Camino Elementary, Camino CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Camino Elementary

Camino Elementary serves kindergarten through eighth grade in a small, rural agricultural community in the Sierra Nevada foothills of El Dorado County. The school sits on Snows Road within orchards and farmland, its location reflecting Camino's identity as the heart of Apple Hill, a collection of family farms, orchards, and agritourism enterprises that shape both the local economy and daily life.

The enrollment is small, under five hundred students across nine grade levels. About half the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating modest family income overall. The student population is predominantly white, with a notable Hispanic minority and smaller numbers of students from other backgrounds. Demographic data on English learners and students with IEPs were not available.

Academic results show uneven performance across grade levels and subjects. In English language arts, proficiency runs higher in the elementary grades (around mid-range in third and fourth grade) and rises again in eighth grade, while middle grades six and seven dip slightly lower. Math presents a steeper challenge: third grade shows reasonable attainment, but proficiency drops sharply in fifth grade to a low level, recovers modestly by sixth and eighth grade, but seventh grade remains particularly low. Science results, where tested in fifth and eighth grade, land in the low-to-moderate range. Across tested subjects and grades, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile among El Dorado County districts, a positioning that reflects its stronger elementary performance lifting the school's aggregate standing even as middle grades struggle.

One pattern worth noting is the pronounced dip in math and the wider volatility across grades, particularly in seventh grade. A parent might want to look into whether the school has identified the specific challenges in middle grades mathematics and what targeted support or instructional approaches are in place.

The district went through significant administrative and governance turbulence during the 2023-24 school year, when a series of resignations of board members and top administrators left the district at one point unable to maintain a quorum. The El Dorado County Office of Education temporarily intervened to restore stable self-governance. While the district has since moved toward renewal, this period of leadership instability may have ripple effects on continuity and planning that families should be aware of as they assess the school's direction.

The broader community context is one of flat to modest population decline, older and more settled demographics, and seasonal tourism driven by Apple Hill during autumn harvest season. Housing values in the area sit above the state median. Most residents own their homes, and the setting is genuinely rural, car-dependent for most errands, though a small walkable core exists around local shops and the post office. Recreation and civic anchors include the El Dorado National Forest and nearby lakes, and the school itself functions as a community hub for agricultural education programs.

Camino Elementary is a small, community-embedded K-8 school whose academic picture is mixed, strongest in primary grades and eighth-grade ELA but with notable gaps in middle-grades mathematics. The recent governance crisis adds uncertainty about institutional continuity, though the county's intervention suggests a path toward stabilization. This is a school for families rooted in or drawn to rural life and agricultural community, where a small peer group and embeddedness in place are assets, but where academic support in middle grades math and oversight clarity matter.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 363%

School 63% · District 63%

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

Grade 456%

School 56% · District 56%

▲ 19 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 526%

School 26% · District 26%

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 634%

School 34% · District 34%

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

Grade 715%

School 15% · District 15%

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 24 pts below county median

Grade 838%

School 38% · District 38%

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 363%

School 63% · District 63%

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

Grade 445%

School 45% · District 45%

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 545%

School 45% · District 45%

even with state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Grade 650%

School 50% · District 50%

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

Grade 747%

School 47% · District 47%

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

Grade 866%

School 66% · District 66%

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Science

Grade 543%

School 43% · District 43%

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

Grade 839%

School 39% · District 39%

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

Social studies

Grade 861%

School 61% · District 52% · ▲ 9 pts above district

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

This schoolCamino Union 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 3Lower-income57%Higher-income73%17 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income32%Higher-income63%31 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income31%Higher-income69%38 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income39%Higher-income60%21 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income37%Higher-income60%23 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income56%Higher-income79%23 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income61%Higher-income67%6 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income44%Higher-income75%32 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income19%Higher-income38%18 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income28%Higher-income40%12 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income12%Higher-income20%9 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income28%Higher-income50%22 pp gap