Monte Bella Elementary: High scores, healthy climate, strong attendance. We looked for a catch — we didn't find one.
Monte Bella posts 35.5% meeting the standard — versus 42.7% statewide — with climate numbers better than most. That doesn't make it perfect. It makes it worth a visit to find what numbers can't measure.
| Scope | % Exceeded | % Met+ | Growth | Absence | Suspension | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 47 | 14% | 35% | +0.7 | 16.9% | 0.3% |
| CA average · Elementary School | 45 | 21% | 43% | -2.9 | 17.9% | 1.6% |
Monte Bella Elementary scores 47 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 62nd 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 “35% proficient” and call it done. Monte Bella deserves a closer read. The school sits in Salinas, where four in five students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.
The headline number: +0.7pp separates this year's grade 3 from its grade 5. The state average rises 4.5pp over the same span. Following the same students from 2023 G3 → 2025 G5 points the same way.
The seven-year arc
Climbed from the 27th to the 62nd percentile since 2019 — past roughly 1900 elementary schools.
The pandemic drop is behind this school: 35% of students meet the standard today, above the 30% who did in 2019.
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 30% | 21% | 34% | 33% | 36% |
| Grade 4 | 31% | 29% | 23% | 22% | 29% |
| Grade 5 | 38% | 40% | 38% | 33% | 48% |
| Grade 6 | 47% | 46% | 41% | 56% | 41% |
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 40% | 25% | 30% | 31% | 43% |
| Grade 4 | 23% | 23% | 15% | 27% | 24% |
| Grade 5 | 18% | 25% | 24% | 16% | 32% |
| Grade 6 | 25% | 29% | 28% | 48% | 29% |
The story this school is actually telling
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 rises 3.0pp across grades; the floor rises 12.8pp. 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 6 things our score weighs
Ask what the school is working on next. Strong numbers tell you where a school is, not where it's going.
- Ask how teachers track each child's growth over the year, not just where the class lands on test day.
- 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.
How every group of students does here
At Monte Bella Elementary in Salinas, 36.0% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 27.3% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Monte Bella Elementary outperforms its district average for low-income students by 8.7 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (28.3% Math proficient); Hispanic students (37.5% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 25.1 percentage points for english learner students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 406 students tested.
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 rises by 11.1pp from grade 3 to grade 5 at this school. District average: +9.4pp.
Showing up, and staying in class
TK/K students miss school at roughly twice the rate of Grades 4–6 students (31.3% vs 13.1%). Chronic absence here concentrates in the earliest grades — worth asking how the school works with new families on attendance.
The people teaching here
Pay is set by the district, not the school.
What gets spent here
$189 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 812 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), 23% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 but never enters the Scope Score.
Frequently asked questions
Is Monte Bella Elementary a good elementary school?
What are Monte Bella Elementary's CAASPP test scores?
How does Monte Bella Elementary rank in California?
Is Monte Bella Elementary getting better or worse?
What is the attendance and school culture like at Monte Bella Elementary?
How does Monte Bella Elementary compare to other schools in Salinas?
How does Monte Bella Elementary serve low-income and underrepresented students?
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.
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 | 104 | 18% | 17% | 26% | 38% | 36% | −8 |
| Grade 4 | 112 | 9% | 21% | 20% | 51% | 29% | −15 |
| Grade 5 | 122 | 21% | 27% | 24% | 28% | 48% | +0 |
| Grade 6 | 126 | 10% | 31% | 36% | 23% | 41% | −5 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 104 | 13% | 31% | 22% | 35% | 43% | −2 |
| Grade 4 | 112 | 12% | 13% | 39% | 37% | 24% | −17 |
| Grade 5 | 122 | 14% | 18% | 39% | 30% | 32% | −3 |
| Grade 6 | 126 | 11% | 17% | 39% | 33% | 29% | −6 |
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5/8/11 | 121 | 5% | 18% | 56% | 21% |
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 | 406 | 36.0% | +9 | −2 |
| Hispanic/Latino | 448 | 37.5% | +9 | −1 |
| English Learners | 182 | 13.7% | +4 | +3 |
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monte Bella Elementary ← | — | 47 | 14.4% | 35.5% | +0.7 | 0.3% |
| Dr. Oscar F. Loya Elementary | 0.5 mi | 43 | 7.3% | 26.9% | +15.8 | 0.8% |
| Jesse G. Sanchez Elementary | 1.3 mi | 42 | 7.6% | 23.6% | +6.1 | 1.6% |
| New Republic Elementary | 2.8 mi | 40 | 9.7% | 28.9% | +25.4 | 0.3% |
| California average | — | 45 | 21.3% | 42.7% | −2.9 | 1.6% |
| Year | Scope | Pctile | Rank | Exc | Met+ | Absent | Susp | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 34 | 27 | #4031 | 10.0% | 29.9% | 8.9% | 1.5% | -7.3pp |
| 2022 | 36 | 49 | #2904 | 8.7% | 27.2% | 34.0% | 1.3% | +9.7pp |
| 2023 | 38 | 47 | #3018 | 10.0% | 27.5% | 25.9% | 0.5% | -0.6pp |
| 2024 | 40 | 44 | #3206 | 11.3% | 26.9% | 17.1% | 0.5% | -8.4pp |
| 2025 | 47 | 62 | #2180 | 14.4% | 35.5% | 16.9% | 0.3% | +0.7pp |
| Group | 2019 | 2025 | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 9.4% | 16.6% | +7.2pp |
| Male | 8.3% | 17.0% | +8.7pp |
| Hispanic/Latino | 9.1% | 17.0% | +7.9pp |
| Students with Disabilities | 14.1% | 14.0% | -0.1pp |
| English Learners | 8.6% | 15.4% | +6.8pp |
| Homeless | 8.5% | 15.0% | +6.5pp |
| Military-Connected | 8.6% | 12.7% | +4.1pp |
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 9.2% | 17.6% | +8.4pp |
| All Students | 8.9% | 16.8% | +7.9pp |
| White | — | 7.1% | — |
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