Loyola Elementary, Los Altos CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Loyola Elementary

Loyola Elementary serves kindergarten through sixth grade in Los Altos, a mature residential neighborhood in the Santa Clara Valley. The school enrolls a small student body, with about half the grade levels having around mid-sized cohorts and the upper elementary grades somewhat smaller. The student composition is substantially Asian and white, with modest representation of multiracial students and very small numbers of Hispanic and Black students. Free-or-reduced-price lunch eligibility is minimal, reflecting the high-income character of the community.

On state testing, Loyola's proficiency across math and English language arts sits well above the midpoint among Santa Clara County's district elementary schools. In math, proficiency rises markedly across the grade span, reaching strong performance in grades four through six. English language arts proficiency starts lower in third grade but climbs through the upper grades, settling in the low-to-mid range by sixth grade. A fifth-grade science assessment showed solid proficiency. The overall pattern suggests students gain momentum through upper elementary, with math a particular strength by the time they reach the middle grades.

Los Altos itself is a small, tree-lined residential town with a historic village core along Main and State Streets where independent shops and cafes create a walkable downtown. Beyond the downtown, the city is predominantly single-family homes on quiet neighborhood streets. The community has been constrained in development historically, though state housing policy is now driving multifamily projects, particularly downtown. The civic center, library, and community facilities sit on a separate campus from the shopping district, so civic and school life are neighborhood-based rather than centered on downtown. The housing market in the area is expensive; property values and rents are substantially above state and national benchmarks, and carrying costs for homeowners significantly exceed rental costs. This is a prosperous, settled community where school-age families tend to own homes and remain for years.

The Los Altos Elementary School District, which oversees Loyola and eight other schools across Los Altos and Mountain View, recently won voter approval for both a parcel tax increase (Measure A, effective July 2024) and a facilities bond (Measure EE, approved November 2024). These represent long-term property-tax obligations families undertake when buying in the district. The district is planning a structural change for fall 2028, moving to a middle-school model in which sixth graders shift from elementary campuses to the two junior high schools, Blach and Egan, where they will gain access to electives like foreign language, music, and robotics. For families with children currently at Loyola, this means their sixth-graders will move campuses rather than spending a final year at their elementary school.

Loyola's data shows state testing results but no information about special education identification rates, English learner enrollment, attendance, or school discipline. The school's website was not available to review program details, enrichment offerings, or staff information. A parent considering Loyola would benefit from contacting the school directly to understand how it organizes instruction in the upper grades and what role the transition to the middle school model plays in the sixth-grade year.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 370%

School 70% · District 86% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

Grade 486%

School 86% · District 84% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

Grade 587%

School 87% · District 83% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 57 pts above state median · ▲ 40 pts above county median

Grade 691%

School 91% · District 89% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 61 pts above state median · ▲ 46 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 361%

School 61% · District 81% · ▼ 20 pts below district

▲ 20 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 481%

School 81% · District 81%

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

Grade 586%

School 86% · District 85% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 40 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above county median

Grade 686%

School 86% · District 89% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▲ 42 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above county median

Science

Grade 580%

School 80% · District 80%

▲ 52 pts above state median · ▲ 37 pts above county median

This schoolLos Altos 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.