R. Paul Krey Elementary, Brentwood CA

Original Research by School Decision on R. Paul Krey Elementary

R. Paul Krey Elementary is a full-enrollment public school in Brentwood serving kindergarten through fifth grade. The school sits within Brentwood Union, the K-8 district in this rapidly growing suburban community about half an hour east of the Bay Area proper. Brentwood itself is a family-oriented commuter suburb with deep agricultural roots that is now expanding quickly through new housing developments replacing former orchards and farmland.

The school's enrollment is stable and mixed. A majority of students qualify as White or Hispanic, with a sizable Asian population and smaller shares of Black, multiracial, and other groups. About a fifth of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school does not report rates for students with IEPs or English learners, so a reader interested in understanding how the school serves those populations should ask the school directly.

In state testing (the most recent results from spring 2025), Krey's proficiency landscape shows a split picture. In English language arts, the school is performing well at fifth grade, where proficiency runs substantially above half. Third and fourth grade results in ELA are more moderate. Mathematics proficiency is more uniform but softer across the tested grades: third grade is below half, while fourth and fifth grades hover just above half. Fifth-grade science proficiency stands at roughly half. Overall, Krey's proficiency index places it above the midpoint among the tested elementary schools in Contra Costa County, suggesting solid but not exceptional performance relative to its peer set.

The school has only one year of state assessment data in the payload, so growth trends cannot be assessed.

Brentwood as a locale is car-dependent outside its historic downtown core; most daily life happens in residential subdivisions of newer single-family homes. The area maintains an identity tied to agriculture through seasonal farm stands and u-pick operations, and an extensive trail system (the Marsh Creek and Mokelumne paved paths) offers outdoor access. Downtown anchors civic institutions including the library and parks. Housing costs are moderate for the Bay Area, and most families own their homes. Many residents commute to major employers elsewhere in the region such as Livermore Labs, Workday, Tesla, Google and Meta. The school district itself is a significant local employer. Population growth in Brentwood has been rapid, with new master-planned neighborhoods continuing to expand.

The district brief search did not yield specific information about Brentwood Union's strategic priorities or recent policy changes, so readers may want to contact the district directly about current initiatives, staffing, or curriculum direction.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 347%

School 47% · District 55% · ▼ 7 pts below district

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

Grade 453%

School 53% · District 47% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

Grade 552%

School 52% · District 38% · ▲ 14 pts above district

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 352%

School 52% · District 55% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

Grade 452%

School 52% · District 55% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 572%

School 72% · District 58% · ▲ 14 pts above district

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 25 pts above county median

Science

Grade 548%

School 48% · District 37% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▲ 20 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

This schoolBrentwood Union, 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-income37%Higher-income61%24 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income43%Higher-income56%13 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income59%Higher-income80%21 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income33%Higher-income55%22 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income41%Higher-income59%19 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income39%Higher-income60%21 pp gap