Live Oak Charter, Petaluma CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Live Oak Charter

Live Oak Charter is a kindergarten through eighth-grade charter school in Petaluma serving a small enrollment. The school recently underwent a major transition: it merged with Valley Vista Elementary and relocated from the Sonoma-Marin Fairgrounds to the Valley Vista campus. As a result of this merger, the school is now a dependent charter governed by Petaluma City Schools rather than its own independent board. This shift in governance structure and location fundamentally changes what families experience when they enroll.

The school sits in a community with a substantial Spanish-speaking population and a significant share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is predominantly white, with a meaningful share of Hispanic students and multiethnic families. The school is intentionally working to strengthen support for multilingual learners and is exploring whether to offer Spanish instruction to all students, a shift that reflects both the community composition and the school's evolving commitment to language instruction.

Academically, the picture is mixed across grade levels. In English language arts, proficiency is strongest in the middle grades, with solid performance in grades six, seven, and eight. Lower elementary grades show more modest results. Math proficiency is lower overall and more uneven. Third and fourth graders show proficiency well below the midpoint, while fifth and sixth grades hover near it. Seventh graders show improvement, and eighth graders demonstrate notably stronger performance. Science proficiency, tested in grades five and eight, sits near the midpoint in both grades. Across tested subjects and grades, the school sits above the midpoint in overall proficiency relative to other districts in Sonoma County.

No data on English learner count or special education enrollment was available. Chronic absenteeism and graduation rate data do not apply because the school serves only through eighth grade. A parent may want to look into the school directly regarding its English learner programs and special education services, especially given the substantial Spanish-speaking student population and the recent programmatic shift.

The merger and relocation address a long-standing facilities problem. The fairgrounds site had suffered persistent issues including flooding, mold, and deteriorating conditions. The Valley Vista campus, a permanent school building, offers a more stable learning environment. However, the relocation and governance change also mark a significant institutional shift that families should understand when considering enrollment.

Petaluma itself is a mid-sized community with a walkable historic downtown centered on the Petaluma River, home to restaurants, galleries, and music venues. Beyond the core, the city is car-dependent. The broader community includes well-established neighborhoods and ongoing housing development, with major employers in health care, retail, manufacturing, and food and beverage. Housing costs in the area are substantial relative to the state median. The city has recently invested in transit infrastructure, including a new SMART rail station that opened in early 2025, and offers free public transit to all riders.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 325%

School 25% · district not reported

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

Grade 432%

School 32% · district not reported

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 533%

School 33% · district not reported

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 650%

School 50% · district not reported

▲ 20 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

Grade 745%

School 45% · district not reported

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

Grade 864%

School 64% · district not reported

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

English language arts

Grade 350%

School 50% · district not reported

▲ 9 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 440%

School 40% · district not reported

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

Grade 558%

School 58% · district not reported

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

Grade 672%

School 72% · district not reported

▲ 29 pts above state median · ▲ 23 pts above county median

Grade 775%

School 75% · district not reported

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

Grade 875%

School 75% · district not reported

▲ 31 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above county median

Science

Grade 552%

School 52% · district not reported

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

Grade 863%

School 63% · district not reported

▲ 37 pts above state median · ▲ 35 pts above county median

This schoolDistrict average, 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-income27%Higher-income50%23 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income67%Higher-income53%14 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income18%Higher-income29%11 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income9%Higher-income50%41 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income33%Higher-income33%0 pp gap