John Muir Elementary, Merced CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on John Muir Elementary

John Muir Elementary is a regular public school serving kindergarten through sixth grade in Merced, a small city in California's Central Valley. The school has a student body of roughly four hundred to five hundred students, with a highly concentrated population of students from low-income households. The overwhelming majority of families qualify for free or reduced-price meals, and the student body is predominantly Hispanic, with substantial representation from Asian and white families and smaller numbers of Black students and other groups.

The school's academic performance, measured by California's state assessments in English language arts and mathematics, sits notably below the midpoint among Merced County's elementary schools. In the 2024-25 school year, proficiency rates across tested grades ranged from the high teens to mid-thirties in most subjects. Third and fourth graders showed the lowest proficiency rates in both ELA and math. Fifth and sixth graders performed somewhat better in both areas, and sixth-grade ELA proficiency ran higher than in earlier grades. Fifth-grade science proficiency also ran in the low-to-mid twenties. The data available covers only the most recent school year, so trends over time are not available. A parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand what support is available for students who are not yet meeting grade-level standards and what academic pathways or interventions exist.

The school is part of Merced City Elementary School District, which serves the Merced area across roughly two dozen elementary, middle and high schools. The district recently secured voter approval for a school facilities bond to modernize buildings and improve safety across all its campuses, a measure that will increase property taxes for residents over the next decade. More significantly for families already in or considering the district, the district has approved major boundary and grade-level reorganization beginning in the 2025-26 school year. Elementary school attendance boundaries are being redrawn to address overcrowding, and starting in 2026-27, sixth graders will move from elementary campuses to middle schools. These changes will affect a substantial portion of the district's student population, meaning many families will face reassignment to different schools and a shift in grade structures.

The broader Merced community is a small city undergoing visible growth tied to UC Merced's expansion and the coming California High-Speed Rail station. Downtown has a walkable commercial core with locally owned shops and restaurants, and the city is surrounded by parks, trails and natural recreation areas. Housing costs are moderate relative to statewide benchmarks, and the local economy draws strength from higher education, healthcare, government employment, and agriculture and food processing in the surrounding county. For families considering this area, the combination of affordable housing and active community development offers some appeal, though the district's current boundary and structural changes are worth understanding before selecting a school or neighborhood.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 319%

School 19% · District 32% · ▼ 13 pts below district

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

Grade 416%

School 16% · District 24% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

Grade 522%

School 22% · District 19% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

Grade 632%

School 32% · District 18% · ▲ 14 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 318%

School 18% · District 30% · ▼ 12 pts below district

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

Grade 418%

School 18% · District 32% · ▼ 14 pts below district

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

Grade 535%

School 35% · District 37% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

Grade 636%

School 36% · District 36%

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

Science

Grade 524%

School 24% · District 22% · ▲ 3 pts above district

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

This schoolMerced City 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.