Mendocino K-8, Mendocino CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Mendocino K-8

Mendocino K-8 is a small public school serving kindergarten through eighth grade in the unincorporated village of Mendocino, a coastal community on the Mendocino County coast about a mile east of the downtown historic district. The school enrolls a modest population, with roughly equal numbers of students across most grades and a slight concentration in the middle school years. A substantial share of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting economic conditions in the area. The student population is predominantly white, with a smaller Hispanic population and very few students from other racial or ethnic backgrounds.

The school's academic performance shows mixed results by grade level and subject. In English language arts, students in fifth and seventh grades demonstrated stronger proficiency, while performance dipped notably in third grade. Math proficiency is generally lower across the school, with particularly weak results in fourth and fifth grades and notably higher performance in seventh grade. In the science assessments administered in fifth and eighth grades, proficiency rates fell below half. Available state assessment data does not extend beyond the 2024-25 school year, so no trend information over time is provided.

Relative to other district schools in Mendocino County, Mendocino K-8 ranks in the top quartile on an overall proficiency index that averages results across tested subjects and grades, suggesting the school's performance is among the stronger ones in its county peer group, though absolute proficiency rates across the school remain moderate.

The school is housed on a separate campus on Little Lake Road, removed from the village's downtown commercial and civic core. This location is typical for the district; several Mendocino Unified schools cluster in the same area near the district office. The village itself is highly walkable and oriented toward tourism, arts, and a small year-round residential population. Housing in the area is expensive, with home values well above state and national medians, though the local economy is constrained by limited new housing stock, coastal zoning restrictions, and the conversion of homes into short-term vacation rentals. The school serves families in a place with slow growth and modest employment diversity, anchored primarily by hospitality, the arts, and educational institutions.

The district has pursued facility improvements through Measure H, a general obligation bond approved by voters in 2020, which funded repairs to roofs, plumbing, sewer systems, and modernization of classrooms and restrooms at Mendocino High and other district sites. This bond created an ongoing property tax obligation that remains on local tax bills.

Data on enrollment in special education, English learner services, and chronic absenteeism were not available. A parent evaluating this school would be considering not just test results but the school's role in a very small, economically mixed, coastal community with limited housing, limited employment diversity, and a tight-knit but slow-growth character.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 353%

School 53% · District 58% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

Grade 430%

School 30% · District 30%

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

Grade 522%

School 22% · District 22%

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

Grade 642%

School 42% · District 42%

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

Grade 763%

School 63% · District 63%

▲ 33 pts above state median · ▲ 43 pts above county median

Grade 841%

School 41% · District 41%

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

English language arts

Grade 327%

School 27% · District 37% · ▼ 10 pts below district

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

Grade 450%

School 50% · District 50%

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

Grade 572%

School 72% · District 72%

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

Grade 647%

School 47% · District 47%

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

Grade 771%

School 71% · District 71%

▲ 26 pts above state median · ▲ 43 pts above county median

Grade 856%

School 56% · District 56%

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

Science

Grade 544%

School 44% · District 44%

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

Grade 841%

School 41% · District 41%

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

Social studies

Grade 863%

School 63% · District 63%

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

This schoolMendocino 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.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 6Lower-income46%Higher-income50%5 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income40%Higher-income83%43 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income41%Higher-income43%2 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income25%Higher-income67%42 pp gap