Marcum-illinois Union Elementary, East Nicolaus CA

Original Research by School Decision on Marcum-illinois Union Elementary

Marcum-Illinois Union Elementary serves kindergarten through eighth grade in East Nicolaus, a very small, low-density rural community in Sutter County surrounded by farmland. The school draws from an area where agriculture dominates the economy and residents are spread widely across single-family homes. Most families in the area own their land and live within a tight-knit, car-dependent setting with no walkable downtown and minimal local commercial activity.

The school's enrollment is small, sitting just above a few hundred students across its nine grade levels. A meaningful share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic composition of the rural agricultural area. The student body is predominantly white, with a smaller but substantial Latino population and very few Black or Asian students. Data on students learning English as a second language and on special education were not available.

In state testing across California's CAASPP assessments, Marcum-Illinois shows mixed academic performance. Reading and language arts proficiency reaches into the mid-to-upper range in lower grades, with third grade students performing solidly and fourth and seventh grade groups hitting stronger marks, but fifth grade and eighth grade lag meaningfully. Math proficiency starts strong in grades three and four but drops notably by grade five and remains in the low-to-mid range through middle school. Science, tested in grades five and eight, shows concerning results, with grade five at roughly half proficiency and grade eight falling below fifty percent. The school's overall proficiency index across tested subjects and grades places it in the top quartile among Sutter County's school districts, a meaningful distinction that reflects stronger average performance despite the grade-level variation.

The pattern visible in the data suggests the school faces a coherent challenge in the middle grades. Proficiency tends to slip as students move into grades five through eight across both reading and mathematics, and science proficiency is weak across both tested grade levels. A parent may want to look into this further with the school, particularly if their child is approaching middle school. The school's small size and rural setting mean fewer course sections, elective options, and specialized services than larger or more urban schools. Staff and program data were not available.

The area itself sits on the edge of Sutter Pointe, a very large planned mixed-use development under construction on Highway 99. The first phase, an active-adult community, is moving toward initial residential permits, and later phases intended for families will eventually bring significant population growth and new enrollment to the district. That future expansion is a factor for families to weigh against the current small-town environment.

The district has recently adopted an immigration enforcement safe-haven policy under California state law, protecting students and families from immigration enforcement access to school facilities and student records without a judicial warrant. This is a lasting policy protection for families weighing the district. A charter school learning center co-located on the elementary school property offers an independent-study option as an alternative pathway for families within the district's footprint.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 371%

School 71% · District 71%

▲ 29 pts above state median · ▲ 34 pts above county median

Grade 474%

School 74% · District 74%

▲ 36 pts above state median · ▲ 35 pts above county median

Grade 553%

School 53% · District 53%

▲ 23 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

Grade 667%

School 67% · District 67%

▲ 36 pts above state median · ▲ 29 pts above county median

Grade 758%

School 58% · District 58%

▲ 28 pts above state median · ▲ 29 pts above county median

Grade 852%

School 52% · District 52%

▲ 24 pts above state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 379%

School 79% · District 79%

▲ 38 pts above state median · ▲ 44 pts above county median

Grade 463%

School 63% · District 63%

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

Grade 553%

School 53% · District 53%

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

Grade 661%

School 61% · District 61%

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

Grade 774%

School 74% · District 74%

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

Grade 861%

School 61% · District 61%

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Science

Grade 553%

School 53% · District 53%

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

Grade 839%

School 39% · District 39%

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

Social studies

Grade 850%

School 50% · District 50%

▲ 1 pts above state median · even with county median

This schoolMarcum-Illinois Union 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.