Coarsegold Elementary, Coarsegold CA

Original Research by School Decision on Coarsegold Elementary

Coarsegold Elementary is a K-8 school serving a rural foothill community in the Sierra Nevada of Madera County. The school enrollment spans small to moderate class sizes across nine grades, with a student body of which a large share qualify for free or reduced-price meals and whose racial and ethnic makeup is mixed, with white and Hispanic students forming the largest groups, alongside a meaningful population of American Indian students and two-or-more-races students.

The academic picture is one parents need to examine carefully. State test results from 2024-25 show low proficiency across the board in both English language arts and math. In math, proficiency ranges from single digits in grades three, five, and eight, to low double digits in grades four, six, and seven. In English language arts, proficiency is similarly weak across grades, though slightly higher in grades four and seven, where it reaches the high twenties. Science proficiency data, available for grades five and eight, falls in the low-teen range. A parent reviewing these numbers would want to look into this further with the school: what support structures are in place, what interventions the school is pursuing, and whether the proficiency picture reflects broader resource constraints or specific student-population factors the school is addressing.

When measured against other districts in Madera County, Coarsegold Elementary's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile. This is important context: it signals the school is operating in a lower-performing segment relative to its county peers, not that it stands alone in struggle.

The school is part of Yosemite Unified, and the district has made several changes parents should know about. Beginning in the 2024-25 school year, the district adopted universal free meals for all students, eliminating a household expense families would otherwise carry. More structurally, Coarsegold Elementary was awarded a California Community Schools Implementation Grant, part of a multi-year state program that weaves together integrated student supports, family engagement, and wraparound services into school operations. These are not quick fixes but gradual additions to what the school offers. Additionally, the district has established a permanent four-year Chukchansi language pathway, taught through collaboration with the Picayune Rancheria of the Chukchansi Indians and Fresno State, embedded at the school and extending to high school. This curriculum, locked in under a three-year agreement, reflects the tribal heritage and cultural anchors of the Coarsegold community and offers students a pathway to language fluency tied to local Indigenous identity.

The Coarsegold setting is distinctly rural. The community is an unincorporated foothill place with a country feel, where residents own homes on multi-acre lots, many are retirees, and animals such as horses are common. The housing market shows median home values above the national benchmark but below the California state benchmark, with a mortgage-to-income ratio notably higher than the national average, meaning housing costs are steep relative to local income. This shapes who can afford to move in or stay: families seeking rural privacy, ranching or outdoor lifestyle, and proximity to Yosemite and outdoor recreation. The economy leans on a tribal casino resort, tourism, ranching, and small businesses. Walkability is low; the school sits on a campus removed from the Historic Village retail cluster. Growth is driven by low-density single-family residential development, predominantly on large lots, with little multifamily housing.

A parent considering Coarsegold Elementary should weigh the rural setting and low-proficiency test results against the district's structured commitment to community-schools integration, universal meals, and Indigenous-language and cultural education. The combination of weak academic metrics and active support infrastructure suggests a school in transition, where family and community engagement, if present and strong, could matter a great deal. The school is small enough that individual teacher quality and principal leadership would be visible and consequential. A parent would want to visit, talk to teachers and current families, and understand what the school's own improvement goals are and how it is tracking against them.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 310%

School 10% · District 21% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 33 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Grade 421%

School 21% · District 24% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

Grade 56%

School 6% · District 18% · ▼ 12 pts below district

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

Grade 625%

School 25% · District 23% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 714%

School 14% · District 19% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

Grade 86%

School 6% · District 20% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 317%

School 17% · District 29% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Grade 428%

School 28% · District 36% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

Grade 511%

School 11% · District 29% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▼ 34 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

Grade 625%

School 25% · District 32% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 729%

School 29% · District 42% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 812%

School 12% · District 38% · ▼ 26 pts below district

▼ 32 pts below state median · ▼ 27 pts below county median

Science

Grade 511%

School 11% · District 26% · ▼ 15 pts below district

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

Grade 811%

School 11% · District 17% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

Social studies

Grade 855%

School 55% · District 60% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

This schoolYosemite 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-income24%Higher-income39%15 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income13%Higher-income9%3 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 4Lower-income15%Higher-income39%24 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income8%Higher-income0%8 pp gap