Mendota Elementary, Mendota CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Mendota Elementary

Mendota Elementary serves roughly one-third of the school-age population across kindergarten through sixth grade in Mendota, a small agricultural city in western Fresno County where cantaloupe and produce farming drive the local economy. The school enrolls a student body that is overwhelmingly Hispanic and economically disadvantaged, with nearly all students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The enrollment ranges across the grade bands, with larger cohorts in the primary grades tapering slightly in the upper elementary years.

Academic performance at Mendota Elementary runs well below grade-level proficiency across tested subjects. In English language arts, proficiency ranges from the low thirties to low forties across grades three through six, with fourth grade showing the weakest performance. Mathematics proficiency follows a similar arc, starting in the low forties in third grade, dipping sharply in fourth grade to around one-third, recovering somewhat in fifth grade, and declining again in sixth grade. The school's overall proficiency index places it above the midpoint among schools in Fresno County's comparison set, but that positioning reflects the county's own academic challenges rather than strong absolute performance. Science results, available only for fifth grade, are particularly low. This pattern of weak performance in the tested grades, especially the notable dip in fourth grade across both subjects, is consistent with the broader economic challenges and resource constraints facing the community.

The school has only one year of assessment data available, so trend analysis is not possible. A parent may want to ask the school directly about recent initiatives to support learning in the grades where performance has been lowest, particularly fourth and fifth grade, and about whether staffing or instructional approaches have shifted.

Mendota Elementary is a regular public school within Mendota Unified, which operates two elementary schools, two junior high schools, and one high school across the city. The district has been managing growth by expanding Mendota High School with a substantial new classroom wing and athletic facilities, and by modernizing McCabe Elementary, which now includes a dedicated special education building. The district carries a student-to-teacher ratio that is above the state average, which may mean larger class sizes across the school system, including at Mendota Elementary.

The community itself is car-dependent and rural in character, with housing and amenities concentrated in the city center and farmland extending to the periphery. Home values in the area are below state and national benchmarks, making housing relatively affordable, and the local economy centers on agriculture and food production. The city has a branch library, public parks with playgrounds and sports fields, and a farmers market, but daily life is structured around agricultural employment and commuting patterns. Families considering Mendota Elementary should understand that academic performance here reflects significant socioeconomic barriers and that the school is working within a higher student-to-teacher ratio than typical for California. The school's immediate surroundings are rural and school-centered rather than part of a walkable downtown neighborhood.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 339%

School 39% · District 40%

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 431%

School 31% · District 27% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 547%

School 47% · District 26% · ▲ 21 pts above district

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

Grade 629%

School 29% · District 20% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 334%

School 34% · District 30% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 428%

School 28% · District 27% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 541%

School 41% · District 27% · ▲ 14 pts above district

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 640%

School 40% · District 32% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Science

Grade 514%

School 14% · District 9% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

This schoolMendota 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.