Sutter Elementary, Antioch CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Sutter Elementary

Sutter Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade in Antioch, a large Contra Costa County city that has grown substantially over recent decades as Bay Area residents moved east seeking affordable housing. The school sits on Longview Road and enrolls students from a predominantly working-class community. A large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the neighborhood's economic profile.

The enrollment is small for its grade span, and the student body is diverse: about half identify as Hispanic, with meaningful populations of Black, white, and Asian students. Demographic data on English learners and special education enrollment were not available.

The most immediate context for a family considering Sutter Elementary is the condition of the district itself. Antioch Unified faces serious financial strain. In early 2026, the county downgraded the district's budget certification from positive to negative, citing declining enrollment, operating deficits, and more than one hundred preliminary layoff notices. The district is grappling with a substantial multi-year shortfall driven by the expiration of pandemic relief funds, rising personnel costs, and special education expenses. These layoffs touch teaching positions, paraeducators who support students with disabilities, custodians, and support staff like school psychologists. That staffing uncertainty, publicly reported, is the backdrop any parent faces when choosing a school in this district right now.

On the property-tax side, voters approved a school facilities bond in 2024 that will generate ongoing tax obligations for homeowners in the district. The bond funds modernization of aging buildings and systems, but it adds a direct annual cost to property ownership that a prospective resident should factor into the total housing expense.

The academic data show proficiency levels well below state benchmarks across tested grades and subjects. In the most recent state assessments, math proficiency in grades three through five ranged from low teens to low twenties, and English language arts proficiency ranged from low twenties to mid-thirties, with the exception of fifth-grade ELA where proficiency was somewhat higher. Fifth-grade science proficiency was in the low twenties. Compared to the district composition of other Contra Costa County elementary schools, Sutter's overall proficiency index falls in the bottom quartile. State testing data do not yet reflect multi-year trends, so the current trajectory is unclear.

This is a community school serving a neighborhood with substantial economic challenges. Sutter is a regular public elementary school with no specialized programs, magnet designation, or alternative design noted in the available data. The school environment details such as class size, staffing levels, curriculum focus, school culture, and attendance patterns were not available. A parent interested in understanding day-to-day conditions and teaching approaches would want to visit and speak directly with school leadership, especially given the staff reductions under way across the district.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 322%

School 22% · District 21% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

Grade 416%

School 16% · District 19% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

Grade 518%

School 18% · District 14% · ▲ 4 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 320%

School 20% · District 22% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

Grade 416%

School 16% · District 24% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

Grade 539%

School 39% · District 30% · ▲ 9 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 522%

School 22% · District 16% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 8 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

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income11%Higher-income64%53 pp gap