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Bonsall Elementary · Bonsall

Bonsall Elementary: This school runs ahead of the state average. The bar itself is the harder conversation.

Bonsall posts 48% meeting the standard against 43% statewide — ahead of most, with real headroom above the bar.

31555 Old River Road, 92003 (opens in new tab)·Bonsall Unified·Bonsall·Grades TK-5·949 students·45% low-income·2024–25 CAASPP·(760) 631-5205·Website
2019–2025 trend · CDE CAASPP
This schoolCA avg
Scope4345
% Exceeded23%21%
% Met+48%43%
Growth-6.2-2.9
Absence18.1%17.9%
Suspension1.4%1.6%
Scope Score
43
🌱 Building Momentum · Developing
ranked #2,740 statewide · #2 of 3 in Bonsall Unified

Bonsall Elementary scores 43 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 52nd 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. Bonsall deserves a closer read. The school sits in Bonsall, where two in five students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.

The seven-year arc

Percentile among 5,744 elementary schools statewide

Slipped from the 76th to the 52nd percentile since 2019.

CA Dashboard
ELAYellow(Declined Significantly)MathYellow(Declined Significantly)

This school hasn't fully recovered from the pandemic: 48% meet the standard today, versus 62% in 2019 — a gap worth asking about on a visit.

ELA — % met or exceeded, by grade
Grade20192022202320242025
Grade 364%55%54%56%50%
Grade 460%59%57%59%52%
Grade 568%57%50%53%56%
Math — % met or exceeded, by grade
Grade20192022202320242025
Grade 367%57%57%52%56%
Grade 452%53%43%53%39%
Grade 559%51%38%38%38%

The story this school is actually telling

The school, grade by grade

ELA · CAASPP 2024–25

Different students, same year — each bar is one grade's proficiency mix.

29%
21%
50%
Grade 3 · 50% proficient
26%
26%
48%
Grade 4 · 52% proficient
22%
34%
44%
Grade 5 · 56% proficient

The honest read: the share exceeding falls 7.8pp across grades; the floor rises 5.9pp. The state average rises 4.5pp over the same span. A school visit and conversation with teachers will tell you more than this number.

The 6 things our score weighs

Exceeded standard
22.6%
State 21.3%
1.3pp above state avg
Growth (G3→G5)
-6.2pp
State -2.9pp
Scores decline across grades
Met or exceeded
48.4%
State 42.7%
5.7pp above state avg
Chronic absenteeism
18.1%
State 17.9%
0.2pp above state avg
Suspension rate
1.4%
State 1.6%
0.2pp below state avg
EL proficiency (ELPAC)
9.1%
State 18.0%
8.9pp below state avg
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 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 Bonsall Elementary in Bonsall, 42.1% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 41.8% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Bonsall Elementary outperforms its district average for low-income students by 0.3 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (30.0% Math proficient); White students (60.6% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 29.8 percentage points for disabilities students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 209 students tested.

All students at this school: 48% met or exceeded
All StudentsAll Students: this school 48%, district —, state 43%48%
FemaleFemale: this school 47%, district 46%, state 44%47% · −1 vs school
MaleMale: this school 49%, district 47%, state 42%49% · +1 vs school
Socioeconomically DisadvantagedSocioeconomically Disadvantaged: this school 36%, district 35%, state 32%36% · −12 vs school
WhiteWhite: this school 59%, district 59%, state 56%59% · +10 vs school
Hispanic/LatinoHispanic/Latino: this school 34%, district 33%, state 32%34% · −15 vs school
Students with DisabilitiesStudents with Disabilities: this school 22%, district 18%, state 15%22% · −26 vs school
Two or More RacesTwo or More Races: this school 58%, district 57%, state 56%58% · +9 vs school
Military-ConnectedMilitary-Connected: this school 53%, district 58%, state 46%53% · +4 vs school
English LearnersEnglish Learners: this school 0%, district 3%, state 11%0% · −48 vs school
HomelessHomeless: this school 9%, district 17%, state 22%9% · −39 vs school

5 of 16 student groups here are too small to report — a privacy protection, not a gap.

this school district, same group California, same group
Subgroup growth by grade

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 3.3pp from grade 3 to grade 5 at this school. District average: +2.8pp.

Showing up, and staying in class

Chronic absenteeismChronic absenteeism: this school 18.1%, district 15.5%, state 17.9%18.1% · +0.2pp vs state
Suspension rateSuspension rate: this school 1.4%, district —, state 1.6%1.4% · −0.2pp vs state

TK/K students miss school at roughly twice the rate of Grades 4–6 students (28.6% vs 12.7%). Chronic absence here concentrates in the earliest grades — worth asking how the school works with new families on attendance.

Chronic absenteeism by grade band
Grades 4–612.7%
TK/K28.6%

Where the path goes

The path below follows attendance boundaries — scores shown for each next step.

K-12 Feeder Path
Elementary
Bonsall Elementary
43/100
This school
High School

Estimated path based on proximity within the same district. Contact your school district for official feeder information.

The people teaching here

Context — never part of the Scope Score
Student : teacherStudent to teacher ratio: this school 24:1, district 22:124:1
Teaching staff41 teachers
Avg. experience10.0 years
Fully credentialed87%
First-year teachers17%
Intern / emergency permit2.4%

What gets spent here

Per-pupil spendingPer-pupil spending: $16,983, CA average $14,815$16,983 · spent at this school
Federal share$442 per student

$442 per student arrives as federal Title funding — a measure of concentrated need, not school quality.

District current expense · FY 2024–25$18,214 per student

The district's current expense of education per student, from CDE's annual SACS filing — the freshest district spending figure the state publishes.

Where the district's dollars go · FY 2024–25 · CDE SACS
Instruction59%
Instruction support10%
Student services12%
Administration8%
Buildings & maintenance11%
Other1%

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

district detail, 2016–2020 — the newest published
2020$12,907 per pupil
2019$11,019 per pupil
2018$11,208 per pupil
2017$9,189 per pupil
2016$9,145 per pupil

Source: NCES F-33 · Full district breakdown →

The neighborhood it serves

White43.0%
District 38.7% · CA 19.9%
Hispanic37.2%
District 39.6% · CA 56.1%
Other17.8%
District 18.8% · CA 9.0%
Asian1.4%
District 1.7% · CA 10.2%
Black0.6%
District 1.1% · CA 4.8%
Low IncomeFree/reduced lunch eligible 44.8% (19pp below CA avg)
Neighborhood — American Community Survey
Median income$113K · CA $85K
Median home value$927K · CA $659K
Bachelor's degree+44% · CA 35%
ZIP population5,061
Median age44 years

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

Worth Knowing

At 949 students, this school is well above 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), 39% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 but never enters the Scope Score.

Frequently asked questions

Is Bonsall Elementary a good elementary school?

Bonsall Elementary has a Scope Score of 43 out of 100, placing it in the 52nd percentile of California elementary schools and ranked #2,740 statewide. 22.6% of students exceeded the state standard on the 2025 CAASPP assessment, which is near the California average of 21.3%. The Scope Score weights 6 dimensions for elementary schools: exceeded standard (38%), grade 3-to-5 growth (27%), met or exceeded (proficient) (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 Bonsall Elementary's CAASPP test scores?

On the 2025 CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment, 48.4% of students at Bonsall Elementary met or exceeded the state standard in ELA and Math combined, and 22.6% exceeded it. The gap between those numbers matters: 25.8% of students are at the proficiency floor, while 22.6% pushed past it. Most rating sites report only the combined "proficient" number. SchoolScope surfaces the exceeded-vs-met split because it reveals whether a school's curriculum challenges students beyond minimum proficiency or paces toward it. 897 student-subject combinations were assessed.

How does Bonsall Elementary rank in California?

Bonsall Elementary ranks #2,740 among California elementary schools by Scope Score, placing it in the 52nd 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.

Is Bonsall Elementary getting better or worse?

Based on 2025 CAASPP data, proficiency at Bonsall Elementary decreases by 6.2 percentage points from Grade 3 to grade 5 growth. This downward pattern doesn't necessarily mean the school is failing — it can reflect cohort differences, demographic shifts, or curriculum changes. A campus visit and conversation with teachers can reveal what the numbers can't. Growth trajectory is weighted at 15% in the elementary Scope Score because it measures what the school does, not just who walks in the door.

What is the attendance and school culture like at Bonsall Elementary?

18.1% of students at Bonsall Elementary are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days), compared to the California average of 17.9%. The suspension rate is 1.4%, 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 Bonsall Elementary compare to other schools in Bonsall?

Bonsall Elementary scores 43/100 (52nd 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 949 students. Use the schools in Bonsall page or the map view to compare all elementary schools nearby.

How does Bonsall Elementary serve low-income and underrepresented students?

At Bonsall Elementary in Bonsall, 42.1% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 41.8% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Bonsall Elementary outperforms its district average for low-income students by 0.3 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (30.0% Math proficient); White students (60.6% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 29.8 percentage points for disabilities students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 209 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.

Your other options

Private alternatives nearby

Private schools within ~10 miles. These schools do not participate in state testing and cannot be scored or ranked.


For the data nerds

Every number on this page

Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and peer comparisons.

01Score factorsWeighted composite · 2024–25
Exceeded standard · 38%
22.6%
↑ vs CA 21.3% · 51th pctile
Growth (G3→G5) · 27%
-6.2pp
↓ vs CA -2.9pp · 43th pctile
Met or exceeded · 20%
48.4%
↑ vs CA 42.7% · 54th pctile
Chronic absenteeism · 5%
18.1%
↓ vs CA 17.9% · 50th pctile
Suspension rate · 5%
1.4%
↑ vs CA 1.6% · 52th pctile
EL proficiency (ELPAC) · 5%
9.1%
↓ vs CA 18.0% · 38th pctile
02By grade & subgroupCAASPP 2024–25 · % of tested students
ELATestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 315629%21%28%22%50%+7
Grade 414026%26%26%22%52%+7
Grade 515222%34%18%26%56%+8
MathTestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 315622%34%28%16%56%+10
Grade 414118%21%37%24%39%−3
Grade 515219%18%35%28%38%+2
Science (CAST)TestedEXCMETNEARNOT
Grade 5/8/1115218%21%54%7%

CAST is tested in grades 5, 8, and once in high school — not annually. Not part of the Scope Score.

Subgroup · ELATestedMET+vs districtvs CA
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged20942.1%+0+4
White20360.6%−4−1
Hispanic/Latino16040.6%+0+2
03Peer comparison · nearest elementary schoolssorted by Scope Score
SchoolDistScopeEXCMET+GrowthSusp
Bonsall Elementary ←4322.6%48.4%−6.21.4%
California average4521.3%42.7%−2.91.6%
04More measurescontext · not all part of the Scope Score
YearScopePctileRankExcMet+AbsentSuspGrowth
20195676#133431.9%61.7%8.1%1.1%-2.0pp
20224773#155925.8%55.3%28.2%0.4%-2.0pp
20234360#228323.0%49.9%28.6%0.9%-12.0pp
20244455#255823.2%52.0%18.6%1.5%-8.2pp
20254352#274022.6%48.4%18.1%1.4%-6.2pp
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
Group20192025Δ
Female7.8%17.9%+10.1pp
Male8.4%18.3%+9.9pp
Asian0.0%7.7%+7.7pp
Filipino11.8%21.7%+9.9pp
Hispanic/Latino6.9%21.4%+14.5pp
American Indian/Alaska Native36.1%57.1%+21.0pp
Two or More Races13.8%14.4%+0.6pp
Students with Disabilities17.9%25.9%+8.0pp
English Learners6.8%18.9%+12.1pp
Homeless10.0%28.9%+18.9pp
Military-Connected7.7%27.3%+19.6pp
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged12.7%22.8%+10.1pp
All Students8.1%18.1%+10.0pp
White12.1%
EXC = exceeded standard · MET+ = met or exceeded ("proficient") · Source: CA Dept. of Education · CAASPP 2024–25 · n=5,744 elementary schools · Vintages: climate subgroups 2019+2025 · district finance per its label · ACS 2022 · Data updated 2026-07-03methodology · data updates · CSV · report issue

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