Rose Avenue Elementary, Modesto CA

Original Research by School Decision on Rose Avenue Elementary

Rose Avenue Elementary sits in Modesto, a mid-sized Central Valley city anchored by food and beverage processing, agriculture, and regional employers like Gallo Winery and Save Mart Supermarkets. The school serves kindergarten through sixth grade and draws a student body that is predominantly Hispanic, with a substantial share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the broader demographic and economic profile of the surrounding area.

Academic performance at Rose Avenue shows consistent challenges across tested grades and subjects. In English language arts, proficiency ranges from the low to mid-thirties across grades three through six. Math proficiency is lower, ranging from the mid-teens in grades four and five to the low forties in third grade and upper twenties in sixth grade. Science proficiency, measured in fifth grade, is similarly low. Taken together, Rose Avenue's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile among Stanislaus County districts, a meaningful signal that students here are not meeting grade-level standards at the rates seen in higher-performing schools nearby.

The school's enrollment is stable at around mid-size for an elementary school, with a fairly even distribution across grades. Kindergarten carries a notably larger cohort than some upper grades, which may reflect either natural demographic patterns or variation year to year. The student population is economically stretched: a substantial majority qualify for free or reduced-price meals, which aligns with Modesto's broader economic context. The district encompasses the city and surrounding areas; housing costs in the zip code are moderate relative to California as a whole, though rent-to-income and mortgage-to-income ratios suggest housing remains a significant household expense for many families.

Modesto itself is car-dependent outside its downtown, though the downtown core is walkable and hosts civic amenities including parks, the library (undergoing renovation), and transit through the Stanislaus Regional Transit Authority. The broader city economy is stable but housing production has lagged for decades, with new development projects like The Crossings and the Tivoli Specific Plan addressing a persistent shortage. The district has invested in facilities through voter-approved bond measures since 2018, an ongoing commitment to campus infrastructure.

At the classroom level, Rose Avenue is a regular public school operated by Modesto City Elementary, which recently adopted a new comprehensive sex education curriculum in middle grades, a change that drew community attention during the adoption process. The school appears well-positioned for families seeking a neighborhood elementary option in Modesto, though the low proficiency data suggests parents should have a direct conversation with school leadership about instructional priorities, intervention strategies for students below grade level, and what family engagement looks like. The academic trajectory here requires close monitoring and active partnership between home and school.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 342%

School 42% · District 32% · ▲ 10 pts above district

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

Grade 417%

School 17% · District 25% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

Grade 516%

School 16% · District 21% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 629%

School 29% · District 23% · ▲ 6 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 337%

School 37% · District 29% · ▲ 8 pts above district

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

Grade 426%

School 26% · District 31% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 35% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

Grade 638%

School 38% · District 37% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 6 pts below state median · even with county median

Science

Grade 517%

School 17% · District 17%

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

This schoolModesto 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.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income32%Higher-income60%28 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income23%Higher-income39%15 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income32%Higher-income38%6 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income32%Higher-income58%26 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income38%Higher-income60%22 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income17%Higher-income15%2 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income10%Higher-income38%28 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income23%Higher-income53%30 pp gap