ExploreMapCompareBlogSign in
Lagunita Elementary · Salinas

Lagunita Elementary: Most kids here clear the bar, year after year. The question is what happens after that.

Lagunita posts 50% meeting the standard, and 8.3% going well past it. Most kids here keep up. Fewer get pushed further. Ask the school what it does for a child who already finds the work easy.

975 San Juan Grade Road, 93907 (opens in new tab)·Lagunita Elementary·Salinas·Grades TK-5·62 students·10% low-income·2024–25 CAASPP·(831) 449-2800·Website
2019–2025 trend · CDE CAASPP
This schoolCA avg
Scope3845
% Exceeded8%21%
% Met+50%43%
Growth-2.9
Absence14.2%17.9%
Suspension1.6%1.6%
Scope Score
38
🌱 Building Momentum · Developing
ranked #3,553 statewide

Lagunita Elementary scores 38 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 38th 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 “50% proficient” and call it done. Lagunita deserves a closer read. It sits at the 38th percentile of 5,744 California elementary schools — but the ranking is the least interesting thing on this page.

The seven-year arc

Percentile among 5,744 elementary schools statewide

Climbed from the 18th to the 38th percentile since 2019 — past roughly 1000 elementary schools.

CA Dashboard
ELAOrange(Declined Significantly)MathRed(Declined Significantly)

The pandemic drop is behind this school: 50% of students meet the standard today, above the 44% who did in 2019.

ELA — % met or exceeded, by grade
Grade201920222025
Grade 367%42%42%
Grade 555%83%
Math — % met or exceeded, by grade
Grade201920222025
Grade 358%33%58%
Grade 59%75%

The 4 things our score weighs

Exceeded standard
8.3%
State 21.3%
13.0pp below state avg
Met or exceeded
50.0%
State 42.7%
7.3pp above state avg
Chronic absenteeism
14.2%
State 17.9%
3.7pp below state avg
Suspension rate
1.6%
State 1.6%
0.0pp below state avg
Worth a school visit

Ask how the school challenges kids who clear the standard early. The gap between meeting and exceeding is where pacing shows.

  • 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.

Showing up, and staying in class

Chronic absenteeismChronic absenteeism: this school 14.2%, district 14.2%, state 17.9%14.2% · −3.7pp vs state
Suspension rateSuspension rate: this school 1.6%, district —, state 1.6%1.6% · −0.0pp vs state
Chronic absenteeism by grade band
Grades 4–614.3%

The people teaching here

Context — never part of the Scope Score
Student : teacherStudent to teacher ratio: this school 12:1, district 12:112:1
Teaching staff5 teachers
Avg. experience10.2 years
Fully credentialed100%
Salary Schedule
Teacher salary schedule$52,500 – $79,994
Principal salary$0 – $0
Superintendent salary$125,000

Pay is set by the district, not the school.

What gets spent here

Per-pupil spendingPer-pupil spending: $17,779, CA average $14,815$17,779 · spent at this school
Federal share$586 per student

$586 per student arrives as federal Title funding — a measure of concentrated need, not school quality.

District current expense · FY 2024–25$19,223 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
Instruction58%
Instruction support22%
Student services4%
Administration12%
Buildings & maintenance5%

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$11,957 per pupil
2019$12,989 per pupil
2018$10,287 per pupil
2017$9,571 per pupil
2016$8,717 per pupil

Source: NCES F-33 · Full district breakdown →

The neighborhood it serves

Hispanic50.0%
District 50.0% · CA 56.1%
White45.2%
District 45.2% · CA 19.9%
Other4.8%
District 4.8% · CA 9.0%
Low IncomeFree/reduced lunch eligible 9.7% (54pp below CA avg)
Neighborhood — American Community Survey
Median income$105K · CA $85K
Median home value$750K · CA $659K
Bachelor's degree+23% · CA 35%
ZIP population25,146
Median age37 years

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

Worth Knowing

At 62 students, this school is much smaller than the typical California elementary school (≈480).

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

Frequently asked questions

Is Lagunita Elementary a good elementary school?

Lagunita Elementary has a Scope Score of 38 out of 100, placing it in the 38th percentile of California elementary schools and ranked #3,553 statewide. 8.3% of students exceeded the state standard on the 2025 CAASPP assessment, which is 13.0 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 Lagunita Elementary's CAASPP test scores?

On the 2025 CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment, 50.0% of students at Lagunita Elementary met or exceeded the state standard in ELA and Math combined, and 8.3% exceeded it. The gap between those numbers matters: 41.7% of students are at the proficiency floor, while 8.3% 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. 24 student-subject combinations were assessed.

How does Lagunita Elementary rank in California?

Lagunita Elementary ranks #3,553 among California elementary schools by Scope Score, placing it in the 38th 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 Lagunita Elementary?

14.2% of students at Lagunita Elementary are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days), which is better than the California average of 17.9%. The suspension rate is 1.6%, 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 Lagunita Elementary compare to other schools in Salinas?

Lagunita Elementary scores 38/100 (38th 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 62 students. Use the schools in Salinas page or the map view to compare all elementary schools nearby.

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%
8.3%
↓ vs CA 21.3% · 37th pctile
Met or exceeded · 20%
50.0%
↑ vs CA 42.7% · 56th pctile
Chronic absenteeism · 5%
14.2%
↑ vs CA 17.9% · 56th pctile
Suspension rate · 5%
1.6%
↑ vs CA 1.6% · 50th pctile
02By grade & subgroupCAASPP 2024–25 · % of tested students
ELATestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 3128%33%25%33%42%−2
Grade 49
Grade 57
Grade 64
MathTestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 3128%50%17%25%58%+13
Grade 49
Grade 57
Grade 64
03Peer comparison · nearest elementary schoolssorted by Scope Score
SchoolDistScopeEXCMET+GrowthSusp
Lagunita Elementary ←388.3%50.0%1.6%
La Joya Elementary3 mi4011.7%27.3%+2.21.1%
California average4521.3%42.7%−2.91.6%
04More measurescontext · not all part of the Scope Score
YearScopePctileRankExcMet+AbsentSuspGrowth
20193018#452913.0%43.6%1.7%1.0%-30.7pp
20226692#47025.0%58.3%21.1%1.0%+41.7pp
20253838#35538.3%50.0%14.2%1.6%
NO STATEWIDE TESTING 2020–21 (COVID) · SCORE AND PERCENTILE ARE RELATIVE TO EACH YEAR'S FIELD
What we can't show
  • — Growth data isn't available — the state needs matched grades across years to compute it.
  • — Subgroup results are suppressed for small student counts (fewer than 15 tested), following CDE privacy rules.
05Climate by student groupchronic absenteeism · 2019 vs 2025 — the two years CDE publishes at subgroup level
Group20192025Δ
Female2.0%0.0%-2.0pp
Male0.0%20.0%+20.0pp
Hispanic/Latino0.0%6.3%+6.3pp
Students with Disabilities0.0%16.7%+16.7pp
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged5.6%
All Students1.0%9.5%+8.5pp
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