Mcswain Elementary, Merced CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Mcswain Elementary

McSwain Elementary is a K-8 school in Merced serving about nine hundred students across nine grade levels. The student body is roughly evenly split between white and Hispanic students, with smaller Asian and multiracial populations. About one in three students qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch.

The school's academic profile shows a gap between English language arts and mathematics. In ELA, proficiency runs roughly even across the tested grades, with middle schoolers (sixth through eighth) showing proficiency rates in the low-to-mid range and third graders performing stronger. Math proficiency, by contrast, is notably weaker. Third grade performs better at around sixty percent, but proficiency drops sharply in grades four and five to near thirty percent, then rises slightly in sixth grade before declining again in the upper grades. Science proficiency, measured in grades five and eight, sits in the low-thirty-percent range. The school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile among Merced County districts, though in absolute terms these numbers reflect a school working with proficiency gaps that warrant attention, particularly in mathematics and across the middle grades.

Merced itself is a small city in the northern Central Valley where the economy blends higher education, healthcare, government, agriculture and food processing. UC Merced and Merced College drive civic and cultural life alongside food processors and large retailers. Downtown Merced has a walkable commercial core with locally owned shops, restaurants, and restored civic buildings, while the broader city relies on cars and spreads along Highway 99. Major growth is underway tied to UC Merced's expansion and the coming California High-Speed Rail station, with new development concentrating in North Merced and near the campus.

The district has been selected as one of just sixty schools statewide to join California's Community Engagement Initiative as part of Cohort VI, a multi-year initiative grounded in shared leadership and amplifying student, family and staff voices. This signals a structural shift in how the district gathers parent input and makes decisions, one likely to shape school culture and governance over time.

Housing in the Merced area is moderately priced relative to California, with a median home value below the state benchmark. Rents have risen modestly year-over-year. The local mortgage and unemployment rates sit near national averages, and the area supports a diverse employer base.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 361%

School 61% · District 61%

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 22 pts above county median

Grade 439%

School 39% · District 39%

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 531%

School 31% · District 31%

even with state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 644%

School 44% · District 44%

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

Grade 722%

School 22% · District 22%

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

Grade 827%

School 27% · District 27%

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

English language arts

Grade 369%

School 69% · District 69%

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

Grade 439%

School 39% · District 39%

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

Grade 545%

School 45% · District 45%

even with state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Grade 660%

School 60% · District 60%

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

Grade 750%

School 50% · District 50%

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

Grade 853%

School 53% · District 53%

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

Science

Grade 531%

School 31% · District 31%

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

Grade 830%

School 30% · District 30%

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

Social studies

Grade 857%

School 57% · District 57%

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

This schoolMcSwain 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.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income53%Higher-income76%23 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income27%Higher-income48%20 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income45%Higher-income45%0 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income46%Higher-income68%22 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income46%Higher-income53%7 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income41%Higher-income58%17 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income50%Higher-income66%16 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income27%Higher-income48%20 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income29%Higher-income32%3 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income33%Higher-income50%17 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income16%Higher-income24%8 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income13%Higher-income33%21 pp gap