Cucamonga Elementary, Rancho Cucamonga CA

Original Research by School Decision on Cucamonga Elementary

Cucamonga Elementary is a school of about five hundred students in the upper grades of the elementary band, serving kindergarten through fifth grade in Rancho Cucamonga, a mid-sized suburb in western San Bernardino County about thirty-five miles east of Los Angeles. The school sits in a growing residential area marked by ongoing development and an influx of families relocating from Los Angeles County.

The school's student body reflects the neighborhood's composition. More than seven in ten students identify as Hispanic, with a substantial Black student population and a smaller share of white and Asian students. A high share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that many families are working but economically stretched. Enrollment counts show kindergarten drawing the largest cohort, with fifth grade slightly smaller, a pattern typical of elementary schools in growing areas where families with young children are arriving.

State testing results from the most recent year show proficiency well below the state standard across both math and English language arts. In math, proficiency rates across the tested grades fall in the low to mid-range of typical school performance; English language arts proficiency is somewhat higher, with fifth grade performing notably better than third and fourth grades. Fifth-grade science proficiency is also low. Across all tested subjects and grades combined, the school sits in the bottom quartile of the proficiency comparison set made up of districts in San Bernardino County. A parent may want to look into further detail with the school itself about the factors at play here, which could reflect student population characteristics, instructional approach, staffing resources, or other school-level dynamics.

The school operates as a regular public elementary school, not a charter, magnet, or alternative program, so it draws its enrollment primarily from the residential catchment area. No data were available on special-education identification or English-learner status, or on attendance and chronic absenteeism rates. The district brief search found no recent major ballot measures, property-tax shifts, or district-wide curriculum changes in Cucamonga Elementary's immediate window, though neighboring districts have passed facilities bonds.

Rancho Cucamonga itself is a planned suburban community with a mix of single-family homes, apartments, and condos spread across distinct neighborhoods. Housing values in the area have remained relatively stable and are moderate for the region, sitting somewhat below the state average. The city is anchored by Victoria Gardens, a designed lifestyle center serving as the downtown gathering place, and by the Rancho Cucamonga Metrolink station, the largest on the San Bernardino Line, which links the area to Los Angeles and San Bernardino. The economy is now rooted in healthcare, pharmaceuticals, technology, and construction rather than the vineyards that once dominated, and the city is actively planning for growth through the HART District and other transit-oriented development around the Cucamonga Station. This is a context of steady outward migration from Los Angeles and planned urban intensification, which affects both housing demand and school enrollment patterns.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 319%

School 19% · District 27% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 414%

School 14% · District 19% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Grade 515%

School 15% · District 17% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 324%

School 24% · District 24% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Grade 421%

School 21% · District 22% · ▼ 1 pts below district

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

Grade 530%

School 30% · District 32% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Science

Grade 519%

School 19% · District 21% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

This schoolCucamonga 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 5Lower-income29%Higher-income36%7 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 5Lower-income16%Higher-income9%7 pp gap