Cadwallader Elementary, San Jose CA

Original Research by School Decision on Cadwallader Elementary

Cadwallader Elementary is a small elementary school serving kindergarten through sixth grade in the Evergreen area of San Jose. The enrollment sits around a medium size for its grade band, with a notably diverse student body: a majority of students identify as Asian, followed by a substantial share identifying as Hispanic, with smaller numbers of white students and students identifying with multiple racial backgrounds. About a quarter of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing the school in a mixed-income attendance zone.

The school's academic performance reflects mixed but uneven results across subjects and grades. In English language arts, students show stronger performance at the upper elementary levels, with fifth and sixth graders demonstrating above-average proficiency. Third and fourth grade ELA results are moderate. Mathematics tells a different story: fifth grade is the school's strongest math grade, while third, fourth, and sixth grades all show proficiency rates in the lower to mid-range. A science assessment was administered only in fifth grade, where proficiency was modest. Without multi-year trend data, it is not possible to see whether performance is improving, stable, or declining.

When positioned against other schools and districts in Santa Clara County, Cadwallader's overall proficiency index places it above the midpoint of schools in that comparison set. This is a meaningful benchmark; the school is not trailing its county peers, though neither is it at the top tier. State testing data does not extend to kindergarten through second grade, so the school's early literacy and numeracy outcomes are not measured by these state assessments.

The Evergreen Elementary School District, the school's parent district, has faced enrollment pressures and a structural budget deficit in recent years, leading to the closure of two elementary schools. In response, the district repurposed one school as a Visual and Performing Arts magnet. More recently, voters approved Measure X, a parcel tax continuing funding for science, technology, arts, and music instruction across the district. The implementation of California's Proposition 28 has also expanded arts and music staffing district-wide. Families in the area should understand that this is a school within a district navigating real fiscal challenges while simultaneously investing in arts and STEAM instruction—a mixed signal about the district's resources and priorities.

The surrounding neighborhood and broader housing market are relevant contexts. San Jose is a large, densely developed city with pockets of walkability near downtown and transit corridors, but much of the residential fabric, including the Evergreen area, is car-dependent suburban development. Housing values in the zip code are substantial, with rental costs significantly outpacing what a typical household income would support, reflecting the Bay Area's broader affordability crisis. The employment base is technology-dominated, centered on major employers such as Cisco and other Silicon Valley firms. Downtown San Jose is undergoing visible densification with new residential towers and large planned projects like Google's Downtown West, though these developments are distant from most neighborhood schools.

Cadwallader itself is a regular public school with no magnet designation or charter status. No special program offerings beyond standard elementary curriculum were identified in available data. The school's website was not accessible to provide additional detail on specific enrichment activities, club offerings, or community partnerships. A parent may want to look into what after-school programs, field trip opportunities, or supplemental instruction the school offers, as well as the composition and experience of the teaching staff and any particular instructional approaches the school emphasizes.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 358%

School 58% · District 64% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 455%

School 55% · District 63% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 565%

School 65% · District 56% · ▲ 9 pts above district

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

Grade 653%

School 53% · District 61% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 358%

School 58% · District 61% · ▼ 3 pts below district

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

Grade 453%

School 53% · District 61% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 571%

School 71% · District 68% · ▲ 4 pts above district

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

Grade 667%

School 67% · District 68% · ▼ 1 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 560%

School 60% · District 48% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▲ 32 pts above state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

This schoolEvergreen 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-income32%Higher-income78%46 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income39%Higher-income67%28 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income68%Higher-income74%6 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income60%Higher-income73%13 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income24%Higher-income84%60 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income35%Higher-income73%38 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income57%Higher-income72%15 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income40%Higher-income63%23 pp gap