Great Valley Academy, Modesto CA

Original Research by School Decision on Great Valley Academy

Great Valley Academy is a charter school serving kindergarten through eighth grade in Modesto with an enrollment that spans the full primary and early secondary span. The school sits within a small multi-campus district that also operates a separate Salida location and a homeschool program.

The academic picture shows wide variability across grade levels. In English language arts, the school's performance improves noticeably in the upper grades, with eighth graders reaching a substantially higher proficiency level than the lower elementary years. Mathematics proficiency remains more modest and flatter across grades, with only fourth grade and seventh grade standing slightly above the school's overall average. Science results, available for fifth and eighth grades only, sit in the low range. Overall, the school's proficiency index places it below the midpoint among the districts in Stanislaus County.

The student population is predominantly Hispanic, with about half of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. A small share identify as white, and smaller populations represent Asian, multiracial, and Black students. English learner and special education enrollment data were not available. The school draws from a working and middle-income community where housing values are in a mid-range for the region and remain moderately stable.

Modesto itself is a Central Valley agricultural and food-processing hub, anchored by major employers in wine production, food retail, and healthcare. The city has experienced very limited new residential construction in recent years despite a housing shortage. Downtown is walkable and hosts civic and cultural institutions, but neighborhoods outside the center are car-dependent. A major new housing development is underway west of the Amtrak station, and the city is working to increase residential density citywide.

The school offers music as an arts program. The district's Salida campus is undergoing a physical expansion that was filed with the county in late 2023, adding four classrooms, athletic facilities, and parking to accommodate enrollment growth, a lasting infrastructure change for families in that area.

Great Valley Academy's profile is a K-8 charter with modest academic results overall, a predominantly Hispanic and lower-income enrollment, and a location in a growing but historically tight housing market in California's Central Valley. A parent considering this school may want to discuss with the school directly how it supports English learners and students with IEPs, as those figures were not publicly available.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 330%

School 30% · district not reported

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

Grade 436%

School 36% · district not reported

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Grade 528%

School 28% · district not reported

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 627%

School 27% · district not reported

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

Grade 736%

School 36% · district not reported

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Grade 831%

School 31% · district not reported

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 328%

School 28% · district not reported

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

Grade 436%

School 36% · district not reported

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 539%

School 39% · district not reported

▼ 7 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 644%

School 44% · district not reported

even with state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 744%

School 44% · district not reported

▼ 1 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 856%

School 56% · district not reported

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

Science

Grade 524%

School 24% · district not reported

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 825%

School 25% · district not reported

even with state median · even with 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 3Lower-income26%Higher-income31%5 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income35%Higher-income37%1 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income37%Higher-income39%2 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income26%Higher-income59%33 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income42%Higher-income46%4 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income50%Higher-income61%11 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income28%Higher-income31%3 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income27%Higher-income44%17 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income21%Higher-income32%11 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income11%Higher-income40%29 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income33%Higher-income37%4 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income19%Higher-income40%21 pp gap