Soleado Elementary, Rancho Palos Verdes CA

Original Research by School Decision on Soleado Elementary

Soleado Elementary is a small K through 5 school in Rancho Palos Verdes serving a student body that is roughly half Asian, with a quarter white, and smaller shares Hispanic and multiracial. About one in ten students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a generally affluent enrollment. The school sits within a zip code where housing values are very high and rent is steep as well, placing it in one of the more expensive parts of Los Angeles County.

In math, the school's performance is strong across all tested grades. Third graders show proficiency at a high level. Fourth and fifth graders show proficiency in the mid-to-high range, with fifth grade slightly lower than fourth. In English language arts, third graders perform solidly, while fourth and fifth graders reach high proficiency levels. Overall proficiency across math and ELA sits well above the midpoint when compared with other schools in Los Angeles County, placing Soleado in the top quartile of the county's elementary schools for academic achievement. In science, fifth-grade students show solid proficiency on the state test. The school has academic strength and does not appear to be a school with weak proficiency numbers; students are meeting grade-level standards at high rates across tested areas.

The enrollment is moderate in size for an elementary school, evenly distributed across the grade bands. The staff size and special education or English learner enrollment data were not available in the records reviewed. State testing results are now available only for the school year shown; prior years were not provided, so a multi-year trend cannot be drawn.

The Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District, Soleado's parent district, recently passed Measure SOS, a facilities bond publicly reported as approved by voters in November 2024. The bond is intended to fund repairs and upgrades to aging school buildings, including roof, electrical, plumbing, and safety systems. This represents a property tax increase for homeowners and signals that the district is investing in infrastructure after an earlier, larger bond was rejected by voters in 2020. Families considering the area should factor this ongoing bond obligation into their housing decision.

Soleado fits families seeking a small to mid-sized elementary school in an affluent, academically strong community. The peer environment skews toward Asian and white families with higher household incomes. The school's test results show it is performing solidly for its region, with math a particular strength. No data on programs, enrichment, or school-specific initiatives were provided, so a parent may want to reach out to the school directly to learn about class structures, instructional approaches, and what makes the learning experience distinctive within the district.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 393%

School 93% · District 81% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▲ 50 pts above state median · ▲ 47 pts above county median

Grade 489%

School 89% · District 81% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▲ 51 pts above state median · ▲ 48 pts above county median

Grade 584%

School 84% · District 78% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 54 pts above state median · ▲ 51 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 377%

School 77% · District 76% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 36 pts above state median · ▲ 35 pts above county median

Grade 490%

School 90% · District 84% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 47 pts above state median · ▲ 46 pts above county median

Grade 591%

School 91% · District 87% · ▲ 4 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 582%

School 82% · District 73% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 54 pts above state median · ▲ 55 pts above county median

This schoolPalos Verdes Peninsula 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 3Lower-income64%Higher-income79%16 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income79%Higher-income92%13 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income85%Higher-income92%8 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income73%Higher-income97%24 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income93%Higher-income88%5 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income77%Higher-income86%9 pp gap