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School Profile · Arcata

Fuente Nueva Charter: No single number tells this school's story. Here's the honest picture.

Fuente Nueva Charter posts 37% meeting the standard and 13.9% exceeding it, against 43% and 21.3% statewide. The gaps and the bright spots below are the real read.

1730 Janes Road, 95521 (opens in new tab)·Arcata Elementary·Arcata·Grades TK-5·150 students·45% low-income·Charter·2024–25 CAASPP·(707) 822-3348·Website
Charter school — publicly funded, independently operated, open enrollment via lottery. Learn more
Scope Score
45
🚀 Growth Engine · Developing
ranked #2,571 statewide · #3 of 5 in Arcata Elementary

Fuente Nueva Charter scores 45 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 55th 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 →

Most rating sites would stop at “37% proficient” and call it done. Fuente Nueva Charter deserves a closer read. The school sits in Arcata, where two in five students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.

As a charter, Fuente Nueva Charter enrolls by application, not address — the score reads the same, the enrollment path doesn't.

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.

19%
75%
Grade 3 · 25% proficient
9%
22%
69%
Grade 4 · 31% proficient
29%
33%
38%
Grade 5 · 62% proficient

The honest read: the share exceeding rises 9.8pp across grades; the floor rises 36.9pp. 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

Exceeded standard
13.9%
State 21.3%
7.4pp below state avg
Growth (G3→G5)
+27.4pp
State -2.9pp
Scores improve across grades
Met or exceeded
37.4%
State 42.7%
5.3pp below state avg
Chronic absenteeism
15.3%
State 17.9%
2.6pp below state avg
Suspension rate
0.3%
State 1.6%
1.3pp 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.

Where the path goes

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

K-12 Feeder Path
Elementary
Fuente Nueva CharterCharter
45/100
This school
High School
No feeder data available for this level

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

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.

The community around it

Community Profile
Context — not part of the Scope Score

Student demographics

Hispanic44.0%
White36.7%
Black0.7%
Other18.7%
Low IncomeFree/reduced lunch eligible 45.3% (18pp below CA avg)
Resources & Access
Enrollment
150
330 below CA avg (~480)
Transitional Kindergarten
24 TK students
15% of a 158-student campus · CDE Census Day 2025-26
Student-Teacher Ratio
19:1
2 fewer students per teacher than CA avg
Per-Pupil Spending
$12,782
CA avg: $14,815 · District avg · NCES F-33
Teacher Salary Range
$50,829 – $96,295
District schedule · CA median ~$98K
Subgroup Growth by Grade
Change in proficiency from lowest tested grade. Shows which groups are gaining ground.

Subgroups with fewer than 10 tested students per grade are not shown.

Funding Breakdown
Instruction 63%Support 33%Other 4%

Source: NCES F-33 (2019–2020) · Full district breakdown →

Neighborhood Context
Median Income
$53K
$32K below CA median
Median Home Value
$501K
$158K below CA median
Bachelor's+
46%
11pp above CA avg
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024) · ZIP-level
Whole Child
Teacher experience, college/career readiness, and more. Context only — never part of the Scope Score.
Teacher Experience
4.3 years avg experience
8 teachers · 13% first-year · 38% second-year
Teacher Credentials
43% fully credentialed

Source: CDE SARC, 2024-25

Community Profile provides context about who attends this school and the resources available. These factors are never part of the Scope Score. Learn why →

Frequently asked questions

Is Fuente Nueva Charter a good elementary school?
Fuente Nueva Charter has a Scope Score of 45 out of 100, placing it in the 55th percentile of California elementary schools and ranked #2,571 statewide. 13.9% of students exceeded the state standard on the 2025 CAASPP assessment, which is 7.4 percentage points below the California average of 21.3%. The Scope Score weights six dimensions for elementary schools: exceeded standard (43%), met or exceeded (22%), grade 3-to-5 growth (15%), chronic absenteeism (10%), ELPAC English Learner proficiency (5%), and suspension rate (5%). Data source: California Department of Education CAASPP 2025, analyzed by SchoolScope.
What are Fuente Nueva Charter's CAASPP test scores?
On the 2025 CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment, 37.4% of students at Fuente Nueva Charter met or exceeded the state standard in ELA and Math combined, and 13.9% exceeded it. The gap between those numbers matters: 23.5% of students are at the proficiency floor, while 13.9% 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. 120 student-subject combinations were assessed.
How does Fuente Nueva Charter rank in California?
Fuente Nueva Charter ranks #2,571 among California elementary schools by Scope Score, placing it in the 55th 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 Fuente Nueva Charter getting better or worse?
Based on 2025 CAASPP data, proficiency at Fuente Nueva Charter increases by 27.4 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 Fuente Nueva Charter?
15.3% of students at Fuente Nueva Charter are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days), which is better than the California average of 17.9%. The suspension rate is 0.3%, 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 Fuente Nueva Charter compare to other schools in Arcata?
Fuente Nueva Charter scores 45/100 (55th 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 150 students. Use the schools in Arcata page or the map view to compare all elementary schools nearby.

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%
13.9%
↓ vs CA 21.3% · 43th pctile
Growth (G3→G5) · 27%
+27.4pp
↑ vs CA -2.9pp · 60th pctile
Met or exceeded · 20%
37.4%
↓ vs CA 42.7% · 46th pctile
Chronic absenteeism · 5%
15.3%
↑ vs CA 17.9% · 54th pctile
Suspension rate · 5%
0.3%
↑ vs CA 1.6% · 61th pctile
02By grade & subgroupCAASPP 2024–25 · % of tested students
ELATestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 31619%6%31%44%25%−18
Grade 4239%22%35%35%30%−14
Grade 52129%33%29%10%62%+14
MathTestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 3160%25%31%44%25%−21
Grade 42313%26%26%35%39%−2
Grade 52114%29%38%19%43%+8
Science (CAST)TestedEXCMETNEARNOT
Grade 5/8/112119%24%57%0%

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

03Peer comparison · nearest elementary schoolssorted by Scope Score
SchoolDistScopeEXCMET+GrowthSusp
Fuente Nueva Charter ←4513.9%37.4%+27.40.3%
Union Street Charter1.7 mi8256.4%86.1%+22.90.4%
Jacoby Creek2.6 mi5935.8%65.6%−3.30.2%
Coastal Grove Charter0.1 mi5518.9%43.9%+15.20.9%
California average4521.3%42.7%−2.91.6%
04More measurescontext · not all part of the Scope Score
Scope Score history
74%45%'19'22'23'24'25
2019 · 2022 · 2023 · 2024 · 2025 · no testing 2020–21 (COVID) · rank #362 → #3490 → #1507 → #2361 → #2571
What we can't show
  • — Subgroup results are suppressed for small student counts (fewer than 15 tested), following CDE privacy rules.
Source: CA Dept. of Education · CAASPP 2024–25 · n=5,744 elementary schools · Data updated 2026-07-03methodology · data updates · CSV · report issue