Arlene Hein Elementary, Elk Grove CA

Original Research by School Decision on Arlene Hein Elementary

Arlene Hein Elementary is a regular public school serving kindergarten through sixth grade in Elk Grove, a rapidly growing suburban city about a quarter-hour south of Sacramento. The school sits in a master-planned residential area of the city that has expanded significantly over the past several years. Housing values in the local zip code reflect suburban median-range Sacramento County pricing, and rental costs have risen moderately year-over-year, putting homeownership and rental affordability above the national norm but requiring substantial household income to manage.

The student body is diverse. Nearly half the enrollment is Asian, with meaningful representation from Latino, white, and multiracial families. About a substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing the school in a mixed-income enrollment context. The school draws from a spread of grade levels, with enrollment stable across the primary and intermediate grades.

On the 2024-25 state tests, Arlene Hein's proficiency rates show a pattern common to many elementary schools: strength in the earlier grades that softens in the middle grades. Third graders demonstrated solid proficiency in both English language arts and math, with math notably higher. By fourth and fifth grades, proficiency dipped in both subjects, with fourth-grade math showing the lowest results across the grade band. Sixth grade recovered some ground in English language arts, while math stayed moderate. The school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile among tested schools in Sacramento County, a strength on a county basis. Science proficiency in fifth grade was notably lower than in the two core subjects, suggesting an area where the school may want to build instructional focus. The school does not yet have trend data available, so it is not possible to see whether current results represent improvement, decline, or stability from prior years.

The school serves no secondary grades, so no graduation rate applies. Special education and English learner data were not available in the records reviewed, so a parent may want to reach out directly to the school to understand the scope and nature of services for students with disabilities and multilingual learners.

Elk Grove itself is a young city in rapid expansion, where new master-planned residential communities are continuously opening and former agricultural land is being converted to housing. The city maintains a historic Old Town district with preserved buildings and walkable local commerce, but most of daily life requires a car. Retail, food service, education, and health care are the largest employment sectors. The school district is among the city's major employers, and Apple operates a campus in Elk Grove focused on customer support services. A new public library is under construction, and regional bus transit connects to light rail stations and community colleges. The broader region is accessible quickly by highway to downtown Sacramento and the airport.

For families considering Arlene Hein, the school offers a solid academic foundation in a moderately affluent, diverse suburban setting within a growing district and city. The fourth and fifth-grade data suggest a point where students' proficiency rates flatten, which is common but worth discussing with the school about curriculum coherence and support structures across those grade transitions. The overall county-level standing is a genuine strength.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 376%

School 76% · District 53% · ▲ 22 pts above district

▲ 33 pts above state median · ▲ 37 pts above county median

Grade 455%

School 55% · District 49% · ▲ 6 pts above district

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

Grade 555%

School 55% · District 39% · ▲ 16 pts above district

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above county median

Grade 669%

School 69% · District 46% · ▲ 23 pts above district

▲ 39 pts above state median · ▲ 39 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 366%

School 66% · District 51% · ▲ 15 pts above district

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

Grade 460%

School 60% · District 53% · ▲ 7 pts above district

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

Grade 559%

School 59% · District 54% · ▲ 5 pts above district

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

Grade 673%

School 73% · District 58% · ▲ 15 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 538%

School 38% · District 34% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

This schoolElk Grove 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

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income51%Higher-income82%31 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income47%Higher-income71%24 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income43%Higher-income73%30 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income56%Higher-income88%32 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income60%Higher-income92%31 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income46%Higher-income64%19 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income45%Higher-income65%20 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income54%Higher-income83%30 pp gap