Creative Connections Arts Academy: No single number tells this school's story. Here's the honest picture.
Creative Connections Arts Academy posts 39% meeting the standard and 16.1% exceeding it, against 43% and 21.3% statewide. The gaps and the bright spots below are the real read.
| Scope | % Exceeded | % Met+ | Growth | Absence | Suspension | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 43 | 16% | 39% | -6.4 | 19.0% | 5.6% |
| CA average · Elementary School | 45 | 21% | 43% | -2.9 | 17.9% | 1.6% |
Creative Connections Arts Academy scores 43 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 51st 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 “39% proficient” and call it done. Creative Connections Arts Academy deserves a closer read. The school sits in North Highlands, where three in four students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.
As a charter, Creative Connections Arts Academy enrolls by application rather than address. That changes how you get in, but it doesn't change the score.
The seven-year arc
Slipped from the 75th to the 51st percentile since 2019.
This school hasn't fully recovered from the pandemic: 39% meet the standard today, versus 52% in 2019 — a gap worth asking about on a visit.
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 47% | 21% | 38% | 30% | 43% |
| Grade 4 | 58% | 48% | 27% | 41% | 41% |
| Grade 5 | 60% | 41% | 48% | 41% | 43% |
| Grade 6 | 45% | 43% | 41% | 51% | 48% |
| Grade 7 | 55% | 61% | 43% | 55% | 62% |
| Grade 8 | 46% | 34% | 51% | 51% | 57% |
| Grade 11 | 57% | 68% | 64% | 48% | 59% |
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 45% | 33% | 42% | 21% | 43% |
| Grade 4 | 52% | 51% | 29% | 28% | 35% |
| Grade 5 | 47% | 25% | 40% | 41% | 29% |
| Grade 6 | 27% | 20% | 28% | 31% | 33% |
| Grade 7 | 43% | 40% | 35% | 42% | 48% |
| Grade 8 | 35% | 23% | 42% | 18% | 28% |
| Grade 11 | 19% | 28% | 27% | 26% | 24% |
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 falls 1.5pp across grades; the proficiency floor barely moves. 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 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 what typically leads to a suspension, and what happens before it gets there.
- 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 Creative Connections Arts Academy in North Highlands, 46.0% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 34.9% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Creative Connections Arts Academy outperforms its district average for low-income students by 11.1 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (29.7% Math proficient); Hispanic students (47.7% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 4.3 percentage points for low-income students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 313 students tested.
10 of 17 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 4.5pp from grade 3 to grade 5 at this school. District average: +0.6pp.
Showing up, and staying in class
Where the path goes
Creative Connections Arts Academy serves grades K-12 — students can complete their entire K-12 education here, with no school-to-school transitions.
The people teaching here
Pay is set by the district, not the school.
What gets spent here
$865 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
On the state's science test (CAST), 26% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 but never enters the Scope Score.
Frequently asked questions
Is Creative Connections Arts Academy a good elementary school?
What are Creative Connections Arts Academy's CAASPP test scores?
How does Creative Connections Arts Academy rank in California?
Is Creative Connections Arts Academy getting better or worse?
What is the attendance and school culture like at Creative Connections Arts Academy?
How does Creative Connections Arts Academy compare to other schools in North Highlands?
How does Creative Connections Arts Academy serve low-income and underrepresented students?
Your other options
Nearby Elementary Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 52
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 | 54 | 22% | 20% | 30% | 28% | 43% | −1 |
| Grade 4 | 51 | 20% | 22% | 18% | 41% | 41% | −4 |
| Grade 5 | 58 | 21% | 22% | 33% | 24% | 43% | −5 |
| Grade 6 | 60 | 23% | 25% | 33% | 18% | 48% | +2 |
| Grade 7 | 58 | 28% | 34% | 26% | 12% | 62% | +14 |
| Grade 8 | 61 | 16% | 41% | 25% | 18% | 57% | +11 |
| Grade 11 | 46 | 28% | 30% | 30% | 11% | 59% | +12 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 54 | 6% | 37% | 35% | 22% | 43% | −3 |
| Grade 4 | 51 | 10% | 25% | 35% | 29% | 35% | −6 |
| Grade 5 | 58 | 19% | 10% | 41% | 29% | 29% | −6 |
| Grade 6 | 61 | 18% | 15% | 30% | 38% | 33% | −2 |
| Grade 7 | 58 | 31% | 17% | 34% | 17% | 48% | +14 |
| Grade 8 | 61 | 11% | 16% | 30% | 43% | 28% | −4 |
| Grade 11 | 46 | 15% | 9% | 17% | 59% | 24% | +1 |
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5/8/11 | 169 | 7% | 19% | 67% | 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 | 313 | 46.0% | +11 | +8 |
| Hispanic/Latino | 199 | 47.7% | +12 | +9 |
| White | 51 | 56.9% | +14 | −5 |
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Creative Connections Arts Academy ← | — | 43 | 16.1% | 39.0% | −6.4 | 5.6% |
| Ridgepoint Elementary | 0.7 mi | 52 | 25.9% | 50.3% | +7.8 | 3.3% |
| Creekview Ranch | 3.2 mi | 52 | 34.7% | 59.6% | −20.1 | 3.8% |
| Foothill Oaks Elementary | 1.9 mi | 52 | 29.2% | 53.5% | −6.9 | 3.1% |
| California average | — | 45 | 21.3% | 42.7% | −2.9 | 1.6% |
| Year | Scope | Pctile | Rank | Exc | Met+ | Absent | Susp | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 56 | 75 | #1387 | 24.9% | 51.5% | 4.8% | 3.0% | +7.0pp |
| 2022 | 38 | 55 | #2587 | 18.1% | 36.5% | 33.8% | 3.5% | +6.0pp |
| 2023 | 43 | 60 | #2263 | 15.7% | 37.2% | 18.3% | 5.4% | +3.9pp |
| 2024 | 46 | 59 | #2349 | 15.6% | 33.7% | 19.4% | 4.4% | +15.4pp |
| 2025 | 43 | 51 | #2801 | 16.1% | 39.0% | 19.0% | 5.6% | -6.4pp |
- — Scored here as an elementary school — other grade spans appear in the data appendix.
| Group | 2019 | 2025 | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 4.2% | 19.7% | +15.5pp |
| Male | 5.2% | 18.4% | +13.2pp |
| Asian | 0.0% | 15.8% | +15.8pp |
| Black/African American | 9.3% | 20.0% | +10.7pp |
| White | 0.0% | — | — |
| Hispanic/Latino | 3.0% | 17.3% | +14.3pp |
| American Indian/Alaska Native | 8.3% | — | — |
| Two or More Races | 4.3% | 23.2% | +18.9pp |
| Students with Disabilities | 9.8% | 31.6% | +21.8pp |
| English Learners | 1.3% | 21.7% | +20.4pp |
| Homeless | 6.7% | 24.6% | +17.9pp |
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 6.5% | 20.0% | +13.5pp |
| All Students | 4.7% | 19.1% | +14.4pp |
| Filipino | — | 23.5% | — |
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