Paloma Elementary: Two in five kids exceed the standard. But the zoned next school scores lower.
Paloma holds its own. Scores drop at the schools it feeds into. Ask where its graduates actually enrol, and whether families stay on the zoned path.
| Scope | % Exceeded | % Met+ | Growth | Absence | Suspension | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 72 | 46% | 75% | +3.2 | 13.9% | 0.6% |
| CA average · Elementary School | 45 | 21% | 43% | -2.9 | 17.9% | 1.6% |
Paloma Elementary scores 72 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 93rd 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 →
💪 Strong All-Around — Ask about what we don't score — class size, electives, the feel of a classroom — strong numbers everywhere on paper don't mean every classroom feels the same.
Most rating sites would stop at “75% proficient” and call it done. Paloma deserves a closer read. The school sits in San Marcos, where one in four students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.
Paloma's low-income kids hit 61.6% 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
Climbed from the 84th to the 93rd percentile since 2019 — past roughly 500 elementary schools.
Proficiency here is back to its pre-pandemic level — 75% meet the standard, about where the school stood in 2019.
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 88% | 78% | 69% | 74% | 74% |
| Grade 4 | 76% | 69% | 82% | 62% | 75% |
| Grade 5 | 77% | 72% | 59% | 83% | 83% |
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 82% | 79% | 69% | 73% | 73% |
| Grade 4 | 71% | 71% | 77% | 76% | 77% |
| Grade 5 | 61% | 62% | 58% | 80% | 70% |
The story this school is actually telling
of students scored in the top band on the state test. The California average is 21.3%.
the zoned path continues to San Marcos Middle, which scores 35 points lower — worth asking about on a tour.
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 4.4pp across grades; the floor rises 9.4pp. 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.
Paloma's most underrated number
61.6% 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 which schools families here actually choose next — the zoned path is only the default.
- Ask whether extra support — tutoring, counseling, small groups — reaches kids across income lines, not just the students already ahead.
- Ask which schools families here actually choose next — the zoned path is only the default.
- 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 Paloma Elementary in San Marcos, 61.6% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 37.2% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Paloma Elementary outperforms its district average for low-income students by 24.5 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (50.5% Math proficient); Hispanic students (58.0% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 23.8 percentage points for disabilities students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 99 students tested.
7 of 16 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 rises by 18.0pp from grade 3 to grade 5 at this school. District average: +8.2pp.
Showing up, and staying in class
Where the path goes
The zoned path continues to San Marcos Middle, which scores 35 points lower than this school — worth weighing alongside everything above. Families here often look at charter or magnet options for middle school.
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
$254 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 758 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), 61% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 but never enters the Scope Score.
Frequently asked questions
Is Paloma Elementary a good elementary school?
What are Paloma Elementary's CAASPP test scores?
How does Paloma Elementary rank in California?
Is Paloma Elementary getting better or worse?
What is the attendance and school culture like at Paloma Elementary?
How does Paloma Elementary compare to other schools in San Marcos?
How does Paloma Elementary serve low-income and underrepresented students?
Your other options
Nearby Elementary Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 74
Nearby Middle Schools
2 within ~3 mi · avg 46
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 | 125 | 46% | 28% | 21% | 6% | 74% | +30 |
| Grade 4 | 120 | 45% | 30% | 13% | 13% | 75% | +30 |
| Grade 5 | 106 | 50% | 33% | 10% | 7% | 83% | +35 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 125 | 39% | 34% | 14% | 14% | 73% | +27 |
| Grade 4 | 120 | 50% | 27% | 17% | 7% | 77% | +35 |
| Grade 5 | 106 | 43% | 26% | 23% | 8% | 70% | +35 |
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5/8/11 | 106 | 33% | 28% | 37% | 2% |
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 | 99 | 61.6% | +24 | +23 |
| Hispanic/Latino | 131 | 58.0% | +18 | +19 |
| White | 106 | 92.5% | +22 | +31 |
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paloma Elementary ← | — | 72 | 45.5% | 75.2% | +3.2 | 0.6% |
| Dual Language Immersion North County | 2.2 mi | 86 | 47.6% | 72.4% | +0.5 | 0.3% |
| Discovery Elementary | 2.1 mi | 75 | 54.4% | 79.1% | +6.2 | 0.8% |
| Classical Academy Vista | 2.2 mi | 61 | 36.8% | 61.1% | −6.5 | 0.2% |
| California average | — | 45 | 21.3% | 42.7% | −2.9 | 1.6% |
| Year | Scope | Pctile | Rank | Exc | Met+ | Absent | Susp | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 63 | 84 | #901 | 48.8% | 75.8% | 3.9% | 0.0% | -15.9pp |
| 2022 | 60 | 88 | #711 | 43.0% | 71.7% | 20.9% | 0.0% | -12.1pp |
| 2023 | 58 | 83 | #989 | 40.3% | 69.1% | 15.6% | 0.0% | -11.1pp |
| 2024 | 72 | 93 | #381 | 47.6% | 74.8% | 12.0% | 0.1% | +7.7pp |
| 2025 | 72 | 93 | #396 | 45.5% | 75.2% | 13.9% | 0.6% | +3.2pp |
| Group | 2019 | 2025 | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 3.0% | 11.5% | +8.5pp |
| Male | 4.6% | 15.7% | +11.1pp |
| Asian | 2.4% | 6.3% | +3.9pp |
| Black/African American | 5.3% | 38.9% | +33.6pp |
| White | 0.0% | 10.8% | +10.8pp |
| Hispanic/Latino | 5.5% | 21.6% | +16.1pp |
| Students with Disabilities | 7.5% | 22.5% | +15.0pp |
| English Learners | 3.7% | 17.9% | +14.2pp |
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 5.0% | 24.9% | +19.9pp |
| All Students | 3.8% | 13.7% | +9.9pp |
| Two or More Races | — | 15.4% | — |
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