Cordova Gardens Elementary, Rancho Cordova CA

Original Research by School Decision on Cordova Gardens Elementary

Cordova Gardens Elementary is a small primary school in Rancho Cordova serving kindergarten through sixth grade, with enrollment concentrated in the lower grades and only a handful of sixth graders. The school sits in a rapidly growing employment and residential hub in eastern Sacramento County, where new neighborhoods and light-rail connections are reshaping the community.

The school's academic performance is low across measured subjects. In English language arts, proficiency ranges from about four in ten students at third grade down to about three in ten at fourth grade, settling around one-third by fifth grade. Mathematics proficiency is substantially weaker: fewer than two in ten students tested proficient at third and fourth grades, rising to about one-quarter at fifth grade. Science proficiency at fifth grade sits around one in five students. These results place the school well below the midpoint of academic performance among elementary and primary schools in Sacramento County. A parent may want to look into whether the school has targeted interventions in place and what support structures exist for students not yet meeting grade-level standards.

The student body is economically disadvantaged: about four-fifths of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The enrollment is diverse, with roughly two-fifths Hispanic, roughly one-quarter white, nearly one-sixth Black, and smaller shares of Asian and multiracial students. English learner enrollment and special education enrollment data were not available. The school is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet, and operates within the Folsom-Cordova Unified district. It does not hold Title I status in the available data, though the concentration of economically disadvantaged students may warrant investigation of what resources are actually directed to the school.

Rancho Cordova itself is one of California's fastest-growing cities, a mixed employment and residential landscape spanning roughly thirty-five square miles east of Sacramento. It functions as a major regional employment center anchored by finance, insurance, government, technology, and healthcare employers, while also serving as a suburban family community with newer master-planned neighborhoods, light-rail connectivity through the SacRT Gold Line, and the American River trail system for recreation. The city's largest development project, Rio Del Oro, will bring thousands of new homes, multiple schools, and commercial space east of Sunrise Boulevard, though most of that growth is still under way. Housing costs in the area are moderate by state standards but represent a significant climb from earlier years, and renters face affordability pressure.

The Folsom-Cordova district itself approved two major facility bonds in November 2024 within the Rancho Cordova portion of its service area, funding renovation and modernization of elementary, middle, and secondary school facilities. These bonds carry a property tax obligation that homeowners in the affected area will factor into housing costs. The district is also expanding, with four new schools approved to serve growth in Folsom Ranch and Rancho Cordova, including a specialized high school. This context of school construction and renovation, alongside rapid residential and commercial growth, suggests shifting enrollment and evolving facility conditions families should monitor as the area develops.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 316%

School 16% · District 57% · ▼ 40 pts below district

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Grade 414%

School 14% · District 57% · ▼ 43 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 20 pts below county median

Grade 525%

School 25% · District 50% · ▼ 25 pts below district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 341%

School 41% · District 56% · ▼ 15 pts below district

even with state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Grade 432%

School 32% · District 59% · ▼ 28 pts below district

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

Grade 536%

School 36% · District 63% · ▼ 27 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 521%

School 21% · District 48% · ▼ 27 pts below district

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

This schoolFolsom-Cordova 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 4Lower-income28%Higher-income40%12 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income14%Higher-income25%12 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income7%Higher-income33%26 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income24%Higher-income31%7 pp gap