John F. Kennedy Elementary: English learners reach fluency faster than the state rate. But this year's 5th graders test below its 3rd graders.
John F. Kennedy has real strengths and one number that complicates them. Most rating sites show you one or the other. Both belong on the same page.
| Scope | % Exceeded | % Met+ | Growth | Absence | Suspension | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 49 | 33% | 61% | -22.2 | 12.1% | 3.6% |
| CA average · Elementary School | 45 | 21% | 43% | -2.9 | 17.9% | 1.6% |
John F. Kennedy Elementary scores 49 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 66th 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 “61% proficient” and call it done. John F. Kennedy deserves a closer read. The school sits in Riverside, where more than half of students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.
John F. Kennedy's low-income kids hit 51.7% proficiency in ELA — a number the same group reaches at 38.2% statewide. If you're trying to read past zip-code-driven test scores, that's the signal worth weighing.
The seven-year arc
Has stayed near the 66th percentile since 2019.
Proficiency here is back to its pre-pandemic level — 61% meet the standard, about where the school stood in 2019.
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 60% | 57% | 64% | 59% | 73% |
| Grade 4 | 68% | 57% | 57% | 58% | 58% |
| Grade 5 | 57% | 60% | 57% | 50% | 57% |
| Grade 6 | 70% | 64% | 56% | 72% | 58% |
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 65% | 56% | 65% | 68% | 72% |
| Grade 4 | 66% | 61% | 54% | 59% | 61% |
| Grade 5 | 35% | 45% | 47% | 33% | 43% |
| Grade 6 | 64% | 42% | 32% | 51% | 38% |
The story this school is actually telling
of English learners reached the top ELPAC level, versus 18.0% statewide.
proficiency runs 72% in this year's grade 3 against 50% in its grade 5. The state average rises by +4.5pp over the same span.
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 17.6pp across grades; the floor slips 16.0pp. The state average rises 4.5pp over the same span. The school's 5th graders aren't posting a wider lead than its 3rd graders. One question worth asking on a tour: are the strongest students being pushed, or coasting? A school visit and conversation with teachers will tell you more than this number.
John F. Kennedy's most underrated number
51.7% of low-income students met the ELA standard — versus 38.2% for the same group statewide. That's the strongest kind of signal a school can post: it holds across income lines.
The 6 things our score weighs
Ask the principal what changes between grade 3 and grade 5. Ask who teaches the older grades, and what the school does when a child starts falling behind.
- 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 extra support — tutoring, counseling, small groups — reaches kids across income lines, not just the students already ahead.
- 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.
How every group of students does here
At John F. Kennedy Elementary in Riverside, 51.7% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 40.8% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. John F. Kennedy Elementary outperforms its district average for low-income students by 10.9 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (42.9% Math proficient); Hispanic students (53.8% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 20.3 percentage points for disabilities students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 294 students tested.
6 of 15 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 falls by 21.6pp from grade 3 to grade 5 at this school. District average: +4.3pp.
Showing up, and staying in class
Where the path goes
The path below follows attendance boundaries — scores shown for each next step.
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
Pay is set by the district, not the school.
What gets spent here
$82 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
At 864 students, this school is well above the typical California elementary school (≈480).
Transitional kindergarten is offered here — confirmed by actual Census Day enrollment, not just the listed grade span.
On the state's science test (CAST), 34% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 but never enters the Scope Score.
Frequently asked questions
Is John F. Kennedy Elementary a good elementary school?
What are John F. Kennedy Elementary's CAASPP test scores?
How does John F. Kennedy Elementary rank in California?
Is John F. Kennedy Elementary getting better or worse?
What is the attendance and school culture like at John F. Kennedy Elementary?
How does John F. Kennedy Elementary compare to other schools in Riverside?
How does John F. Kennedy Elementary serve low-income and underrepresented students?
Your other options
Nearby Elementary Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 55
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 | 106 | 44% | 28% | 18% | 9% | 73% | +29 |
| Grade 4 | 128 | 34% | 23% | 22% | 20% | 58% | +13 |
| Grade 5 | 127 | 27% | 30% | 24% | 20% | 57% | +9 |
| Grade 6 | 129 | 26% | 33% | 22% | 20% | 58% | +12 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 106 | 38% | 34% | 13% | 15% | 72% | +26 |
| Grade 4 | 128 | 27% | 34% | 23% | 16% | 61% | +19 |
| Grade 5 | 127 | 26% | 17% | 30% | 27% | 43% | +8 |
| Grade 6 | 129 | 19% | 19% | 33% | 29% | 38% | +3 |
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5/8/11 | 128 | 19% | 16% | 55% | 11% |
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 | 294 | 51.7% | +11 | +13 |
| Hispanic/Latino | 247 | 53.8% | +12 | +15 |
| White | 124 | 67.7% | +4 | +6 |
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John F. Kennedy Elementary ← | — | 49 | 32.8% | 60.5% | −22.2 | 3.6% |
| Benjamin Franklin Elementary | 0.8 mi | 60 | 34.8% | 64.3% | −0.6 | 1.0% |
| Tomas Rivera Elementary | 1.5 mi | 54 | 30.3% | 58.5% | +9.8 | 1.8% |
| Mark Twain Elementary | 1.3 mi | 51 | 26.6% | 51.0% | +0.2 | 2.2% |
| California average | — | 45 | 21.3% | 42.7% | −2.9 | 1.6% |
| Year | Scope | Pctile | Rank | Exc | Met+ | Absent | Susp | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 48 | 62 | #2087 | 30.9% | 58.5% | 5.1% | 1.0% | -17.0pp |
| 2022 | 49 | 75 | #1422 | 29.8% | 56.1% | 24.7% | 1.0% | -3.8pp |
| 2023 | 49 | 71 | #1656 | 30.3% | 57.4% | 14.1% | 1.3% | -12.8pp |
| 2024 | 45 | 58 | #2411 | 29.9% | 54.5% | 12.3% | 2.3% | -21.7pp |
| 2025 | 49 | 66 | #1942 | 32.8% | 60.5% | 12.1% | 3.6% | -22.2pp |
| Group | 2019 | 2025 | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 4.4% | 11.1% | +6.7pp |
| Male | 5.7% | 12.7% | +7.0pp |
| Asian | 1.6% | 4.9% | +3.3pp |
| Black/African American | 11.8% | 6.3% | -5.5pp |
| Filipino | 0.0% | 28.6% | +28.6pp |
| White | 0.0% | 10.0% | +10.0pp |
| Hispanic/Latino | 6.6% | 16.1% | +9.5pp |
| Two or More Races | 1.9% | 11.6% | +9.7pp |
| Students with Disabilities | 8.1% | 22.8% | +14.7pp |
| English Learners | 5.3% | 10.2% | +4.9pp |
| Foster Youth | 22.2% | — | — |
| Homeless | 3.6% | 20.7% | +17.1pp |
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 8.1% | 16.0% | +7.9pp |
| All Students | 5.0% | 11.9% | +6.9pp |
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