School Profile · Madera
Sherman Thomas Charter: No single number tells this school's story. Here's the honest picture.
Sherman Thomas Charter posts 28% meeting the standard and 11.1% exceeding it, against 43% and 21.3% statewide. The gaps and the bright spots below are the real read.
101 West Adell Street, 93638 (opens in new tab)·Madera Unified·Madera·Grades K-8·233 students·65% low-income·Charter·2024–25 CAASPP·(559) 674-1192·Website
Charter school — publicly funded, independently operated, open enrollment via lottery. Learn more
Scope Score
35
🌱 Building Momentum · Developing
ranked #3,703 statewide · #2 of 21 in Madera Unified
Sherman Thomas Charter scores 35 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 36th 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 →
Most rating sites would stop at “28% proficient” and call it done. Sherman Thomas Charter deserves a closer read. The school sits in Madera, where three in five students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.
The headline number: 7.0% chronic absenteeism — versus 17.9% statewide. Attendance is the quietest strong signal a school can post.
As a charter, Sherman Thomas Charter enrolls by application, not address — the score reads the same, the enrollment path doesn't.
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.
25%
10%
65%
Grade 3 · 35% proficient
17%
79%
Grade 4 · 21% proficient
15%
19%
66%
Grade 5 · 34% proficient
The honest read: the share exceeding falls 10.2pp across grades; the floor slips 1.7pp. 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 5 things our score weighs
Exceeded standard
11.1%
State 21.3%
10.2pp below state avg
Met or exceeded
27.9%
State 42.7%
14.8pp below state avg
Growth (G3→G5)
-8.4pp
State -2.9pp
Scores decline across grades
Chronic absenteeism
7.0%
State 17.9%
10.9pp below state avg
Suspension rate
3.4%
State 1.6%
1.8pp above state avg
Worth a school visit
Ask what the school is working on next. Strong numbers tell you where a school is, not where it's going.
Where the path goes
The path below follows attendance boundaries — scores shown for each next step.
Planning ahead? 6 licensed preschools near this school →
Your other options
Nearby Elementary Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 33
John J. Pershing Elementary
Madera Unified · 1.1 mi
Developing
34/100
John Adams Elementary
Madera Unified · 1.9 mi
Developing
33/100
Lincoln Elementary
Madera Unified · 2.6 mi
Developing
32/100
Private alternatives nearby
Private schools within ~10 miles. These schools do not participate in state testing and cannot be scored or ranked.
The community around it
Community Profile
Context — not part of the Scope ScoreStudent demographics
Hispanic76.8%
White21.9%
Asian0.4%
Black0.4%
Other0.4%
GenderFemale 50.2%Male 49.8%
Low IncomeFree/reduced lunch eligible 65.2% (1pp above CA avg)
Resources & Access
Enrollment
233
387 below CA avg (~620)
Transitional Kindergarten
TK status unconfirmed
No TK enrollment is on file with the state for this school — that isn't the same as “no TK.” Confirm directly with the district.
Student-Teacher Ratio
23:1
2 more students per teacher than CA avg
Per-Pupil Spending
$14,158
CA avg: $14,815 · District avg · NCES F-33
Teacher Salary Range
$52,709 – $107,743
District schedule · CA median ~$98K
At Sherman Thomas Charter in Madera, 23.2% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 31.9% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Sherman Thomas Charter trails its district average for low-income students by 8.7 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (12.6% Math proficient); Hispanic students (22.9% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 5.8 percentage points for hispanic students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 95 students tested.
Equity Gaps
Math · Hispanic−6.7pp
11.4% vs 18.1% overall · n=82
3 more gaps by subject
ELA · Hispanic−5.8pp
20.7% vs 26.5% overall · n=81
ELA Exceeded · Hispanic−4.8pp
3.8% vs 8.6% overall · n=81
Math Exceeded · Hispanic−6.1pp
0.0% vs 6.1% overall · n=82
Subgroups with fewer than 15 students are excluded for privacy. Gaps of less than 3 percentage points are not shown.
Subgroup Proficiency
Low-Income95 tested
ELA 23.2%·Math 12.6%· -8.7pp vs district
Hispanic110 tested
ELA 22.9%·Math 14.5%· -9.7pp vs district
Weighted average across tested grades. Subgroups with fewer than 15 students excluded. Data: CDE CAASPP 2024-25.
Subgroup Growth by Grade
Change in proficiency from lowest tested grade. Shows which groups are gaining ground.
Low-income student ELA proficiency falls by 4.8pp from grade 3 to grade 5 at this school. District average: +1.7pp.
Subgroups with fewer than 10 tested students per grade are not shown.
Funding Breakdown
Neighborhood Context
Median Income
$62K
$23K below CA median
Median Home Value
$325K
$334K below CA median
Bachelor's+
8%
27pp below CA avg
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024) · ZIP-level
Whole Child
Teacher experience, college/career readiness, and more. Context only — never part of the Scope Score.
Teacher Experience
8.0 years avg experience
10 teachers · 10% first-year · 20% second-year
Teacher Credentials
67% fully credentialed
Source: CDE SARC, 2024-25
Community Profile provides context about who attends this school and the resources available. These factors are never part of the Scope Score. Learn why →
For the data nerdsEvery number on this page
Score factors, grade-level breakdowns, subgroup proficiency, and peer comparisons.
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 · 43%
11.1%
↓ vs CA 21.3% · 40th pctile
Met or exceeded · 22%
27.9%
↓ vs CA 42.7% · 39th pctile
Growth (G3→G5) · 15%
-8.4pp
↓ vs CA -2.9pp · 49th pctile
Chronic absenteeism · 10%
7.0%
↑ vs CA 17.9% · 68th pctile
Suspension rate · 5%
3.4%
↓ vs CA 1.6% · 35th pctile
02By grade & subgroupCAASPP 2024–25 · % of tested students
| ELA | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 20 | 25% | 10% | 30% | 35% | 35% | −8 |
| Grade 4 | 24 | 4% | 17% | 38% | 42% | 21% | −24 |
| Grade 5 | 27 | 15% | 19% | 30% | 37% | 33% | −15 |
| Grade 6 | 20 | 0% | 20% | 15% | 65% | 20% | −27 |
| Grade 7 | 26 | 4% | 15% | 31% | 50% | 19% | −28 |
| Grade 8 | 26 | 4% | 27% | 35% | 35% | 31% | −15 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 20 | 15% | 15% | 20% | 50% | 30% | −16 |
| Grade 4 | 24 | 0% | 33% | 38% | 29% | 33% | −8 |
| Grade 5 | 27 | 7% | 7% | 22% | 63% | 15% | −20 |
| Grade 6 | 20 | 15% | 5% | 5% | 75% | 20% | −15 |
| Grade 7 | 26 | 0% | 4% | 15% | 81% | 4% | −30 |
| Grade 8 | 27 | 0% | 7% | 22% | 70% | 7% | −25 |
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5/8/11 | 54 | 4% | 15% | 69% | 13% |
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 | 95 | 23.2% | −9 | −15 |
| Hispanic/Latino | 109 | 22.9% | −10 | −16 |
03Peer comparison · nearest elementary schoolssorted by Scope Score
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sherman Thomas Charter ← | — | 35 | 11.1% | 27.9% | −8.4 | 3.4% |
| John J. Pershing Elementary | 1.1 mi | 34 | 10.0% | 30.4% | −0.9 | 2.7% |
| John Adams Elementary | 1.9 mi | 33 | 12.1% | 34.0% | −18.4 | 2.7% |
| Lincoln Elementary | 2.6 mi | 32 | 9.9% | 33.6% | +5.4 | 1.7% |
| California average | — | 43 | 21.3% | 42.7% | −2.9 | 1.6% |
04More measurescontext · not all part of the Scope Score
Scope Score history
2019 · 2022 · 2023 · 2024 · 2025 · no testing 2020–21 (COVID) · rank #4563 → #5069 → #4349 → #4569 → #3703
What we can't show
- — Scored here as an elementary school — other grade spans appear in the data appendix.
- — Low-income students here trail the state average for their group by 15 points in ELA — worth asking how the school is closing that gap.
Source: CA Dept. of Education · CAASPP 2024–25 · n=5,744 elementary schools · Data updated 2026-07-03methodology · data updates · CSV · report issue
A low score doesn't tell the whole story. Read: Your School Scored Low — Here's What That Actually Means
Frequently asked questions
Is Sherman Thomas Charter a good elementary school?
Sherman Thomas Charter has a Scope Score of 35 out of 100, placing it in the 36th percentile of California elementary schools and ranked #3,703 statewide. 11.1% of students exceeded the state standard on the 2025 CAASPP assessment, which is 10.2 percentage points below the California average of 21.3%. The Scope Score weights six dimensions for elementary schools: exceeded standard (43%), met or exceeded (22%), grade 3-to-5 growth (15%), chronic absenteeism (10%), ELPAC English Learner proficiency (5%), and suspension rate (5%). Data source: California Department of Education CAASPP 2025, analyzed by SchoolScope.
What are Sherman Thomas Charter's CAASPP test scores?
On the 2025 CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment, 27.9% of students at Sherman Thomas Charter met or exceeded the state standard in ELA and Math combined, and 11.1% exceeded it. The gap between those numbers matters: 16.8% of students are at the proficiency floor, while 11.1% 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. 142 student-subject combinations were assessed.
How does Sherman Thomas Charter rank in California?
Sherman Thomas Charter ranks #3,703 among California elementary schools by Scope Score, placing it in the 36th 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 Sherman Thomas Charter getting better or worse?
Based on 2025 CAASPP data, proficiency at Sherman Thomas Charter decreases by 8.4 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 Sherman Thomas Charter?
7.0% of students at Sherman Thomas Charter are chronically absent (missing 10% or more of school days), which is better than the California average of 17.9%. The suspension rate is 3.4%. 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 Sherman Thomas Charter compare to other schools in Madera?
Sherman Thomas Charter scores 35/100 (36th 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 233 students. Use the schools in Madera page or the map view to compare all elementary schools nearby.
How does Sherman Thomas Charter serve low-income and underrepresented students?
At Sherman Thomas Charter in Madera, 23.2% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 31.9% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Sherman Thomas Charter trails its district average for low-income students by 8.7 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (12.6% Math proficient); Hispanic students (22.9% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 5.8 percentage points for hispanic students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 95 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.