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Charter elementary school

Golden Valley River

Orangevale, CA · Grades TK-8 · 297 students · San Juan Unified

No single number tells this school's story. Here's the honest picture.

34% of tested students are Proficient or Advanced in English and 8% in math. Explore the evidence alongside the opportunities your child would use.

SchoolScope archetype

Culture First

What this means for your family

Ask whether the low absenteeism and suspension numbers come from what the school does or from the community it serves — both can produce the same numbers, and only a visit tells you which.

How archetypes are assigned →

Math

8%

Grades 3 & 5 · Proficient or Advanced

English

34%

Grades 3 & 5 · Proficient or Advanced

Students

297

Total enrollment

Chronic absence

14%

Students absent 10% or more of school days

What are you trying to decide?

The overall score is a starting point.

Look at subject results, trends and student groups, then consider the opportunities your child would use.

View school performance →

Academic performance

What do the results tell us?

2025 results · Grades 3 & 5 · weighted by students tested within each subject.

Proficient or Advanced combines Levels 3 and 4, formerly Standard Met and Standard Exceeded. California changed the names for 2025–26; the cut scores did not. About the labels →

Share at Proficient or Advanced

0%25%50%75%100%2019: 27%2022: 21%2023: 14%2024: 30%2025: 8%2019: 59%2022: 34%2023: 49%2024: 46%2025: 34%201920222023202420250%25%50%75%100%2019: 27%2022: 21%2023: 14%2024: 30%2025: 8%2019: 59%2022: 34%2023: 49%2024: 46%2025: 34%20192022202320242025
● Math┄ English

Gaps in the lines mark years without annual results.

Exact annual results
YearMathEnglish
201927%59%
202221%34%
202314%49%
202430%46%
20258%34%

Each year describes that year’s tested students. Changes between years do not follow the same children over time. Cohort-growth evidence, when available, is labeled separately below.

Annual results and the full academic record
Is it getting better · CAASPP 2019 to 2025

Slipped from the 48th to the 39th percentile since 2019.

Most rating sites would stop at “28% proficient” and call it done. Golden Valley River deserves a closer read. It sits at the 39th percentile of 5,721 California elementary schools — but the ranking is the least interesting thing on this page.

As a charter, Golden Valley River enrolls by application rather than address. That changes how you get in, but it doesn't change the score.

162 tested · 3 of 3 grades published · no cohort tracked

Golden Valley River scores 32 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 39th percentile of 5,721 California elementary schools (CDE CAASPP 2025).

This school hasn't fully recovered from the pandemic: 28% meet the standard today, versus 40% in 2019 — a gap worth asking about on a visit.

Percentile among 5,721 elementary schools statewide
Year detailsYear2019 · 48th percentile · Scope Score 35 of 1002022 · 29th percentile · Scope Score 24 of 1002023 · 32nd percentile · Scope Score 26 of 1002024 · 49th percentile · Scope Score 36 of 1002025 · 39th percentile · Scope Score 32 of 100
ELAYellow(Increased)MathOrange(Maintained)
ShowHide the by-grade tables, year by year
ELA — % met or exceeded, by grade
Grade20192022202320242025
Grade 353%28%28%35%16%
Grade 448%29%39%42%66%
Grade 565%41%71%57%53%
Grade 669%48%39%48%67%
Grade 789%48%48%52%67%
Grade 876%32%50%39%65%
Math — % met or exceeded, by grade
Grade20192022202320242025
Grade 316%31%16%23%9%
Grade 421%7%21%19%19%
Grade 538%11%13%38%7%
Grade 635%11%11%32%30%
Grade 753%16%29%32%18%
Grade 844%26%17%18%33%
Where students land · CAASPP 2024–25

One in four of students here meet the standard. One in ten clear it by a lot.

ELA54% met or exceeded
Exceeded 15%Met 38%Nearly Met 20%Not Met 26%
Math19% met or exceeded
Exceeded 5%Met 14%Nearly Met 43%Not Met 39%
Exceeded Met Nearly Met Not Met
California elementary schools · average21% exceeded · 43% met or exceeded
This school against the California average
2019–2025 trend · CDE CAASPP
Scope% Exceeded% Met+GrowthAbsenceSuspension
This school3210%28%—13.5%1.1%
CA average · Elementary School3921%43%—17.9%1.6%
This schoolCA avg
Scope3239
% Exceeded10%21%
% Met+28%43%
Growth——
Absence13.5%17.9%
Suspension1.1%1.6%
California’s growth results and student groups
State growth model · CDE growth model 2024–25

California's own growth model splits here — the 97th percentile in reading against the 40th in math, among elementary schools.

Context — never part of the Scope Score

California runs its own growth model — it follows individual children in grades 4 through 8 and compares each one against a prediction from their own prior scores. On that measure this school sits a little above the middle of California elementary schools in reading, and the 40th in math. We show it; we don't score it.

— pts vs expected is scale-score points above or below what California's model predicted for these same children from their own prior-year scores. It is not a percentage and not a percent of anything. A typical California elementary school lands at +2 in reading, and the middle half of them fall between −5 and +9 — the spread is wide, so read the rank, not the sign. CDE blends two consecutive years into each published figure, so adjacent years share input data and no year-over-year trend can honestly be drawn from them. It covers grades 4-8 only, and it is not part of the Scope Score — we assessed it and left it out: it tracks school demographics roughly three times as strongly as our own growth measure does, and one published year is not enough to test how stable it is.

California's growth model, ranked against the schools it scores
State model · readingmatched students, grades 4-8California growth model, reading: +22 scale-score points versus the state's expectation, 97th percentile of 7,519 reported schools.97th pctile · +22 pts
State model · mathmatched students, grades 4-8California growth model, math: −3 scale-score points versus the state's expectation, 40th percentile of 7,518 reported schools.40th pctile · −3 pts
this school| the tick is the middle of the California field

Students & opportunity

Who shares in the school’s results?

Who it works for · CAASPP 2024–25

How every group of students does here

At Golden Valley River in Orangevale, 53.0% of white students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 47.4% district-wide and 61.8% statewide. Golden Valley River outperforms its district average for white students by 5.6 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: White students (17.1% Math proficient). Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 117 students tested.

Met or exceeded · reading and math combined
All students at this school: 36% met or exceeded
All StudentsAll Students: this school 36%, district —, state 43%36%
WhiteWhite: this school 35%, district 41%, state 56%35% · −1 vs school
MaleMale: this school 32%, district 33%, state 42%32% · −4 vs school
FemaleFemale: this school 41%, district 35%, state 44%41% · +5 vs school

6 of 10 student groups here are too small to report — a privacy protection, not a gap.

this school district, same group California, same group
ShowHide Student-group results by grade
Student-group results by grade

Results compare different grade groups in the same year, relative to the lowest tested grade. They do not track the same children over time. Groups with fewer than 10 tested students per grade are not shown.

ShowHide California's growth model by student group
The state's growth model, by student group

California follows these children individually and predicts each one's score from their own prior year. Each row is read against the same group at a typical California elementary school — not against zero, and not against this school's all-students figure, because the state's expectation already differs by group.

Reading
English Only123 studentsEnglish Only, reading: +20 scale-score points versus expectation, against +3 for the same group at a typical California elementary school, 123 students.+20 pts · +17 vs typical
White90 studentsWhite, reading: +26 scale-score points versus expectation, against +5 for the same group at a typical California elementary school, 90 students.+26 pts · +21 vs typical
Low-income students33 studentsLow-income students, reading: +13 scale-score points versus expectation, against 0 for the same group at a typical California elementary school, 33 students.+13 pts · +13 vs typical
Math
English Only122 studentsEnglish Only, math: −1 scale-score points versus expectation, against +1 for the same group at a typical California elementary school, 122 students.−1 pts · −2 vs typical
White90 studentsWhite, math: −4 scale-score points versus expectation, against +5 for the same group at a typical California elementary school, 90 students.−4 pts · −9 vs typical
Low-income students34 studentsLow-income students, math: −4 scale-score points versus expectation, against −1 for the same group at a typical California elementary school, 34 students.−4 pts · −3 vs typical
this school typical California elementary school, same group| the centre tick is 0 = as predicted

— 3 more groups are reported here with between 11 and 29 students. We hold those back on purpose: at that size the figure swings about 17 points on its own, and a quarter of such groups land past the state's top or bottom cut point by chance alone. They are listed with their student counts in the data appendix. — A group not listed at all had fewer than 11 students with a growth score, so California published nothing for it here. That is a privacy protection, not a judgment about those students. — Context only. None of this enters the Scope Score.

The daily experience

What is it like to be a student here?

Students per teacher

Student–teacher ratio is a schoolwide staffing measure, not an average class size.

The people teaching · CDE staffing 2024–25

About 27 students for every teacher here.

Context — never part of the Scope Score

Students per teacher27 · district 23
Teaching staff15 teachers
Avg. experience12.3 years
Fully credentialed85%
First-year teachers7%
PrincipalRyan Sutton
ShowHide what the district pays
Teacher salary schedule$60,000 – $118,000
Principal salary$153,210 – $185,821
Superintendent salary$392,080

Pay is set by the district, not the school.

Attendance & discipline · 2024–25

Kids here show up more, and get suspended less, than the state average.

Chronic absenteeismChronic absenteeism: this school 13.5%, district 22.7%, state 17.9%13.5% · −4.4pp vs state
Suspension rateSuspension rate: this school 1.1%, district —, state 1.6%1.1% · −0.5pp vs state
This schoolDistrictCalifornia

Resources & neighborhood

What sits behind the school experience?

Explore school spending and the district budget
What gets spent · FY 2024–25

Its district spends $12,962 per student, less than the California average.

Context — never part of the Scope Score

The district's current expense of education per student, from CDE's annual SACS filing — the freshest district spending figure the state publishes.

Per-pupil spendingPer-pupil spending: $12,962, CA average $14,491$12,962 · district average
District current expense · FY 2024–25$19,542 per student
District averageCalifornia
Where the district's dollars go · FY 2024–25 · CDE SACS
Instruction 59%Instruction support 16%Student services 8%Administration 8%Buildings & maintenance 8%Other 1%

District-level, from the district's own SACS general-ledger filing — school-by-school breakdowns aren't published by the state.

ShowHide the district's spending year by year
district detail, 2016–2020 — the newest published
2020$12,962 per pupil
2019$12,705 per pupil
2018$13,148 per pupil
2017$11,096 per pupil
2016$10,446 per pupil

Source: NCES F-33 · Full district breakdown →

The neighborhood · ACS 2024

One in five of students here qualify for free or reduced lunch, versus three in five statewide.

Context — never part of the Scope Score

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), 24% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 and once in high school, and it never enters the Scope Score.

Hispanic or Latino19.2% · district 26.4% · CA 56.1%
White67.3% · district 45.5% · CA 19.9%
Asian0.7% · district 11.7% · CA 10.2%
Other12.8% · district 10.5% · CA 9.0%
Free or reduced lunch24.9% · CA 64%
Median income$97K · CA $85K
Median home value$558K · CA $659K
Bachelor's degree+31% · CA 35%
ZIP population32,600
Median age42 years

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

Culture & philosophy

What is the school’s approach?

School-stated approach · questions for your visit

Look beyond the brochure

A source-reviewed culture summary is not available for this profile yet. Ask how teaching, student support and family communication work day to day.

Read the school’s own website ↗

Family voices

What would you want another family to know about the daily experience here?

Ask a current family: “When your child needs help, how does the school respond?”

Educator voices

What should families understand about teaching, support and the school community?

Ask an educator: “How do you adapt a typical day for children with different needs?”

Bring these questions on a visit →

Compare nearby schools

What are the alternatives?

Compare schools serving the same grade stage. Private schools have no comparable state-test score.

2025 · elementary schools · combined reading and math measures. Percentiles compare schools within their enrollment group.

Private options →
SchoolTypePerformance bandAdvancedProficient or AdvancedDistanceSelect
Golden Valley RiverCharterDeveloping10%28%School being viewed
Theodore Judah ElementaryPublicStrong55%71%1.7 mi
Sandra J. Gallardo ElementaryPublicStrong49%75%2.4 mi
Natoma Station ElementaryPublicStrong40%69%1.9 mi
Open the comparison tool →
More nearby public and private options
Your other options

Your other options

Nearby public schools across grade levels, plus private options within 10 miles.

All schools in Orangevale →

Private schools do not receive a Scope Score or statewide ranking on SchoolScope.

16 private schools within 10 miles
Not scored
What should I check before applying?
District public
Confirm the attendance boundary and any permit options.
Charter
Check applications, priorities and deadlines with each school.
Private
Confirm admission requirements, tuition and financial aid.

Moving & enrollment

Which schools could serve my child?

Check enrollment with this charter school

Ask the school about applications, priorities and deadlines for your child’s grade.

School website →

Schools across the K–12 journey

Source: proximity. Schools are grouped by grade stage. Nearby schools are not confirmed feeder links or address assignments. Verify the current path and eligibility with the district.

Charter enrollment details

Plan your next step

What should I do next?

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.
Questions

Frequently asked questions

Is Golden Valley River a good elementary school?
Golden Valley River has a Scope Score of 32 out of 100, placing it in the 39th percentile of California elementary schools and ranked #3,475 statewide. 9.6% of students exceeded the state standard on the 2025 CAASPP assessment, which is 11.8 percentage points below the California average of 21.4%. The Scope Score weights 6 dimensions for elementary schools: exceeded standard (42%), met or exceeded (proficient) (23%), grade 3-to-5 growth (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 Golden Valley River's CAASPP test scores?
On the 2025 CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment, 28.2% of students at Golden Valley River met or exceeded the state standard in ELA and Math combined, and 9.6% exceeded it. The gap between those numbers matters: 18.6% of students are at the proficiency floor, while 9.6% went beyond it. Most rating sites report only the combined "proficient" number. SchoolScope surfaces the exceeded-vs-met split because it shows how many students go beyond the standard rather than only meeting it. 188 student-subject combinations were assessed.
How does Golden Valley River rank in California?
Golden Valley River ranks #3,475 among California elementary schools by Scope Score, placing it in the 39th 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.
What is the attendance and school culture like at Golden Valley River?
13.5% of students at Golden Valley River are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days), which is better than the California average of 17.9%. The suspension rate is 1.1%, 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 Valley River compare to other schools in Orangevale?
Golden Valley River scores 32/100 (39th 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 297 students. Use the schools in Orangevale page or the map view to compare all elementary schools nearby.
How does Golden Valley River serve low-income and underrepresented students?
At Golden Valley River in Orangevale, 53.0% of white students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 47.4% district-wide and 61.8% statewide. Golden Valley River outperforms its district average for white students by 5.6 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: White students (17.1% Math proficient). Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 117 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.

Use the published evidence to prepare questions, then verify fit and access with the school.

Behind the evidence

Inspect the full record

Public sources, visible methods and the underlying school record. Source years and limitations stay attached to the evidence.

How the Scope Score is calculated

On a narrow screen, scroll the table sideways to see the state comparison and weights.

What the score weighs · CAASPP 2024–25

The 5 things our score weighs

What the score weighs
What we weighHereStateWeight
Exceeded standard9.6%21.4%42%
Met or exceeded28.2%42.7%23%
Chronic absenteeism13.5%17.9%5%
Suspension rate1.1%1.6%5%
Grade gap (G3→G5, different students)+17.5pp-2.9pp—

Source CAASPP 2025 · California Department of Education. Measures test performance, attendance, and climate — not arts, community, or your kid. How the score is built

A closer look at the evidence

Golden Valley River: reading the evidence

Golden Valley River posts 28% meeting the standard and 9.6% exceeding it, against 43% and 21.4% statewide. The gaps and the bright spots below are the real read.

Subject proficiency describes tested students, while graduation describes a graduating cohort. These figures are not successive stages followed by the same students.

Ask whether the low absenteeism and suspension numbers come from what the school does or from the community it serves — both can produce the same numbers, and only a visit tells you which.

Explore the underlying data →
Every number: score factors, grades, student groups and downloads
Every number · For the data nerds

Every number on this page

Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and nearest schools.

Golden Valley River is ranked #3,475 statewide · #20 of 47 in San Juan Unified.

01Score factorsWeighted composite · 2024–25
Score factors
FactorSchoolStateWeight
Exceeded standard9.6%21.4%42%
Met or exceeded28.2%42.7%23%
Chronic absenteeism13.5%17.9%5%
Suspension rate1.1%1.6%5%
Grade gap (G3→G5, different students)+17.5pp-2.9ppnot scored
Exceeded standard
↓ vs CA 21.4% · index 39 · 50 = CA elementary-school midpoint
Met or exceeded
↓ vs CA 42.7% · index 39 · 50 = CA elementary-school midpoint
Chronic absenteeism
↑ vs CA 17.9% · index 57 · 50 = CA elementary-school midpoint · ▼ 2.2pp lower vs 2024
Suspension rate
↑ vs CA 1.6% · index 54 · 50 = CA elementary-school midpoint · → no change vs 2024
Grade gap (G3→G5, different students)
↑ vs CA -2.9pp
02By grade & subgroupCAASPP 2024–25 · % of tested students
ShowHide table 02 — By grade & subgroup
ELATestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 3329%6%28%56%16%−28
Grade 43219%47%16%19%66%+21
Grade 53017%37%20%27%53%+6
Grade 62715%52%19%15%67%+21
Grade 71828%39%17%17%67%+19
Grade 8239%57%22%13%65%+19
MathTestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 3323%6%34%56%9%−36
Grade 4326%13%50%31%19%−23
Grade 5303%3%43%50%7%−28
Grade 6277%22%33%37%30%−5
Grade 7170%18%71%12%18%−16
Grade 8248%25%33%33%33%+1

We show the grade rows CDE publishes for this school. A missing grade or dash can mean the school does not serve that grade, that we hold no valid result for it, or that the tested group was too small to report. It does not mean zero.

Science (CAST)TestedEXCMETNEARNOT
Schoolwide544%20%63%13%

CAST is tested in grades 5 and 8, then once in grade 10, 11, or 12. This row is the school's all-student aggregate. Not part of the Scope Score.

Subgroup · ELATestedMET+vs districtvs CA
White11753.0%+6−9
03Nearest elementary schoolssorted by Scope Score · Grade gap = grade 3 vs grade 5, this year, different students; Cohort growth = one school's returning cohort tracked across grades (mostly, not exactly, the same kids), in scale-score points — that's the measurement the Scope Score weights
SchoolDistScopeEXCMET+Grade gapCohort growthSusp
Golden Valley River ←—329.6%28.2%+17.5pp—1.1%
Theodore Judah Elementary1.7 mi6955.4%70.5%−0.1pp—1.7%
Sandra J. Gallardo Elementary2.4 mi6148.6%75.1%−11.3pp—2.0%
Natoma Station Elementary1.9 mi5839.7%69.1%−6.6pp—0.8%
California average—3921.4%42.7%−2.9pp—1.6%
04More measurescontext · not all part of the Scope Score
ShowHide table 04 — More measures
YearScopePctileRankExcMet+AbsentSuspGrade gap
20193548#287715.9%40.4%7.0%0.8%+17.5pp
20222429#40736.3%24.3%27.0%1.0%-3.3pp
20232632#38917.9%31.3%27.6%1.9%+19.8pp
20243649#29268.8%35.7%15.7%1.0%+18.3pp
20253239#34759.6%28.2%13.5%1.1%+17.5pp
Grade gap = this year's grade 3 vs grade 5 result, two different sets of students, not a trend for any one child — it is not the measurement the Scope Score's growth dimension uses. See §01 above and /methodology#verdicts for the school's actual scored (cohort) growth.
NO STATEWIDE TESTING 2020–21 (COVID) · SCORE AND PERCENTILE ARE RELATIVE TO EACH YEAR'S FIELD
What we can't show
  • — Scored here as an elementary school — other grade spans appear in the data appendix.
05California growth model, by student group2025 · scale-score points vs the state's prediction · shown, never scored
ShowHide table 05 — California growth model, by student group
GroupReadingnCDE bandMathnCDE band
All Students+22128Exceptional−3127Average
English Only+20123not categorised−1122not categorised
White+2690Exceptional−490Average
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged+1333Accelerated−434Average
Students with Disabilities+626Accelerated−224Average
Hispanic or Latino+1622Accelerated−721Moderate
Two or More Races+812Accelerated+912Accelerated

Whole scale-score points above or below what CDE's model predicted for these same children from their own prior-year scores — not a percentage, not a percentile. Statewide a typical school lands near +1 with a spread of about 13 points either side, so read a figure against its group's own typical value, not against zero. Muted rows have fewer than 30 students with a growth score — published by CDE, held back from the narrative sections above because at that size the figure swings about 17 points on its own. “Not categorised” is CDE assigning no band — English Only, Recently Reclassified, and English Learners Only receive a value and no band, for every school in the state. It is not a missing number. Most figures blend two consecutive years, so adjacent published years share input data and no trend line can honestly be drawn across them. A group absent from this table had fewer than 11 students with a growth score and was never published. Grades 4-8 only. None of this enters the Scope Score — it is more strongly correlated with school demographics than our own growth measure, and one published year is not enough to test its reliability.

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EXC = exceeded standard · MET+ = met or exceeded ("proficient") · Source: CA Dept. of Education · CAASPP 2024–25 · n=5,721 elementary schools · Vintages: climate subgroups 2019+2025 · district finance per its label · ACS 2022 · Data updated 2026-09-18

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

Golden Valley River

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