The top reported proficiency rate is 81% in Math. The lowest is 57% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Loma Prieta Elementary
Loma Prieta Elementary is a small public elementary school serving kindergarten through fifth grade in Los Gatos, a affluent, walkable town in the foothills south of San Jose. The school sits in an area of established residential neighborhoods with historic character, near the Los Gatos Creek Trail and close to both the town's civic center and downtown commercial core.
The school's enrollment is modest, with roughly equal representation across most grades and a student body that is predominantly white, with a substantial Hispanic population and smaller Asian and multiracial cohorts. A small share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, consistent with the area's overall affluence. The school's demographic profile reflects Los Gatos itself: a community shaped by proximity to Netflix's headquarters and other technology employers, with median home values well above state and national benchmarks and corresponding housing costs that emphasize affordability as a constraint for renters.
On state assessments administered in spring 2025, Loma Prieta's proficiency rates across math and English language arts are strong. In math, third and fourth graders showed proficiency rates in the low to mid-eighties; fifth graders' proficiency dipped slightly but remained above seventy percent. In ELA, the school's fourth-grade students performed particularly well; third and fifth graders also cleared seventy-five percent. On the state science assessment given in fifth grade only, about half of students demonstrated proficiency, a notably softer result than in math and ELA. Across all tested subjects and grade levels, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile among districts in Santa Cruz County.
One year of data, however, does not reveal trajectory. The school has only 2024-2025 proficiency results available, so trends are not yet visible.
The parent district, Loma Prieta Joint Union Elementary, is a small two-school K-8 system that has faced sustained enrollment decline over several years. In November 2022, voters rejected Measure M, a proposed parcel tax intended to fund teacher retention, core academic programs, classroom technology, and instructional materials; it fell short of the two-thirds threshold needed to pass. This was the district's second consecutive failed parcel tax in a short window, leaving the district without the recurring revenue it sought. Declining enrollment affects funding and program viability in a small district, a factor families considering the school would want to understand by asking the district directly about staffing stability and any adjustments to course or enrichment offerings.
Los Gatos itself is in transition. The town has historically taken a slow-growth stance that preserved its downtown and small-town character. As of 2026, however, major housing and mixed-use projects are approved or in final planning, including over a thousand housing units in two significant developments, which will change the town's density and composition in the coming years. Families moving to the area should expect that growth.
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