MET+ = met or exceeded ("proficient") · Source: CA Dept. of Education · CAASPP 2024–25 · n=5,721 elementary schools · Vintages: climate subgroups 2019+2025 · district finance per its label · ACS 2022 · Data updated 2026-09-27

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

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