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Rod Kelley Elementary · Gilroy

Rod Kelley Elementary: This school runs ahead of the state average. The bar itself is the harder conversation.

Rod Kelley posts 44% meeting the standard against 43% statewide — ahead of most, with real headroom above the bar.

8755 Kern Avenue, 95020 (opens in new tab)·Gilroy Unified·Gilroy·Grades TK-5·697 students·54% low-income·2024–25 CAASPP·(669) 205-4700·Website
2019–2025 trend · CDE CAASPP
This schoolCA avg
Scope4045
% Exceeded18%21%
% Met+44%43%
Growth-3.2-2.9
Absence14.2%17.9%
Suspension0.4%1.6%
Scope Score
40
🤝 Culture First · Developing
ranked #3,204 statewide · #5 of 8 in Gilroy Unified

Rod Kelley Elementary scores 40 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 44th 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 “44% proficient” and call it done. Rod Kelley deserves a closer read. The school sits in Gilroy, where more than half of students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.

The seven-year arc

Percentile among 5,744 elementary schools statewide

Slipped from the 67th to the 44th percentile since 2019.

CA Dashboard
ELAYellow(Declined Significantly)MathYellow(Declined)

This school hasn't fully recovered from the pandemic: 44% meet the standard today, versus 59% in 2019 — a gap worth asking about on a visit.

ELA — % met or exceeded, by grade
Grade20192022202320242025
Grade 362%43%47%44%35%
Grade 466%36%46%43%54%
Grade 558%45%51%50%49%
Math — % met or exceeded, by grade
Grade20192022202320242025
Grade 362%44%59%45%48%
Grade 457%29%41%38%48%
Grade 550%30%26%34%28%

The story this school is actually telling

The school, grade by grade

ELA · CAASPP 2024–25

Different students, same year — each bar is one grade's proficiency mix.

16%
19%
65%
Grade 3 · 35% proficient
30%
24%
46%
Grade 4 · 54% proficient
17%
32%
51%
Grade 5 · 49% proficient

The honest read: the share exceeding holds steady across grades; the floor rises 13.6pp. The state average rises 4.5pp over the same span. A school visit and conversation with teachers will tell you more than this number.

The 6 things our score weighs

Exceeded standard
17.6%
State 21.3%
3.7pp below state avg
Growth (G3→G5)
-3.2pp
State -2.9pp
Scores decline across grades
Met or exceeded
43.7%
State 42.7%
1.1pp above state avg
Chronic absenteeism
14.2%
State 17.9%
3.7pp below state avg
Suspension rate
0.4%
State 1.6%
1.2pp below state avg
EL proficiency (ELPAC)
17.4%
State 18.0%
0.5pp 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 what changes between grade 3 and grade 5 here, and who teaches the older kids.
  • 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 Rod Kelley Elementary in Gilroy, 38.8% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 29.6% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Rod Kelley Elementary outperforms its district average for low-income students by 9.2 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (32.4% Math proficient); Hispanic students (44.2% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 32.3 percentage points for english learner students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 241 students tested.

All students at this school: 44% met or exceeded
All StudentsAll Students: this school 44%, district —, state 43%44%
Hispanic/LatinoHispanic/Latino: this school 41%, district 28%, state 32%41% · −3 vs school
Socioeconomically DisadvantagedSocioeconomically Disadvantaged: this school 36%, district 26%, state 32%36% · −8 vs school
FemaleFemale: this school 39%, district 37%, state 44%39% · −4 vs school
MaleMale: this school 48%, district 36%, state 42%48% · +5 vs school
English LearnersEnglish Learners: this school 19%, district 8%, state 11%19% · −25 vs school
Students with DisabilitiesStudents with Disabilities: this school 21%, district 10%, state 15%21% · −23 vs school

8 of 15 student groups here are too small to report — a privacy protection, not a gap.

this school district, same group California, same group
Subgroup growth by grade

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 25.2pp from grade 3 to grade 5 at this school. District average: +13.8pp.

Showing up, and staying in class

Chronic absenteeismChronic absenteeism: this school 14.2%, district 22.9%, state 17.9%14.2% · −3.7pp vs state
Suspension rateSuspension rate: this school 0.4%, district —, state 1.6%0.4% · −1.2pp vs state
Chronic absenteeism by grade band
Grades 4–617.6%
TK/K13.3%

Where the path goes

The path below follows attendance boundaries — scores shown for each next step.

K-12 Feeder Path

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

Context — never part of the Scope Score
Student : teacherStudent to teacher ratio: this school 27:1, district 24:127:1
Teaching staff27 teachers
Avg. experience17.3 years
Fully credentialed100%
Salary Schedule
Teacher salary schedule$69,898 – $130,809
Principal salary$174,781 – $198,815
Superintendent salary$289,563

Pay is set by the district, not the school.

What gets spent here

Per-pupil spendingPer-pupil spending: $18,734, CA average $14,815$18,734 · spent at this school
Federal share$655 per student

$655 per student arrives as federal Title funding — a measure of concentrated need, not school quality.

District current expense · FY 2024–25$18,856 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
Instruction60%
Instruction support12%
Student services10%
Administration6%
Buildings & maintenance11%
Other1%

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$12,571 per pupil
2019$11,655 per pupil
2018$12,490 per pupil
2017$11,239 per pupil
2016$10,573 per pupil

Source: NCES F-33 · Full district breakdown →

The neighborhood it serves

Hispanic80.2%
District 70.8% · CA 56.1%
Other9.8%
District 11.5% · CA 9.0%
White7.9%
District 11.5% · CA 19.9%
Asian1.4%
District 4.9% · CA 10.2%
Black0.7%
District 1.2% · CA 4.8%
Low IncomeFree/reduced lunch eligible 54.1% (10pp below CA avg)
Neighborhood — American Community Survey
Median income$137K · CA $85K
Median home value$1.06M · CA $659K
Bachelor's degree+29% · CA 35%
ZIP population67,181
Median age38 years

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

Worth Knowing

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

On the state's science test (CAST), 21% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 but never enters the Scope Score.

Frequently asked questions

Is Rod Kelley Elementary a good elementary school?

Rod Kelley Elementary has a Scope Score of 40 out of 100, placing it in the 44th percentile of California elementary schools and ranked #3,204 statewide. 17.6% of students exceeded the state standard on the 2025 CAASPP assessment, which is 3.7 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 Rod Kelley Elementary's CAASPP test scores?

On the 2025 CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment, 43.7% of students at Rod Kelley Elementary met or exceeded the state standard in ELA and Math combined, and 17.6% exceeded it. The gap between those numbers matters: 26.1% of students are at the proficiency floor, while 17.6% 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. 748 student-subject combinations were assessed.

How does Rod Kelley Elementary rank in California?

Rod Kelley Elementary ranks #3,204 among California elementary schools by Scope Score, placing it in the 44th 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.

Is Rod Kelley Elementary getting better or worse?

Based on 2025 CAASPP data, proficiency at Rod Kelley Elementary decreases by 3.2 percentage points from Grade 3 to grade 5 growth. This downward pattern doesn't necessarily mean the school is failing — it can reflect cohort differences, demographic shifts, or curriculum changes. A campus visit and conversation with teachers can reveal what the numbers can't. Growth trajectory is weighted at 15% in the elementary Scope Score because it measures what the school does, not just who walks in the door.

What is the attendance and school culture like at Rod Kelley Elementary?

14.2% of students at Rod Kelley 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 0.4%, 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 Rod Kelley Elementary compare to other schools in Gilroy?

Rod Kelley Elementary scores 40/100 (44th 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 697 students. Use the schools in Gilroy page or the map view to compare all elementary schools nearby.

How does Rod Kelley Elementary serve low-income and underrepresented students?

At Rod Kelley Elementary in Gilroy, 38.8% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 29.6% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Rod Kelley Elementary outperforms its district average for low-income students by 9.2 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (32.4% Math proficient); Hispanic students (44.2% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 32.3 percentage points for english learner students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 241 students tested. SchoolScope shows disaggregated test scores by demographic subgroup so you can see how a school performs for your child's specific group — not just the school-wide average. Subgroup data is context, not part of the Scope Score: we don't penalize schools for who they serve. See our equity approach.

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%
17.6%
↓ vs CA 21.3% · 46th pctile
Growth (G3→G5) · 27%
-3.2pp
↓ vs CA -2.9pp · 39th pctile
Met or exceeded · 20%
43.7%
↑ vs CA 42.7% · 51th pctile
Chronic absenteeism · 5%
14.2%
↑ vs CA 17.9% · 56th pctile
Suspension rate · 5%
0.4%
↑ vs CA 1.6% · 60th pctile
EL proficiency (ELPAC) · 5%
17.4%
↓ vs CA 18.0% · 50th pctile
02By grade & subgroupCAASPP 2024–25 · % of tested students
ELATestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 310516%19%30%34%35%−8
Grade 413230%24%16%30%54%+9
Grade 513517%32%20%31%49%+1
MathTestedEXCMETNEARNOTMET++/CA
Grade 310820%28%24%28%48%+2
Grade 413311%37%34%18%48%+7
Grade 513511%17%36%36%28%−7
Science (CAST)TestedEXCMETNEARNOT
Grade 5/8/1113510%11%58%21%

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

Subgroup · ELATestedMET+vs districtvs CA
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged24138.8%+9+1
Hispanic/Latino31844.2%+12+5
English Learners9815.5%+8+5
03Peer comparison · nearest elementary schoolssorted by Scope Score
SchoolDistScopeEXCMET+GrowthSusp
Rod Kelley Elementary ←4017.6%43.7%−3.20.4%
Gilroy Prep (a Navigator School)1.3 mi6034.9%59.6%−17.80.8%
Las Animas Elementary2.2 mi5426.7%53.2%−7.71.3%
Rucker Elementary2.3 mi5316.4%34.7%+19.40.5%
California average4521.3%42.7%−2.91.6%
04More measurescontext · not all part of the Scope Score
YearScopePctileRankExcMet+AbsentSuspGrowth
20195067#181630.6%59.2%7.4%1.9%-8.2pp
20223547#306114.4%37.7%31.8%1.8%-6.2pp
20234154#263420.0%45.0%28.5%1.1%-14.1pp
20244456#252716.5%42.3%15.9%1.6%-2.8pp
20254044#320417.6%43.7%14.2%0.4%-3.2pp
NO STATEWIDE TESTING 2020–21 (COVID) · SCORE AND PERCENTILE ARE RELATIVE TO EACH YEAR'S FIELD
05Climate by student groupchronic absenteeism · 2019 vs 2025 — the two years CDE publishes at subgroup level
Group20192025Δ
Female5.4%17.3%+11.9pp
Male9.3%11.0%+1.7pp
Asian0.0%
Filipino9.1%3.3%-5.8pp
White0.0%6.7%+6.7pp
Hispanic/Latino7.4%16.5%+9.1pp
Two or More Races16.7%0.0%-16.7pp
Students with Disabilities14.2%18.7%+4.5pp
English Learners4.7%15.6%+10.9pp
Socioeconomically Disadvantaged8.8%16.8%+8.0pp
All Students7.4%14.1%+6.7pp
Homeless42.9%
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