Donald J. Meyer Elementary, San Jose CA

Original Research by School Decision on Donald J. Meyer Elementary

Donald J. Meyer Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade in the Rose Garden neighborhood of San Jose, a historic area with Victorian and Craftsman-style homes near the downtown core. The school is a regular public school within the Alum Rock Union Elementary district.

The student body is about the size expected for an elementary school of this grade span, with enrollment spread fairly evenly across grades. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic profile of the immediate area. The enrollment is predominantly Hispanic, with a meaningful Asian population and very small numbers of students from other backgrounds.

On state testing in 2024-25, proficiency results are low across both English language arts and mathematics. In third grade, fewer than half of students are proficient in either subject. Performance declines sharply in grades four and five, where proficiency falls into the single digits in math. In fifth-grade science, proficiency is also quite low. Reading the data as a whole, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile among elementary schools in Santa Clara County. A parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand what academic supports and interventions are in place, and whether the school has identified the specific challenges driving these results.

The data does not include information on special education enrollment, English learner populations, staff, attendance, or discipline. These details would help complete a picture of the school's environment and student support systems.

San Jose itself is a sprawling Silicon Valley city mixing dense downtown development with suburban residential neighborhoods. The Rose Garden area where Meyer sits is one of the central, character-rich districts, with tree-lined streets and walkable blocks near downtown amenities and the Guadalupe River Trail. Housing in the 95122 zip code is high-value but faces affordability pressure; rents have been rising while home values have recently declined modestly. The area has a strong tech-sector economy and is experiencing downtown redevelopment, though much of San Jose remains car-dependent outside the downtown core. For a family in this neighborhood, proximity to central San Jose's cultural institutions, parks, and transit options is balanced against the school's current academic performance on state measures.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 340%

School 40% · District 29% · ▲ 11 pts above district

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

Grade 418%

School 18% · District 27% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 36 pts below county median

Grade 56%

School 6% · District 17% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 41 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 333%

School 33% · District 24% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 20 pts below county median

Grade 424%

School 24% · District 29% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 31 pts below county median

Grade 519%

School 19% · District 28% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 39 pts below county median

Science

Grade 510%

School 10% · District 15% · ▼ 4 pts below district

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

This schoolAlum Rock Union Elementary, 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.