Joseph Azevada Elementary, Fremont CA

Original Research by School Decision on Joseph Azevada Elementary

Joseph Azevada Elementary is a small neighborhood school in Fremont serving kindergarten through fifth grade, located in the broader context of a large, diverse Silicon Valley city that has grown from five historic townships. The school draws from a predominantly Asian student body, with strong representation from Hispanic families as well, and about one in three students qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. The enrollment is tight by design for an elementary school at this grade span.

Academically, the school shows mixed but solid performance in California's state assessments. In English language arts, proficiency varies by grade, with third and fourth graders performing at comparable levels while fifth graders show notably stronger results. Math proficiency is lower overall and drops noticeably in fourth grade before recovering somewhat in fifth. When proficiency is averaged across all tested subjects and grades, the school sits above the midpoint among other schools in Alameda County, reflecting competence across the board even where individual grade results dip. Science proficiency in fifth grade is below half the students meeting the standard. State testing data for kindergarten through second grade is not available because those grades are not assessed under California's system.

The school sits in a housing market that remains expensive even amid recent shifts. Home values in the zip code are significantly above the state benchmark, and the gap between what monthly rent and a mortgage payment cost is substantial. Homeownership in this area requires considerable income, and a parent may want to assess whether the neighborhood's cost of living aligns with their household situation. Fremont itself is a sprawling, car-oriented place where most errands require driving, though certain pockets like the Irvington neighborhood offer better walkability. The city is in the midst of building a new downtown district and has active growth in housing and employment districts, so the character of neighborhoods may shift over the coming years.

The Fremont Unified School District, Joseph Azevada's parent district, has undergone significant funding transitions. Voters approved a major facilities bond in November 2024 to repair and modernize aging school buildings, which will fund upgrades across the district for years to come but also imposes new property taxes on homeowners. An earlier parcel tax that provided dedicated school funding expired in June 2025, removing a revenue stream that had supported operations and staffing. The district has also revisited its math pathways for grades six through twelve to broaden access to advanced courses while maintaining rigor, a change that will affect how students progress toward calculus and other upper-level mathematics.

At the school level, little additional information is available about specific programs, staffing, discipline policies, attendance, or how the school serves students with special needs or English learners, so a parent may want to reach out to the school directly to understand those dimensions. What the data shows is a functioning elementary school with a mixed but competent academic profile, serving a neighborhood with significant economic resources and cultural diversity, within a district navigating both major infrastructure investment and recent budget reductions.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 366%

School 66% · District 73% · ▼ 7 pts below district

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

Grade 455%

School 55% · District 71% · ▼ 16 pts below district

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

Grade 558%

School 58% · District 65% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 363%

School 63% · District 67% · ▼ 4 pts below district

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

Grade 463%

School 63% · District 71% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

Grade 577%

School 77% · District 71% · ▲ 6 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 553%

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

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

This schoolFremont 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-income50%Higher-income69%19 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income50%Higher-income72%22 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income53%Higher-income90%36 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income47%Higher-income76%28 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income42%Higher-income66%24 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income31%Higher-income71%40 pp gap