Ethel I. Baker Elementary, Sacramento CA

Original Research by School Decision on Ethel I. Baker Elementary

Ethel I. Baker Elementary is a public school serving kindergarten through sixth grade in Sacramento, located at 5717 Laurine Way in the 95824 zip code. The school enrolls a student body that is just under a suburban size for its grade range, with roughly equal cohorts across grades. The student population is economically disadvantaged: a very substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school's racial and ethnic composition is diverse, with roughly a plurality of students identifying as Hispanic, a substantial share as Asian, a meaningful presence of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander students, and smaller numbers of Black, white, and multiracial students.

Academic proficiency at Baker is very low across both English language arts and mathematics on the state's CAASPP assessment. In the most recent testing year, overall proficiency in ELA sits below the state average, and in math it is even lower. When broken down by grade, results are weak across the board: third graders, who are first tested in California, show single-digit proficiency in both subjects, fourth and fifth graders show proficiency rates in the low to mid-teens, and sixth graders drop to single digits in math. Science proficiency data from the single grade tested (fifth) is similarly low. The school has only one year of recent data available, so trend information cannot establish whether results are improving, flat, or declining.

Among the elementary schools in Sacramento County for which proficiency data is available, Baker's overall proficiency falls in the bottom quartile. This means the school's testing outcomes are substantially below the median performance across county schools, and well below the strongest performers in the county.

The surrounding community and housing market present a mixed picture. Median home values in the 95824 zip code are close to the national benchmark but well below the California state median, making this an area where housing is more affordable than much of the state, though still requiring a substantial income to purchase. Rents are moderate and rent-to-income affordability is manageable. Unemployment in the region is modest, and median household income in the national data is solidly middle-class, though these figures may mask variation within the neighborhood.

The district that operates Baker, Sacramento City Unified, is navigating serious financial strain. The district faces a deepening budget deficit that has prompted state oversight warnings, layoff notices to hundreds of employees, reductions in administrative positions, and delays in purchasing updated curriculum and technology. These cuts directly affect classroom resources and staffing. The district also recently implemented schedule changes to recover instructional days lost during a labor dispute and to avoid a state penalty. Additionally, voters approved a school facilities bond in 2024 that adds a property tax for the duration of the debt repayment, a permanent cost families in the district should factor into their housing decisions. The combination of instructional disruptions, staffing uncertainty, and resource constraints creates a volatile backdrop for any school in Sacramento City Unified during this period.

Baker offers a traditional elementary pathway with no special magnet or charter designation. The school's very low proficiency, combined with the district's fiscal crisis and its effects on staffing and materials, means a family choosing this school should be aware that they are entering a school with substantial academic challenges and a district under significant operational and financial pressure. A parent may want to look into the school's specific supports and interventions for struggling readers and mathematicians, discuss staffing stability with the principal, and understand how the district's budget situation is likely to affect their child's school.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 38%

School 8% · District 39% · ▼ 31 pts below district

▼ 35 pts below state median · ▼ 31 pts below county median

Grade 420%

School 20% · District 35% · ▼ 15 pts below district

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

Grade 515%

School 15% · District 28% · ▼ 13 pts below district

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

Grade 64%

School 4% · District 36% · ▼ 32 pts below district

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 26 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 310%

School 10% · District 37% · ▼ 27 pts below district

▼ 30 pts below state median · ▼ 26 pts below county median

Grade 418%

School 18% · District 39% · ▼ 21 pts below district

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

Grade 514%

School 14% · District 39% · ▼ 26 pts below district

▼ 32 pts below state median · ▼ 27 pts below county median

Grade 612%

School 12% · District 44% · ▼ 32 pts below district

▼ 32 pts below state median · ▼ 31 pts below county median

Science

Grade 59%

School 9% · District 28% · ▼ 19 pts below district

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

This schoolSacramento City 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-income13%Higher-income0%12 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income16%Higher-income31%15 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income14%Higher-income0%14 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income10%Higher-income0%10 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income20%Higher-income23%3 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income3%Higher-income8%5 pp gap