Vallecito Elementary: The score is strong. The trajectory is stronger.
Vallecito pairs 62% proficiency with gains that hold up when the same students are tracked two years apart — the rare school that posts both.
| Scope | % Exceeded | % Met+ | Growth | Absence | Suspension | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 63 | 40% | 62% | +9.4 | 4.4% | 0.6% |
| CA average · Elementary School | 45 | 21% | 43% | -2.9 | 17.9% | 1.6% |
Vallecito Elementary scores 63 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 85th 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 →
🚀 Growth Engine — Ask how the school tracks each kid's growth year to year, and what happens when a kid stalls instead of gaining.
Most rating sites would stop at “62% proficient” and call it done. Vallecito deserves a closer read. It sits at the 85th percentile of 5,744 California elementary schools — but the ranking is the least interesting thing on this page.
The headline number: 4.4% chronic absenteeism — versus 17.9% statewide. Attendance is the quietest strong signal a school can post.
The seven-year arc
Has held the 85th-percentile line every tested year since 2019.
This school hasn't fully recovered from the pandemic: 62% meet the standard today, versus 71% in 2019 — a gap worth asking about on a visit.
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 72% | 68% | 68% | 62% | 55% |
| Grade 4 | 71% | 72% | 68% | 67% | 61% |
| Grade 5 | 79% | 50% | 74% | 65% | 76% |
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 73% | 70% | 74% | 68% | 60% |
| Grade 4 | 75% | 73% | 66% | 69% | 65% |
| Grade 5 | 59% | 40% | 58% | 58% | 58% |
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 15.5pp across grades; the floor rises 20.8pp. 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 changed — new curriculum, new principal, new program. Momentum has a cause, and a visit will find it.
- 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 Vallecito Elementary in San Rafael, 13.3% of low-income students met or exceeded the ELA standard in 2025, compared to 35.6% district-wide and 38.2% statewide. Vallecito Elementary trails its district average for low-income students by 22.2 percentage points in ELA. Other subgroups: Low-Income students (31.0% Math proficient); White students (73.4% ELA proficient). The largest proficiency gap is 63.9 percentage points for english learner students. Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024-25. 30 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 math proficiency rises by 17.6pp from grade 3 to grade 5 at this school. District average: +5.7pp.
Showing up, and staying in class
Where the path goes
The path below follows attendance boundaries — scores shown for each next step.
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
What gets spent here
$96 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
Transitional kindergarten is offered here — confirmed by actual Census Day enrollment, not just the listed grade span.
On the state's science test (CAST), 63% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 but never enters the Scope Score.
Frequently asked questions
Is Vallecito Elementary a good elementary school?
What are Vallecito Elementary's CAASPP test scores?
How does Vallecito Elementary rank in California?
Is Vallecito Elementary getting better or worse?
What is the attendance and school culture like at Vallecito Elementary?
How does Vallecito Elementary compare to other schools in San Rafael?
How does Vallecito Elementary serve low-income and underrepresented students?
Your other options
Nearby Elementary Schools
3 within ~3 mi · avg 76
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 | 62 | 37% | 18% | 19% | 26% | 55% | +11 |
| Grade 4 | 66 | 38% | 23% | 15% | 24% | 61% | +16 |
| Grade 5 | 78 | 53% | 23% | 15% | 9% | 76% | +28 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 63 | 38% | 22% | 21% | 19% | 60% | +15 |
| Grade 4 | 66 | 35% | 30% | 21% | 14% | 65% | +24 |
| Grade 5 | 79 | 37% | 22% | 28% | 14% | 58% | +23 |
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5/8/11 | 79 | 46% | 18% | 32% | 5% |
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 | 30 | 13.3% | −22 | −25 |
| White | 109 | 73.4% | −2 | +12 |
| Hispanic/Latino | 58 | 41.4% | +1 | +3 |
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vallecito Elementary ← | — | 63 | 39.5% | 62.5% | +9.4 | 0.6% |
| Wade Thomas Elementary | 2.6 mi | 80 | 57.5% | 86.3% | −8.2 | 0.2% |
| Hidden Valley Elementary | 1.3 mi | 77 | 50.5% | 77.6% | −3.6 | 0.4% |
| Sun Valley Elementary | 1.4 mi | 70 | 47.5% | 73.1% | −1.9 | 0.8% |
| California average | — | 45 | 21.3% | 42.7% | −2.9 | 1.6% |
| Year | Scope | Pctile | Rank | Exc | Met+ | Absent | Susp | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 64 | 85 | #842 | 36.8% | 71.4% | 5.9% | 0.4% | -3.1pp |
| 2022 | 47 | 72 | #1633 | 35.0% | 62.1% | 10.5% | 0.2% | -23.8pp |
| 2023 | 59 | 84 | #930 | 36.1% | 68.0% | 12.5% | 0.5% | -4.9pp |
| 2024 | 60 | 82 | #1042 | 38.6% | 64.5% | 4.9% | 0.3% | -3.5pp |
| 2025 | 63 | 85 | #843 | 39.5% | 62.5% | 4.4% | 0.6% | +9.4pp |
- — Low-income students here trail the state average for their group by 25 points in ELA — worth asking how the school is closing that gap.
| Group | 2019 | 2025 | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 4.9% | 3.0% | -1.9pp |
| Male | 6.5% | 3.8% | -2.7pp |
| Asian | 2.3% | 0.0% | -2.3pp |
| Hispanic/Latino | 11.8% | 4.0% | -7.8pp |
| Two or More Races | 6.3% | 5.1% | -1.2pp |
| Students with Disabilities | 12.5% | 6.2% | -6.3pp |
| English Learners | 8.2% | 2.4% | -5.8pp |
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 15.7% | 3.4% | -12.3pp |
| All Students | 5.8% | 3.4% | -2.4pp |
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