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School Profile · Fresno

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

Golden Charter Academy posts 17% meeting the standard and 4.6% exceeding it, against 43% and 21.3% statewide. The gaps and the bright spots below are the real read.

1626 West Princeton Avenue, 93705 (opens in new tab)·Fresno Unified·Fresno·Grades TK-8·405 students·82% low-income·Charter·2024–25 CAASPP·(559) 293-3157·Website
Charter school — publicly funded, independently operated, open enrollment via lottery. Learn more
Scope Score
36
🌱 Building Momentum · Developing
ranked #3,949 statewide · #40 of 74 in Fresno Unified

Golden Charter Academy scores 36 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 31st 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 “17% proficient” and call it done. Golden Charter Academy deserves a closer read. The school sits in Fresno, where four in five students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.

As a charter, Golden Charter Academy 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.

24%
70%
Grade 3 · 30% proficient
8%
86%
Grade 4 · 14% proficient
17%
76%
Grade 5 · 24% proficient

The honest read: the share exceeding holds steady across grades; the floor slips 5.6pp. 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

Exceeded standard
4.6%
State 21.3%
16.8pp below state avg
Growth (G3→G5)
-7.8pp
State -2.9pp
Scores decline across grades
Met or exceeded
17.0%
State 42.7%
25.6pp below state avg
Chronic absenteeism
39.3%
State 17.9%
21.4pp above state avg
Suspension rate
1.4%
State 1.6%
0.2pp 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.

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

Hispanic35.8%
White4.7%
Asian0.3%
Black50.9%
Other8.4%
Low IncomeFree/reduced lunch eligible 82.5% (19pp above CA avg)
Resources & Access
Enrollment
405
215 below CA avg (~620)
Transitional Kindergarten
38 TK students
11% of a 346-student campus · CDE Census Day 2025-26
Student-Teacher Ratio
27:1
6 more students per teacher than CA avg
Per-Pupil Spending
$12,375
CA avg: $14,815 · District avg · NCES F-33
Teacher Salary Range
$59,054 – $147,789
District schedule · CA median ~$98K
At Golden Charter Academy in Fresno, 16.8% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 34.0% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Golden Charter Academy trails its district average for low-income students by 17.2 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (8.2% Math proficient); Black students (14.9% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 4.3 percentage points for black students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 167 students tested.
Equity Gaps
ELA · Black−4.3pp
15.0% vs 19.3% overall · n=114
1 more gap by subject
ELA Exceeded · Black−3.1pp
1.7% vs 4.8% overall · n=114

Subgroups with fewer than 15 students are excluded for privacy. Gaps of less than 3 percentage points are not shown.

Subgroup Proficiency
Low-Income170 tested
ELA 16.8%·Math 8.2%· -17.2pp vs district
Black116 tested
ELA 14.9%·Math 6.9%· -8.5pp vs district
Hispanic59 tested
ELA 22.4%·Math 15.3%· -13.1pp vs district

Weighted average across tested grades. Subgroups with fewer than 15 students excluded. Data: CDE CAASPP 2024-25.

Subgroup Growth by Grade
Change in proficiency from lowest tested grade. Shows which groups are gaining ground.

Low-income student ELA proficiency falls by 4.0pp from grade 3 to grade 5 at this school. District average: +0.9pp.

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

Funding Breakdown
Instruction 62%Support 36%Other 2%

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

Neighborhood Context
Median Income
$57K
$28K below CA median
Median Home Value
$305K
$354K below CA median
Bachelor's+
15%
20pp below 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
6.2 years avg experience
17 teachers · 12% first-year · 6% second-year
Teacher Credentials
89% 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 Golden Charter Academy a good elementary school?
Golden Charter Academy has a Scope Score of 36 out of 100, placing it in the 31st percentile of California elementary schools and ranked #3,949 statewide. 4.6% of students exceeded the state standard on the 2025 CAASPP assessment, which is 16.8 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 Golden Charter Academy's CAASPP test scores?
On the 2025 CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment, 17.0% of students at Golden Charter Academy met or exceeded the state standard in ELA and Math combined, and 4.6% exceeded it. The gap between those numbers matters: 12.5% of students are at the proficiency floor, while 4.6% 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. 286 student-subject combinations were assessed.
How does Golden Charter Academy rank in California?
Golden Charter Academy ranks #3,949 among California elementary schools by Scope Score, placing it in the 31st 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 Golden Charter Academy getting better or worse?
Based on 2025 CAASPP data, proficiency at Golden Charter Academy decreases by 7.8 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 Golden Charter Academy?
39.3% of students at Golden Charter Academy 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 Golden Charter Academy compare to other schools in Fresno?
Golden Charter Academy scores 36/100 (31st 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 405 students. Use the schools in Fresno page or the map view to compare all elementary schools nearby.
How does Golden Charter Academy serve low-income and underrepresented students?
At Golden Charter Academy in Fresno, 16.8% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 34.0% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Golden Charter Academy trails its district average for low-income students by 17.2 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (8.2% Math proficient); Black students (14.9% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 4.3 percentage points for black students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 167 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.

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%
4.6%
↓ vs CA 21.3% · 34th pctile
Growth (G3→G5) · 27%
-7.8pp
↓ vs CA -2.9pp · 70th pctile
Met or exceeded · 20%
17.0%
↓ vs CA 42.7% · 30th pctile
Chronic absenteeism · 5%
39.3%
↓ vs CA 17.9% · 15th pctile
Suspension rate · 5%
1.4%
↑ vs CA 1.6% · 52th pctile
02By grade & subgroupCAASPP 2024–25 · % of tested students
ELATestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 3516%24%18%53%29%−14
Grade 4496%8%10%76%14%−31
Grade 5427%17%7%69%24%−24
Grade 6510%10%25%65%10%−37
MathTestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 3524%15%35%46%19%−26
Grade 4492%4%37%57%6%−35
Grade 5432%7%33%58%9%−26
Grade 6520%4%27%69%4%−31
Science (CAST)TestedEXCMETNEARNOT
Grade 5/8/11430%9%58%33%

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 Disadvantaged16716.8%−17−21
Black/African American11414.9%−9−18
Hispanic/Latino5822.4%−13−16
03Peer comparison · nearest elementary schoolssorted by Scope Score
SchoolDistScopeEXCMET+GrowthSusp
Golden Charter Academy ←364.6%17.0%−7.81.4%
Morris E. Dailey Charter Elementary1.1 mi6237.0%60.7%−12.31.0%
Bullard Talent2.4 mi5231.1%58.3%−18.72.4%
Endeavor Charter2.5 mi4813.1%43.6%+22.60.3%
California average4521.3%42.7%−2.91.6%
04More measurescontext · not all part of the Scope Score
Scope Score history
35%36%'24'25
2024 · 2025 · rank #4023 → #3949
What we can't show
  • — Scored here as an elementary school — other grade spans appear in the data appendix.
  • — Low-income students here trail the state average for their group by 21 points in ELA — worth asking how the school is closing that gap.
Source: CA Dept. of Education · CAASPP 2024–25 · n=5,744 elementary schools · Data updated 2026-07-03methodology · data updates · CSV · report issue