Dwight D. Eisenhower Elementary, Santa Clara CA

Original Research by School Decision on Dwight D. Eisenhower Elementary

Dwight D. Eisenhower Elementary is a regular public school serving kindergarten through fifth grade in Santa Clara, located in the Cupertino Union school district. The school sits in the heart of Silicon Valley's tech corridor, with an enrollment of around four hundred students drawn from a diverse neighborhood.

The student body reflects Santa Clara's demographic mix. Asian students form the clear majority of enrollment, while Hispanic, White, and multiracial students each make up a meaningful share. About a quarter of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating moderate economic need across the school community. The school's special population data was not available, so readers interested in details about special education or English learner services should ask the school directly.

Academic performance shows a split picture. In math, proficiency runs solid across tested grades, with roughly seven in ten students reaching proficiency in grades three, four, and five. English language arts tells a different story: grade three and four show around six in ten students proficient, which is notably lower, but grade five jumps to much stronger performance. This grade-to-grade variation suggests either stronger instruction at the upper end or differences in how students are prepared by the time they reach fifth grade. Science data, available only for fifth grade, shows about seven in ten students proficient. Compared to other schools in Santa Clara County, Eisenhower sits above the midpoint on overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades, placing it in the stronger half of schools in the county.

The school has only one year of state testing data available, so trends and growth patterns cannot yet be assessed.

Santa Clara itself is a mixed urban-suburban landscape anchored by major tech employers like Intel, Nvidia, and Oracle, alongside Santa Clara University. The city has pockets of older residential charm, particularly near the university and in neighborhoods like Laurelwood, alongside newer master-planned communities like Rivermark. Downtown revitalization has been slow, but Central Park serves as a major civic and recreational anchor with libraries, sports facilities, and open space. Housing costs in the area are high, with home values well above state benchmarks and rents rising year over year. The schools themselves benefit from the region's wealth but also navigate the demand and complexity that tech-hub density creates.

For families considering Eisenhower, the key question is the wide gap between grade-three/four English performance and grade-five strength. Parents may want to ask the school directly about what changes instruction or support in the upper grades, and whether students come in with reading gaps that widen or narrow as they progress. The math foundation appears stable across grades. The school's location in an economically diverse, tech-rich neighborhood means peers from many backgrounds, though the strong Asian representation is clear. A neighborhood walk around Rodonovan Drive would give a sense of the immediate residential context and school traffic patterns.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 372%

School 72% · District 85% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▲ 29 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

Grade 468%

School 68% · District 83% · ▼ 15 pts below district

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

Grade 572%

School 72% · District 82% · ▼ 10 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 359%

School 59% · District 77% · ▼ 19 pts below district

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

Grade 460%

School 60% · District 78% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Grade 584%

School 84% · District 81% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 38 pts above state median · ▲ 26 pts above county median

Science

Grade 569%

School 69% · District 71% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 41 pts above state median · ▲ 26 pts above county median

This schoolCupertino 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-income42%Higher-income67%25 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income29%Higher-income73%44 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income50%Higher-income95%45 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income50%Higher-income83%33 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income33%Higher-income83%50 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income38%Higher-income86%48 pp gap