Esparto Middle, Esparto CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Esparto Middle

Esparto Middle serves a small sixth through eighth grade enrollment in a rural agricultural area of Yolo County. The school sits in an unincorporated town that is quiet, tight-knit, and family-oriented, blending suburban and rural character around a compact downtown and surrounding farmland. The area is economically tied to agriculture, particularly almonds, olives, walnuts, and row crops, alongside the Cache Creek Casino as a major employer. Home values run moderate relative to the state benchmark. This is the academic and social context in which the school operates.

The school faces genuine headwinds in student proficiency and academic preparation. In math, the most recent results show low proficiency across all three grade levels, with the sixth and seventh grades below that already-low school average and eighth grade slightly above it. English language arts results are stronger than math but remain below the state's target across all grades, though eighth grade proficiency stands at a notably higher level than the lower grades. Science proficiency in eighth grade sits in the middle range. These patterns suggest that students are arriving at the school with foundational gaps that persist across their middle years.

A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced price lunch, and the student body is predominantly Hispanic with smaller white and multiracial populations. The school is very small for its grade band, with a total enrollment spread evenly across three grades. State testing data on English learner and special education populations was not available, so a parent may want to look into those enrollments with the school directly to understand the full picture of learning needs the school addresses.

When compared with the other districts in Yolo County on an overall proficiency index across tested subjects and grades, Esparto Middle sits above the midpoint, meaning it outperforms the low end of the county distribution, even though its absolute proficiency levels are low. That distinction signals relative standing within a rural county context rather than strong absolute performance. The school offers a course catalog; details on specific programs, course breadth, or specialized tracks would require checking the school website or contacting the school directly.

The district itself has faced a practical constraint worth noting. Voters rejected two facilities bond measures in back-to-back election cycles, in 2020 and 2022. As a result, the schools continue to operate with aging facilities and no new bond-funded capital improvements in the pipeline. This is a fact families should weigh as part of the physical learning environment. The school sits on a separated campus area in the district; most students must cross the main highway, State Route 16, to reach it, a walkability and safety issue that has been recognized by the town and county through planning efforts aimed at improving pedestrian crossings and lighting on that corridor.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 618%

School 18% · District 18%

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

Grade 712%

School 12% · District 12%

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

Grade 824%

School 24% · District 24%

▼ 4 pts below state median · even with county median

English language arts

Grade 627%

School 27% · District 27%

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 738%

School 38% · District 38%

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 862%

School 62% · District 62%

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

Science

Grade 838%

School 38% · District 38%

▲ 13 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 844%

School 44% · District 45% · ▼ 1 pts below district

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

This schoolEsparto 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 6Lower-income27%Higher-income25%2 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income32%Higher-income73%41 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income55%Higher-income93%39 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income16%Higher-income25%9 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income11%Higher-income18%8 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income17%Higher-income50%33 pp gap