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Don Pedro Elementary · Ceres

Don Pedro Elementary: No single number tells this school's story. Here's the honest picture.

Don Pedro posts 17% meeting the standard and 4.8% exceeding it, against 43% and 21.3% statewide. The gaps and the bright spots below are the real read.

2300 Don Pedro Road, 95307 (opens in new tab)·Ceres Unified·Ceres·Grades TK-6·439 students·94% low-income·2024–25 CAASPP·(209) 556-1630
2019–2025 trend · CDE CAASPP
This schoolCA avg
Scope3445
% Exceeded5%21%
% Met+17%43%
Growth+5.8-2.9
Absence19.3%17.9%
Suspension1.0%1.6%
Scope Score
34
📈 On the Rise · Developing
ranked #4,156 statewide · #11 of 15 in Ceres Unified

Don Pedro Elementary scores 34 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 28th 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 →

📈 On the Rise — Ask how many years the improvement has held, not just the latest one — one strong cohort and a real turnaround can look identical in a single year of data.

Most rating sites would stop at “17% proficient” and call it done. Don Pedro deserves a closer read. The school sits in Ceres, where four 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

Climbed from the 10th to the 28th percentile since 2019 — past roughly 800 elementary schools.

CA Dashboard
ELAOrange(Declined Significantly)MathOrange(Declined Significantly)

This school hasn't fully recovered from the pandemic: 17% meet the standard today, versus 20% in 2019 — a gap worth asking about on a visit.

ELA — % met or exceeded, by grade
Grade20192022202320242025
Grade 325%19%15%16%14%
Grade 420%14%25%22%15%
Grade 523%25%25%29%32%
Grade 617%22%21%19%26%
Math — % met or exceeded, by grade
Grade20192022202320242025
Grade 325%14%21%17%18%
Grade 417%8%10%13%10%
Grade 512%9%14%17%11%
Grade 610%10%13%11%13%

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.

8%
86%
Grade 3 · 14% proficient
11%
86%
Grade 4 · 14% proficient
8%
24%
68%
Grade 5 · 32% proficient

The honest read: the share exceeding rises 1.9pp across grades; the floor rises 18.4pp. 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 6 things our score weighs

Exceeded standard
4.8%
State 21.3%
16.5pp below state avg
Growth (G3→G5)
+5.8pp
State -2.9pp
Scores improve across grades
Met or exceeded
16.7%
State 42.7%
26.0pp below state avg
Chronic absenteeism
19.3%
State 17.9%
1.4pp above state avg
Suspension rate
1.0%
State 1.6%
0.6pp below state avg
EL proficiency (ELPAC)
12.3%
State 18.0%
5.7pp below state avg
Worth a school visit

Ask what the school is working on next. Strong numbers tell you where a school is, not where it's going.

  • 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 Don Pedro Elementary in Ceres, 21.4% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 36.9% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Don Pedro Elementary trails its district average for low-income students by 15.6 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (12.0% Math proficient); Hispanic students (21.1% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 13.5 percentage points for english learner students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 234 students tested.

All students at this school: 17% met or exceeded
All StudentsAll Students: this school 17%, district —, state 43%17%
Socioeconomically DisadvantagedSocioeconomically Disadvantaged: this school 17%, district 29%, state 32%17% · −1 vs school
Hispanic/LatinoHispanic/Latino: this school 17%, district 29%, state 32%17% · −0 vs school
FemaleFemale: this school 15%, district 32%, state 44%15% · −3 vs school
English LearnersEnglish Learners: this school 8%, district 11%, state 11%8% · −10 vs school
MaleMale: this school 21%, district 31%, state 42%21% · +3 vs school

7 of 13 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 23.8pp from grade 3 to grade 5 at this school. District average: +2.7pp.

Showing up, and staying in class

Chronic absenteeismChronic absenteeism: this school 19.3%, district 18.2%, state 17.9%19.3% · +1.4pp vs state
Suspension rateSuspension rate: this school 1.0%, district —, state 1.6%1.0% · −0.6pp vs state
Chronic absenteeism by grade band
Grades 4–621.1%
TK/K23.8%

Where the path goes

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

K-12 Feeder Path

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

Context — never part of the Scope Score
Student : teacherStudent to teacher ratio: this school 24:1, district 24:124:1
Teaching staff19 teachers
Avg. experience12.2 years
Fully credentialed91%
Intern / emergency permit4.8%
Salary Schedule
Teacher salary schedule$69,779 – $139,451
Principal salary$159,081 – $177,439
Superintendent salary$309,149

Pay is set by the district, not the school.

What gets spent here

Per-pupil spendingPer-pupil spending: $20,693, CA average $14,815$20,693 · spent at this school
Federal share$2,251 per student

$2,251 per student arrives as federal Title funding — a measure of concentrated need, not school quality.

District current expense · FY 2024–25$20,592 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
Instruction60%
Instruction support16%
Student services10%
Administration6%
Buildings & maintenance8%

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$14,347 per pupil
2019$12,588 per pupil
2018$12,822 per pupil
2017$11,492 per pupil
2016$11,268 per pupil

Source: NCES F-33 · Full district breakdown →

The neighborhood it serves

Hispanic85.2%
District 81.0% · CA 56.1%
White9.6%
District 9.7% · CA 19.9%
Asian2.3%
District 5.7% · CA 10.2%
Other1.8%
District 2.4% · CA 9.0%
Black1.1%
District 1.2% · CA 4.8%
Low IncomeFree/reduced lunch eligible 93.6% (30pp above CA avg)
Neighborhood — American Community Survey
Median income$81K · CA $85K
Median home value$430K · CA $659K
Bachelor's degree+13% · CA 35%
ZIP population46,310
Median age33 years

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

Worth Knowing

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

On the state's science test (CAST), 11% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 but never enters the Scope Score.

Frequently asked questions

Is Don Pedro Elementary a good elementary school?

Don Pedro Elementary has a Scope Score of 34 out of 100, placing it in the 28th percentile of California elementary schools and ranked #4,156 statewide. 4.8% of students exceeded the state standard on the 2025 CAASPP assessment, which is 16.5 percentage points below 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 Don Pedro Elementary's CAASPP test scores?

On the 2025 CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment, 16.7% of students at Don Pedro Elementary met or exceeded the state standard in ELA and Math combined, and 4.8% exceeded it. The gap between those numbers matters: 11.9% of students are at the proficiency floor, while 4.8% 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. 377 student-subject combinations were assessed.

How does Don Pedro Elementary rank in California?

Don Pedro Elementary ranks #4,156 among California elementary schools by Scope Score, placing it in the 28th 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 Don Pedro Elementary getting better or worse?

Based on 2025 CAASPP data, proficiency at Don Pedro Elementary increases by 5.8 percentage points from Grade 3 to grade 5 growth. This upward trajectory suggests the school is adding measurable value — students leave with higher proficiency rates than they entered with. 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 Don Pedro Elementary?

19.3% of students at Don Pedro Elementary are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days), compared to the California average of 17.9%. The suspension rate is 1.0%, 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 Don Pedro Elementary compare to other schools in Ceres?

Don Pedro Elementary scores 34/100 (28th 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 439 students. Use the schools in Ceres page or the map view to compare all elementary schools nearby.

How does Don Pedro Elementary serve low-income and underrepresented students?

At Don Pedro Elementary in Ceres, 21.4% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 36.9% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Don Pedro Elementary trails its district average for low-income students by 15.6 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (12.0% Math proficient); Hispanic students (21.1% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 13.5 percentage points for english learner students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 234 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%
4.8%
↓ vs CA 21.3% · 34th pctile
Growth (G3→G5) · 27%
+5.8pp
↑ vs CA -2.9pp · 60th pctile
Met or exceeded · 20%
16.7%
↓ vs CA 42.7% · 30th pctile
Chronic absenteeism · 5%
19.3%
↓ vs CA 17.9% · 48th pctile
Suspension rate · 5%
1.0%
↑ vs CA 1.6% · 55th pctile
EL proficiency (ELPAC) · 5%
12.3%
↓ vs CA 18.0% · 43th pctile
02By grade & subgroupCAASPP 2024–25 · % of tested students
ELATestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 3656%8%18%68%14%−30
Grade 4613%11%13%72%15%−30
Grade 5628%24%21%47%32%−16
Grade 6612%25%31%43%26%−20
MathTestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 3662%17%20%62%18%−28
Grade 4612%8%25%66%10%−32
Grade 5628%3%34%55%11%−24
Grade 6615%8%34%52%13%−22
Science (CAST)TestedEXCMETNEARNOT
Grade 5/8/11622%10%52%37%

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 Disadvantaged23421.4%−16−17
Hispanic/Latino20921.1%−16−18
English Learners1267.9%−3−2
03Peer comparison · nearest elementary schoolssorted by Scope Score
SchoolDistScopeEXCMET+GrowthSusp
Don Pedro Elementary ←344.8%16.7%+5.81.0%
La Rosa Elementary1.7 mi5422.6%51.5%−17.00.6%
Patricia Kay Beaver Elementary1 mi4712.9%35.6%−23.81.5%
Samuel Vaughn Elementary1.9 mi4714.5%35.6%+10.81.2%
California average4521.3%42.7%−2.91.6%
04More measurescontext · not all part of the Scope Score
YearScopePctileRankExcMet+AbsentSuspGrowth
20192610#49747.3%20.2%8.8%5.5%-7.7pp
20223033#38463.1%14.9%22.4%5.4%+0.8pp
20233437#35955.3%18.6%20.3%2.4%+1.4pp
20243942#33355.5%19.0%16.8%1.0%+6.3pp
20253428#41564.8%16.7%19.3%1.0%+5.8pp
NO STATEWIDE TESTING 2020–21 (COVID) · SCORE AND PERCENTILE ARE RELATIVE TO EACH YEAR'S FIELD
What we can't show
  • — Low-income students here trail the state average for their group by 17 points in ELA — worth asking how the school is closing that gap.
05Climate by student groupchronic absenteeism · 2019 vs 2025 — the two years CDE publishes at subgroup level
Group20192025Δ
Female5.9%16.0%+10.1pp
Male11.4%22.8%+11.4pp
Asian27.3%8.3%-19.0pp
Black/African American23.1%
Hispanic/Latino7.3%19.4%+12.1pp
Students with Disabilities17.1%28.1%+11.0pp
English Learners4.3%16.7%+12.4pp
Foster Youth27.3%
Military-Connected3.4%23.5%+20.1pp
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged9.1%19.8%+10.7pp
All Students8.8%19.4%+10.6pp
Homeless45.5%
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