Washington Elementary, Winton CA

Original Research by School Decision on Washington Elementary

Washington Elementary serves kindergarten through eighth grade in Winton, a small, largely residential unincorporated farming community in northern Merced County. The school sits within a population of modest means, surrounded by agricultural land, with limited local commercial activity. Most families in the area rely on nearby Atwater and Merced for larger goods and services.

The school enrolls a small student body. About three-quarters of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating economic strain across the enrollment. The student population is predominantly Hispanic, with a substantial white minority and very small populations of other races. Specific data on English learners or students with disabilities were not available.

Academic performance is the most concrete picture available. In English language arts, proficiency is in the low-to-mid range by grade, with performance in fourth and sixth grades slightly stronger than elsewhere. Eighth grade performs notably better in ELA than earlier grades. Mathematics proficiency is consistently lower, with fifth and sixth grades posting particularly weak results; fourth grade is the stronger grade in math. Science testing shows proficiency rates in the lower range for both fifth and eighth grades. A social studies assessment from an older state testing era showed low proficiency. The overall pattern suggests that while some cohorts and subjects show fractionally better results, proficiency across tested subjects remains below the midpoint. When viewed against other districts in Merced County, Washington Elementary's overall proficiency index falls above the median, placing it in the middle third of the county's tested schools.

The school is part of Merced River Union Elementary, a small district that in 2022 placed a school facilities bond on the ballot; voters rejected it. That failed measure means the aging campus infrastructure remains unmodernized, a consideration families may want to explore directly with the school.

Winton itself is a low-cost place to live relative to the state and nation. Housing values and rents are modest. The community is stable in size and character, with a tight-knit, family-heavy feel. Daily civic life centers loosely on a community park and the local library branch. Residents report it is walkable locally and friendly, though commercial and cultural amenities are sparse; schools are dispersed rather than clustered. Employment within Winton is limited; most jobs sit within a reasonable commute in the broader county region, where agriculture, food processing, and institutions like UC Merced and Mercy Medical Center are the dominant employers.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 332%

School 32% · District 32%

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 448%

School 48% · District 48%

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

Grade 524%

School 24% · District 24%

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 626%

School 26% · District 26%

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

Grade 738%

School 38% · District 38%

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

Grade 839%

School 39% · District 39%

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

English language arts

Grade 336%

School 36% · District 36%

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 437%

School 37% · District 37%

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 531%

School 31% · District 31%

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 642%

School 42% · District 42%

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

Grade 735%

School 35% · District 35%

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

Grade 850%

School 50% · District 50%

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

Science

Grade 535%

School 35% · District 35%

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

Grade 823%

School 23% · District 23%

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

Social studies

Grade 825%

School 25% · District 25%

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

This schoolMerced River 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.