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Pleasant Valley Elementary · San Miguel

Pleasant Valley Elementary: The scores are below where anyone wants them. Here's what they don't tell you.

Pleasant Valley posts low test scores — and suspensions run below the state rate (0.9% vs 1.6%). If this is your zoned school, the numbers below are where to start a conversation, not where to end one.

2022–2025 trend · CDE CAASPP
This schoolCA avg
Scope3345
% Exceeded9%21%
% Met+41%43%
Growth-2.9
Absence13.2%17.9%
Suspension0.9%1.6%
Scope Score
33
🤝 Culture First · Developing
ranked #4,377 statewide

Pleasant Valley Elementary scores 33 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 24th 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 →

🤝 Culture First — 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.

Most rating sites would stop at “41% proficient” and call it done. Pleasant Valley deserves a closer read. It sits at the 24th percentile of 5,744 California elementary schools — but the ranking is the least interesting thing on this page.

Test scores are one lens, and at this school they're a rough one right now. The sections below show the fuller picture — including the parts that are working.

The seven-year arc

Percentile among 5,744 elementary schools statewide

Slipped from the 95th to the 24th percentile since 2022.

CA Dashboard
ELAOrange(Declined Significantly)MathOrange(Declined Significantly)
ELA — % met or exceeded, by grade
Grade20222024
Grade 491%64%
Math — % met or exceeded, by grade
Grade20222024
Grade 482%18%

The 4 things our score weighs

Exceeded standard
9.1%
State 21.3%
12.2pp below state avg
Met or exceeded
40.9%
State 42.7%
1.7pp below state avg
Chronic absenteeism
13.2%
State 17.9%
4.7pp below state avg
Suspension rate
0.9%
State 1.6%
0.7pp below state avg
Worth a school visit

Ask what changed in the last two years, and what the school is asking families for. Growth shows up in these numbers a year or two after it shows up in classrooms.

  • 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 13.2%, district 13.2%, state 17.9%13.2% · −4.7pp vs state
Suspension rateSuspension rate: this school 0.9%, district —, state 1.6%0.9% · −0.7pp vs state
Chronic absenteeism by grade band
Grades 4–60.0%
TK/K18.2%

The people teaching here

Context — never part of the Scope Score
Student : teacherStudent to teacher ratio: this school 15:1, district 15:115:1
Teaching staff4 teachers
Avg. experience12.8 years
Fully credentialed100%
Salary Schedule
Teacher salary schedule$43,333 – $101,744
Principal salary$0 – $0
Superintendent salary$122,035

Pay is set by the district, not the school.

What gets spent here

Per-pupil spendingPer-pupil spending: $22,222, CA average $14,815$22,222 · spent at this school
Federal share$2,385 per student

$2,385 per student arrives as federal Title funding — a measure of concentrated need, not school quality.

District current expense · FY 2024–25$24,865 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
Instruction54%
Instruction support20%
Student services3%
Administration13%
Buildings & maintenance10%

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$18,466 per pupil
2019$16,900 per pupil
2018$19,074 per pupil
2017$12,819 per pupil
2016$11,313 per pupil

Source: NCES F-33 · Full district breakdown →

The neighborhood it serves

White63.8%
District 63.8% · CA 19.9%
Hispanic25.9%
District 25.9% · CA 56.1%
Other10.3%
District 10.3% · CA 9.0%
Low IncomeFree/reduced lunch eligible 24.1% (40pp below CA avg)
Neighborhood — American Community Survey
Median income$98K · CA $85K
Median home value$653K · CA $659K
Bachelor's degree+23% · CA 35%
ZIP population5,207
Median age37 years

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

Worth Knowing

At 58 students, this school is much smaller than the typical California elementary school (≈480).

On the state's science test (CAST), 27% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 but never enters the Scope Score.

Frequently asked questions

Is Pleasant Valley Elementary a good elementary school?

Pleasant Valley Elementary has a Scope Score of 33 out of 100, placing it in the 24th percentile of California elementary schools and ranked #4,377 statewide. 9.1% of students exceeded the state standard on the 2025 CAASPP assessment, which is 12.2 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 Pleasant Valley Elementary's CAASPP test scores?

On the 2025 CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment, 40.9% of students at Pleasant Valley Elementary met or exceeded the state standard in ELA and Math combined, and 9.1% exceeded it. The gap between those numbers matters: 31.8% of students are at the proficiency floor, while 9.1% 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. 22 student-subject combinations were assessed.

How does Pleasant Valley Elementary rank in California?

Pleasant Valley Elementary ranks #4,377 among California elementary schools by Scope Score, placing it in the 24th 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 Pleasant Valley Elementary?

13.2% of students at Pleasant Valley 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 0.9%, 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 Pleasant Valley Elementary compare to other schools in San Miguel?

Pleasant Valley Elementary scores 33/100 (24th 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 58 students. Use the schools in San Miguel 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%
9.1%
↓ vs CA 21.3% · 38th pctile
Met or exceeded · 20%
40.9%
↓ vs CA 42.7% · 49th pctile
Chronic absenteeism · 5%
13.2%
↑ vs CA 17.9% · 58th pctile
Suspension rate · 5%
0.9%
↑ vs CA 1.6% · 56th pctile
02By grade & subgroupCAASPP 2024–25 · % of tested students
ELATestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 39
Grade 49
Grade 51118%55%0%27%73%+25
Grade 64
MathTestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 39
Grade 49
Grade 5110%9%36%55%9%−26
Grade 64
Science (CAST)TestedEXCMETNEARNOT
Grade 5/8/11110%27%64%9%

CAST is tested in grades 5, 8, and once in high school — not annually. Not part of the Scope Score.

03Peer comparison · nearest elementary schoolssorted by Scope Score
SchoolDistScopeEXCMET+GrowthSusp
Pleasant Valley Elementary ←339.1%40.9%0.9%
California average4521.3%42.7%−2.91.6%
04More measurescontext · not all part of the Scope Score
YearScopePctileRankExcMet+AbsentSuspGrowth
20227195#27340.9%86.4%31.2%0.5%
20234564#206613.3%60.0%15.5%0.5%
20244456#254018.2%40.9%12.9%1.0%
20253324#43779.1%40.9%13.2%0.9%
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
Female9.7%6.7%-3.0pp
Male11.5%6.7%-4.8pp
Hispanic/Latino21.4%18.8%-2.6pp
English Learners16.7%
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged8.3%6.3%-2.0pp
All Students10.5%6.7%-3.8pp
Students with Disabilities7.1%
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