Alpha Elementary, Madera CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Alpha Elementary

Alpha Elementary serves kindergarten through sixth grade in Madera, a Central Valley city with deep agricultural and manufacturing roots. The school enrolls a substantial student body in a community where Spanish is widely spoken in central neighborhoods and downtown residential areas remain densely built around locally owned storefronts along Yosemite Avenue.

The school's student population is predominantly Hispanic, with a very high concentration of students who qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The enrollment spans all grade levels from early elementary through middle grades, with fairly stable cohort sizes across the band.

On California's standardized assessments in 2024-25, Alpha Elementary's proficiency rates in both English language arts and math fall below the midpoint among Madera County's tested schools. In English language arts across grades three through six, proficiency ranges from the lower thirties to upper thirties. In math, the pattern shows a steeper decline as grade levels advance, with proficiency dropping as students move from third grade through sixth. Science proficiency in fifth grade is similarly low. Only one year of data is available, so trend information is not present. A parent may want to ask the school directly about any instructional changes underway and what supports exist for students who need to strengthen foundational skills.

Madera is experiencing rapid housing growth, among the fastest in California, driven by large master-planned communities like Riverstone and Tesoro Viejo. Housing values and rents have risen modestly year-over-year. The broader economy remains anchored by agriculture, manufacturing and food processing, health care including Valley Children's Hospital, and logistics. Unemployment remains steady. Downtown Madera has good walkability and access to city parks, transit via Madera Metro with connections to County Connection and Amtrak, and cultural spaces including a museum in the former courthouse.

Madera Unified is implementing a new district-wide graduation requirement called the Graduate Profile, which asks all seniors starting with the class of 2025 to complete a digital portfolio and oral defense before a panel in addition to standard credits. The district is also opening a new TK-8 campus called King Husein School in August 2026 on the southwest side of the city, built around a dedicated STEM building and designed to serve students in a growing district. These district-level changes touch instruction and school options across all grade levels and all neighborhoods.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 337%

School 37% · District 33% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 420%

School 20% · District 24% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 517%

School 17% · District 19% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 614%

School 14% · District 23% · ▼ 10 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 337%

School 37% · District 29% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Grade 438%

School 38% · District 29% · ▲ 9 pts above district

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

Grade 539%

School 39% · District 32% · ▲ 7 pts above district

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

Grade 630%

School 30% · District 34% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Science

Grade 519%

School 19% · District 17% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

This schoolMadera 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.