Donlon Elementary, Pleasanton CA

Original Research by School Decision on Donlon Elementary

Donlon Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade in Pleasanton, a mid-sized East Bay city anchored by business parks, retail, and a small walkable downtown core. The school draws from a neighborhood where most families own their homes, and the economic profile is affluent relative to the region: median household income is well above state benchmarks, and few students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.

The school's enrollment is moderate in size for its grade span, with relatively balanced cohorts across grades. The student body is predominantly Asian, with smaller shares of white, Hispanic, and other backgrounds. Data on English learners and special education populations were not available.

In academic performance, Donlon shows solid ground-level proficiency. On California's 2024-25 assessments, math proficiency across tested grades (third through fifth) hovers near three-quarters, with scores consistent across grades. English language arts proficiency is similar, ranging from high to mid-seventies across grades, with fourth grade slightly ahead. In fifth-grade science, proficiency dips to the mid-sixties. These results place the school in the top quartile among districts in Alameda County when proficiency is measured across all tested subjects and grades. The school has one year of data so far, so trend comparisons are not yet available.

Pleasanton itself is in active housing growth. The city is rezoning sites to accommodate new residential units mandated by the state, with major projects underway including a large mixed-use development at a former quarry site and a substantial new residential project in the eastern part of the city. Home values in the area are substantial and have declined modestly over the past year. Rents remain high relative to regional income. The city's economy leans toward software, finance, healthcare, and logistics employers, many concentrated in the Hacienda Business Park. Downtown offers a compact, walkable shopping and dining district with a farmers' market and year-round street life, while the broader city is car-dependent and suburban in character.

For families weighing this school, the key picture is a well-performing elementary in an affluent, actively growing residential suburb with strong peer economics, solid baseline academic results in the county context, and a stable, small-town-oriented community identity. The school does not serve high school grades, so parents should plan ahead for secondary options, which lie elsewhere in the district.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 377%

School 77% · District 78% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 34 pts above state median · ▲ 22 pts above county median

Grade 476%

School 76% · District 75% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 38 pts above state median · ▲ 26 pts above county median

Grade 575%

School 75% · District 74% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 45 pts above state median · ▲ 33 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 373%

School 73% · District 73% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 33 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

Grade 478%

School 78% · District 74% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 36 pts above state median · ▲ 25 pts above county median

Grade 575%

School 75% · District 76% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 29 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

Science

Grade 565%

School 65% · District 63% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 37 pts above state median · ▲ 26 pts above county median

This schoolPleasanton Unified, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 4Lower-income46%Higher-income82%36 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 4Lower-income62%Higher-income78%16 pp gap