Northmead Elementary, Patterson CA

Original Research by School Decision on Northmead Elementary

Northmead Elementary serves kindergarten through sixth grade in Patterson, a small Central Valley city built on agriculture and warehousing, now in the midst of rapid residential expansion. The school sits within Patterson Joint Unified School District, which in November 2022 passed Measure E, a sizable general obligation bond funding new school construction, vocational expansion, and classroom modernization across the district, including a new elementary school and additions to Patterson High School. That bond reshapes district capacity going forward and carries a property-tax levy for homeowners in the district.

Northmead's enrollment is small, drawn almost entirely from Patterson's south and southwest neighborhoods. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with small shares of white, Asian, Black, and Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students. The school's racial and economic composition reflects Patterson's demographics: a working-class Central Valley community where a large portion of families are tied to agriculture, distribution-center work, and service industries.

In English language arts, Northmead's proficiency varies by grade. Third graders show a proficiency rate around the mid-range, while fourth and fifth graders perform somewhat higher; by sixth grade, proficiency drops back down. The school's overall ELA proficiency across all tested grades sits slightly above the midpoint when compared to other schools in Stanislaus County. In mathematics, the picture is markedly different. Third-grade proficiency is modest, fourth grade somewhat better, but proficiency drops sharply in fifth and sixth grades. The school's overall math proficiency is above the midpoint among county schools, though the strong decline in upper grades warrants attention. In science, fifth-grade proficiency is low. The gap between ELA and math performance, and the steeper decline in math at upper grades, are patterns worth understanding in conversation with the school itself.

The school has no reported data on special education enrollment rates or English learner counts. State testing data available covers only the current school year, so trend information is not present to show whether performance has improved, declined, or held steady over time.

Northmead sits in a town experiencing rapid growth. New residential subdivisions, master-planned communities, and affordable housing developments are underway, with major builders active and the school district planning new facilities to manage enrollment increases. Housing values in Patterson's zip code are moderate by state standards, and rental costs are lower than ownership costs relative to income, making the area accessible to working families. The downtown is pedestrian-scaled around Plaza Circle and hosts regular community events; the broader town mixes gridded older neighborhoods near the center with newer subdivisions toward the edges. Retail is auto-oriented along Sperry Avenue, and the West Patterson Business Park, home to large distribution centers for Amazon, CVS, and other logistics companies, drives much of the local economic activity.

For families considering Northmead, the key questions are whether the school's approach to math instruction in fifth and sixth grade can be strengthened, and whether the district's bond-funded expansion and modernization efforts will support classroom and program quality as enrollment grows. A parent may want to discuss both the current math picture and the school's plans to address it directly with school leadership.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 333%

School 33% · District 27% · ▲ 6 pts above district

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

Grade 441%

School 41% · District 25% · ▲ 15 pts above district

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

Grade 523%

School 23% · District 19% · ▲ 4 pts above district

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

Grade 613%

School 13% · District 14%

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

English language arts

Grade 346%

School 46% · District 34% · ▲ 13 pts above district

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

Grade 452%

School 52% · District 35% · ▲ 17 pts above district

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

Grade 554%

School 54% · District 40% · ▲ 15 pts above district

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

Grade 640%

School 40% · District 32% · ▲ 9 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 525%

School 25% · District 19% · ▲ 7 pts above district

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

This schoolPatterson Joint 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-income40%Higher-income69%29 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income48%Higher-income62%14 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income50%Higher-income73%23 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income33%Higher-income59%26 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income32%Higher-income35%3 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income35%Higher-income57%22 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income14%Higher-income60%46 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income10%Higher-income23%13 pp gap