Marsh Elementary, Antioch CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Marsh Elementary

Marsh Elementary is a regular public school in Antioch serving kindergarten through fifth grade, with an enrollment of about five hundred students. The school sits in a neighborhood that is majority Hispanic and Black, with a substantial majority of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. Academic performance is very weak. Across the tested upper elementary grades, proficiency in math and English language arts runs in the low single digits, well below the county average. Science testing in fifth grade shows similarly minimal proficiency. The school appears alone in available data on this metric; the only comparison point provided places it in the bottom quartile among schools with reported results across Contra Costa County districts.

The student body composition reflects Antioch's own demographics. More than half the enrollment identifies as Hispanic, roughly a quarter as Black, with smaller shares Asian, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, and white. Families show economic stress, with more than three-quarters of students qualifying for free or reduced-price meals. The school does not report enrollment counts for students with individualized education plans or English learners, so the extent of those populations is unknown.

Antioch itself is a large Contra Costa County city that has grown substantially as Bay Area residents priced out of more expensive areas moved east. The city blends a historic waterfront downtown (Rivertown) with newer residential subdivisions and commercial strips spreading south and east. It is car-dependent outside the downtown core. The San Joaquin River waterfront, regional parks, and the newly opened Antioch BART station anchor community life. Major employers include Sutter Delta Medical Center, Kaiser Permanente, the city government, and the county office of education, with many residents working in health care, retail, and construction.

Housing values and rents in the area are moderate compared to much of the Bay Area, though still a significant budget item for families. The affordability picture suggests renters spending well over a third of income on housing, and a stretch mortgage payment requiring substantially more per month than rent. Home values show a recent decline.

The district context is unstable. Antioch Unified approved a school facilities bond in 2024 to repair aging buildings and modernize infrastructure, raising property taxes on homeowners. More pressingly, the district entered a severe budget crisis in 2026, with a structural deficit spanning several years driven by the end of COVID relief funds, rising salaries and benefits, and special education costs. The county downgraded the district from positive to negative budget certification in spring 2026, the first downgrade since before the pandemic. The board approved preliminary layoffs affecting about one hundred fifty positions including teachers, paraeducators supporting special education, custodians, and school psychologists. The district is considering a parcel tax to close remaining gaps. This fiscal instability signals reduced staffing, tighter resources, and potential further cuts.

A parent considering Marsh would face a school with very low academic proficiency, a high-poverty and majority-students-of-color enrollment, and a parent district in acute fiscal stress. A parent may want to look into the school's specific support systems, classroom sizes, and school leadership with the school directly, and to understand the district's longer-term financial prospects before committing to the area.

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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 · ▼ 34 pts below county median

Grade 45%

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

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

Grade 54%

School 4% · District 14% · ▼ 10 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 34%

School 4% · District 22% · ▼ 17 pts below district

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

Grade 47%

School 7% · District 24% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 35 pts below state median · ▼ 35 pts below county median

Grade 517%

School 17% · District 30% · ▼ 13 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 58%

School 8% · District 16% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

This schoolAntioch 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 3Lower-income5%Higher-income0%5 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income10%Higher-income8%1 pp gap