Shaffer Elementary, Atwater CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Shaffer Elementary

Shaffer Elementary serves kindergarten through sixth grade in Atwater, a growing mid-sized city in the San Joaquin Valley. The school sits in a community that is predominantly residential with a long history of agriculture but increasingly diversified economy, and it enrolls about four hundred students, most of whom live in or near Atwater's suburban subdivisions.

The enrollment is economically challenged. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with smaller numbers of white, Asian, and multiracial students. Data on English learners and students receiving special education services was not available.

State test results show students struggling across subjects. In English language arts, proficiency ranges from the low thirties to low forties across grades three through six. Math proficiency is lower, with a pattern of decline: third grade shows proficiency in the lower forties, but fourth grade drops to the upper twenties, fifth grade to the mid-teens, and sixth grade recovers slightly to the upper twenties. Science proficiency at fifth grade is in the mid-twenties. Overall across all tested subjects and grades, the school's proficiency index places it below the midpoint relative to other districts in Merced County.

These results come from the CAASPP Smarter Balanced Summative Assessment administered in 2024-25. Only one year of testing data was available, so trend information is not present. California stopped administering state science tests below fifth grade, which is why science results are limited to that grade level.

The broader context matters. Atwater Elementary School District opened a new school, Juniper Elementary, in 2023 to meet growing enrollment, signaling that the district is managing expansion. The district funded this facility with a major bond plus reserves, adding permanent capacity. Atwater itself is among the fastest-growing cities in Merced County, with rising residential construction and ongoing commercial development. Housing values in the local market are moderate and affordable relative to state and national benchmarks, and the job base includes food processing, dairy, light manufacturing, health care, and government employment through employers like Dole, AT&T, and Joseph Gallo Farms.

A parent evaluating Shaffer should understand that academic proficiency here is low across the board and declines notably in the upper elementary grades, particularly in mathematics. The school serves a student population marked by economic hardship and limited resources at home. These characteristics often correlate with the need for more intensive academic intervention and support. A parent may want to look into further detail with the school about how it addresses learning gaps, particularly in the upper grades, and what instructional or support systems are in place for students who fall behind. The school environment, specific staffing, attendance rates, and discipline data were not available in the public reporting used here, so those conversations with staff and other families would fill important gaps in understanding what the school actually provides day to day.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 342%

School 42% · District 45% · ▼ 2 pts below district

even with state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 426%

School 26% · District 37% · ▼ 11 pts below district

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

Grade 516%

School 16% · District 30% · ▼ 14 pts below district

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

Grade 626%

School 26% · District 33% · ▼ 7 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 336%

School 36% · District 37% · ▼ 1 pts below district

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

Grade 437%

School 37% · District 44% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

Grade 541%

School 41% · District 43% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 631%

School 31% · District 45% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Science

Grade 525%

School 25% · District 26% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

This schoolAtwater 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.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 4Lower-income29%Higher-income67%38 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income30%Higher-income36%6 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 4Lower-income20%Higher-income50%30 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income26%Higher-income27%1 pp gap