Meadows Elementary, El Centro CA

Original Research by School Decision on Meadows Elementary

Meadows Elementary is a small K-8 school of about average size for its grade band in El Centro, a regional agricultural hub in the Imperial Valley near the Mexican border. The school serves a student body that is heavily Hispanic and economically disadvantaged, with a substantial share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The school's district, Meadows Union, is a single-school district that has recently adopted the California Community Schools Partnership Program, a state-funded initiative that integrates health, mental health, and social services alongside academics and prioritizes family and community engagement.

Academically, the school faces substantial challenges. State assessment data from the 2024-25 school year shows low proficiency across all tested subjects and grades. In English language arts, school-wide proficiency sits below most measures; the strongest performance appears in grade 7, where proficiency reaches the low portion of the range, while grade 4 falls to just a few percentage points. Mathematics proficiency is similarly low across the school's tested grades, ranging from the low teens in grades 6 and 8 to the low-to-mid range in grades 3 and 7. Science assessment results, available for grades 5 and 8, show even lower proficiency, dropping to single digits in grade 8. When measured across all tested grades and subjects, the school's overall proficiency index sits below the midpoint among Imperial County districts.

Older state assessment data from 2012-13, when social studies was still tested, showed comparable challenges. The trajectory from that year to now suggests persistent academic struggle without marked improvement. A parent looking at recent state test performance will see a school with consistent challenges in foundational academic skills across nearly all grade levels and subject areas. A parent may want to look into this further with the school, including what specific reading and mathematics interventions are in place, how the school is using data to target support, and what progress if any has been made in the most recent academic year.

El Centro itself is a steady but slow-growing city in an agricultural valley, with modest housing stock and moderate walkability. The area's major employers include government agencies, healthcare systems, and Imperial Valley College. Housing values in the local zip code are below the state benchmark, making this an affordable area relative to much of California, though mortgage and rental costs still consume a sizable share of household income for many families.

The district's recent adoption of the Community Schools Partnership Program represents the most substantial change affecting the school's operations. This framework brings coordinated health, mental health, and social services into the school alongside academic instruction, with an emphasis on family engagement and community partnerships. For a school where the vast majority of students face economic hardship, this kind of wraparound support may address barriers to learning that test scores alone do not capture. The program is meant to work across the school-family-community system rather than only within the classroom, and a family considering whether this school fits their needs would be weighing not just test scores but the presence of integrated support services and whether the school's operating model matches what their child needs.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 333%

School 33% · District 33%

▼ 10 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 424%

School 24% · District 24%

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

Grade 530%

School 30% · District 30%

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Grade 616%

School 16% · District 16%

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

Grade 736%

School 36% · District 36%

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

Grade 818%

School 18% · District 18%

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

English language arts

Grade 314%

School 14% · District 14%

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 20 pts below county median

Grade 410%

School 10% · District 10%

▼ 33 pts below state median · ▼ 29 pts below county median

Grade 534%

School 34% · District 34%

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 625%

School 25% · District 25%

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 742%

School 42% · District 42%

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

Grade 836%

School 36% · District 36%

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

Science

Grade 516%

School 16% · District 16%

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 89%

School 9% · District 9%

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

Social studies

Grade 825%

School 25% · District 25%

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

This schoolMeadows Union, 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 7Lower-income29%Higher-income75%46 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 7Lower-income27%Higher-income58%31 pp gap