Cappy Culver Elementary: High scores, real growth, strong attendance. We looked for a catch — we didn't find one.
Cappy Culver posts 51.4% meeting the standard — versus 42.7% statewide — with climate numbers better than most. That doesn't make it perfect. It makes it worth a visit to find what numbers can't measure.
| Scope | % Exceeded | % Met+ | Growth | Absence | Suspension | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 56 | 15% | 51% | +2.1 | 19.9% | 2.4% |
| CA average · Elementary School | 45 | 21% | 43% | -2.9 | 17.9% | 1.6% |
Cappy Culver Elementary scores 56 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 76th 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 “51% proficient” and call it done. Cappy Culver deserves a closer read. The school sits in Paso Robles, where two in five students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.
The headline number: +2.1pp 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.
The seven-year arc
Has stayed near the 76th percentile since 2019.
This school hasn't fully recovered from the pandemic: 51% meet the standard today, versus 56% in 2019 — a gap worth asking about on a visit.
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 62% | 26% | 33% | 36% | 35% |
| Grade 4 | 53% | 41% | 24% | 44% | 36% |
| Grade 5 | 64% | 45% | 70% | 63% | 64% |
| Grade 6 | 63% | 33% | 36% | 47% | 59% |
| Grade 7 | 76% | 50% | 13% | 30% | 45% |
| Grade 8 | 50% | 38% | — | — | 13% |
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 54% | 44% | 44% | 50% | 69% |
| Grade 4 | 41% | 45% | 32% | 56% | 61% |
| Grade 5 | 65% | 17% | 45% | 63% | 44% |
| Grade 6 | 52% | 17% | 24% | 26% | 45% |
| Grade 7 | 65% | 43% | 13% | 30% | 25% |
| Grade 8 | 33% | 45% | — | — | 25% |
The story this school is actually telling
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 rises 20.0pp across grades; the floor rises 29.4pp. The state average rises 4.5pp over the same span. Kids here gain ground the longer they stay — the pattern you want to see. A school visit and conversation with teachers will tell you more than this number.
The 5 things our score weighs
Ask what the school is working on next. Strong numbers tell you where a school is, not where it's going.
- Ask how teachers track each child's growth over the year, not just where the class lands on test day.
- 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 Cappy Culver Elementary in Paso Robles, 40.0% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 35.1% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Cappy Culver Elementary outperforms its district average for low-income students by 4.9 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (43.6% Math proficient); White students (42.9% ELA proficient). Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 55 students tested.
7 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 7.1pp from grade 3 to grade 5 at this school. District average: +21.6pp.
Showing up, and staying in class
TK/K students miss school at roughly twice the rate of Grades 4–6 students (29.3% vs 14.8%). Chronic absence here concentrates in the earliest grades — worth asking how the school works with new families on attendance.
Where the path goes
The path below is estimated from nearby schools in the same district — scores shown for each next step.
Estimated K-12 path based on district and proximity. Actual attendance zones may differ. 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
$585 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
At 220 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), 29% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 but never enters the Scope Score.
Frequently asked questions
Is Cappy Culver Elementary a good elementary school?
What are Cappy Culver Elementary's CAASPP test scores?
How does Cappy Culver Elementary rank in California?
Is Cappy Culver Elementary getting better or worse?
What is the attendance and school culture like at Cappy Culver Elementary?
How does Cappy Culver Elementary compare to other schools in Paso Robles?
How does Cappy Culver Elementary serve low-income and underrepresented students?
Your other options
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 | 26 | 0% | 35% | 31% | 35% | 35% | −9 |
| Grade 4 | 28 | 18% | 18% | 36% | 29% | 36% | −9 |
| Grade 5 | 25 | 20% | 44% | 32% | 4% | 64% | +16 |
| Grade 6 | 22 | 14% | 45% | 27% | 14% | 59% | +13 |
| Grade 7 | 20 | 10% | 35% | 30% | 25% | 45% | −3 |
| Grade 8 | 16 | 0% | 13% | 50% | 38% | 13% | −34 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 26 | 15% | 54% | 19% | 12% | 69% | +24 |
| Grade 4 | 28 | 14% | 46% | 29% | 11% | 61% | +19 |
| Grade 5 | 25 | 20% | 24% | 36% | 20% | 44% | +9 |
| Grade 6 | 22 | 23% | 23% | 27% | 27% | 45% | +10 |
| Grade 7 | 20 | 10% | 15% | 40% | 35% | 25% | −9 |
| Grade 8 | 16 | 0% | 25% | 25% | 50% | 25% | −7 |
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5/8/11 | 42 | 12% | 17% | 64% | 7% |
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 | 55 | 40.0% | +5 | +2 |
| White | 98 | 42.9% | +1 | −19 |
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cappy Culver Elementary ← | — | 56 | 14.6% | 51.4% | +2.1 | 2.4% |
| California average | — | 45 | 21.3% | 42.7% | −2.9 | 1.6% |
| Year | Scope | Pctile | Rank | Exc | Met+ | Absent | Susp | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 55 | 74 | #1410 | 22.6% | 56.4% | 10.8% | 2.1% | +6.7pp |
| 2022 | 30 | 34 | #3774 | 12.8% | 36.5% | 44.6% | 0.8% | -4.2pp |
| 2023 | 49 | 70 | #1692 | 15.6% | 41.5% | 37.3% | 0.8% | +18.6pp |
| 2024 | 50 | 69 | #1798 | 15.3% | 51.8% | 20.3% | 2.1% | +19.6pp |
| 2025 | 56 | 76 | #1374 | 14.6% | 51.4% | 19.9% | 2.4% | +2.1pp |
| Group | 2019 | 2025 | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 5.8% | 11.6% | +5.8pp |
| Male | 14.8% | 28.6% | +13.8pp |
| Hispanic/Latino | 12.7% | 22.6% | +9.9pp |
| Two or More Races | 20.0% | 6.7% | -13.3pp |
| Students with Disabilities | 8.3% | 20.6% | +12.3pp |
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 11.0% | 29.2% | +18.2pp |
| All Students | 10.8% | 20.3% | +9.5pp |
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