Vivian Banks Charter: The scores are below where anyone wants them. Here's what they don't tell you.
Vivian Banks Charter posts low test scores — and grade 5 tests above grade 3 here this year, by 2.9pp. If this is your zoned school, the numbers below are where to start a conversation, not where to end one.
| Scope | % Exceeded | % Met+ | Growth | Absence | Suspension | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 11 | 2% | 4% | +2.9 | 14.7% | 3.2% |
| CA average · Elementary School | 45 | 21% | 43% | -2.9 | 17.9% | 1.6% |
Vivian Banks Charter scores 11 of 100 on SchoolScope's Scope Score — the 0th 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 →
🌱 Building Momentum — This label means the data doesn't clearly sort the school one way or the other — ask what the school is proud of, and what it's working on.
Most rating sites would stop at “4% proficient” and call it done. Vivian Banks Charter deserves a closer read. The school sits in Pala, where two-thirds of students qualify for free or reduced lunch — and reading the numbers without that context misreads the school.
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.
As a charter, Vivian Banks Charter enrolls by application rather than address. That changes how you get in, but it doesn't change the score.
The seven-year arc
Slipped from the 10th to the 0th percentile since 2019.
This school hasn't fully recovered from the pandemic: 4% meet the standard today, versus 12% in 2019 — a gap worth asking about on a visit.
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 15% | 17% | 21% | — | 0% |
| Grade 4 | 20% | — | 19% | 44% | 0% |
| Grade 5 | 24% | 14% | — | 32% | 6% |
| Grade | 2019 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 5% | 21% | 14% | — | 0% |
| Grade 4 | 7% | 9% | 17% | 0% | 18% |
| Grade 5 | 0% | 29% | — | 15% | 0% |
The 5 things our score weighs
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.
How every group of students does here
9 of 11 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.
Showing up, and staying in class
Where the path goes
The path below is estimated from nearby schools in the same district — scores shown for each next step.
Estimated K-12 path based on district and proximity. Actual attendance zones may differ. Contact your school district for official feeder information.
The people teaching here
What gets spent here
$1,611 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 71 students, this school is much smaller than 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), 0% met or exceeded the standard — science is tested in grades 5 and 8 but never enters the Scope Score.
Frequently asked questions
Is Vivian Banks Charter a good elementary school?
What are Vivian Banks Charter's CAASPP test scores?
How does Vivian Banks Charter rank in California?
Is Vivian Banks Charter getting better or worse?
What is the attendance and school culture like at Vivian Banks Charter?
How does Vivian Banks Charter compare to other schools in Pala?
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.
A low score doesn't tell the whole story. Read: Your School Scored Low — Here's What That Actually Means
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 | 16 | 0% | 0% | 6% | 94% | 0% | −43 |
| Grade 4 | 11 | 0% | 0% | 36% | 64% | 0% | −45 |
| Grade 5 | 17 | 0% | 6% | 35% | 59% | 6% | −42 |
| Math | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT | MET+ | +/CA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 3 | 16 | 0% | 0% | 25% | 75% | 0% | −46 |
| Grade 4 | 11 | 9% | 9% | 36% | 45% | 18% | −23 |
| Grade 5 | 16 | 0% | 0% | 6% | 94% | 0% | −35 |
| Science (CAST) | Tested | EXC | MET | NEAR | NOT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grade 5/8/11 | 17 | 0% | 0% | 65% | 35% |
CAST is tested in grades 5, 8, and once in high school — not annually. Not part of the Scope Score.
| School | Dist | Scope | EXC | MET+ | Growth | Susp |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vivian Banks Charter ← | — | 11 | 1.5% | 4.0% | +2.9 | 3.2% |
| California average | — | 45 | 21.3% | 42.7% | −2.9 | 1.6% |
| Year | Scope | Pctile | Rank | Exc | Met+ | Absent | Susp | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | 26 | 10 | #4965 | 2.1% | 11.7% | 22.5% | 0.1% | +1.8pp |
| 2022 | 26 | 21 | #4526 | 2.5% | 17.9% | 46.6% | 0.1% | +2.7pp |
| 2023 | 20 | 5 | #5449 | 1.9% | 17.9% | 41.0% | 0.2% | — |
| 2024 | 24 | 7 | #5325 | 2.4% | 22.6% | 27.9% | 1.2% | — |
| 2025 | 11 | 0 | #5732 | 1.5% | 4.0% | 14.7% | 3.2% | +2.9pp |
- — Subgroup results are suppressed for small student counts (fewer than 15 tested), following CDE privacy rules.
| Group | 2019 | 2025 | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Female | 26.9% | 6.5% | -20.4pp |
| Male | 20.4% | 18.6% | -1.8pp |
| Hispanic/Latino | 15.2% | 13.2% | -2.0pp |
| American Indian/Alaska Native | 29.4% | 14.7% | -14.7pp |
| English Learners | 5.4% | 5.9% | +0.5pp |
| Homeless | 13.8% | 4.3% | -9.5pp |
| Socioeconomically Disadvantaged | 15.4% | 10.9% | -4.5pp |
| All Students | 23.6% | 13.5% | -10.1pp |
| Students with Disabilities | — | 22.7% | — |
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