Davidson Elementary, San Bernardino CA

Original Research by School Decision on Davidson Elementary

Davidson Elementary is a public school serving kindergarten through sixth grade in San Bernardino, with an enrollment of about four hundred students. The school sits in a neighborhood with deep economic challenges. Nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the student body is predominantly Latino, with Black and white students making up smaller portions of the enrollment. The data does not provide counts for English learners or students in special education.

The school's state test results show weak overall performance. In English language arts, proficiency ranges from about one-third of students in grade three and sixth grade to about four in ten in grade four and five. In mathematics, proficiency is substantially lower: roughly one in four students in grades three and four, but only about one in nine in grade five, with about one in five in grade six. Science proficiency, measured in grade five only, is below ten percent. These figures place the school below the midpoint for proficiency when compared with other district elementary and middle schools in San Bernardino County.

The pattern across grades suggests that students struggle more with math than with English language arts, and that performance declines as students progress. The sharp drop in fifth-grade math proficiency stands out as a particular area of concern. A parent may want to ask the school directly about the factors driving this decline and what supports are in place for fifth graders.

San Bernardino City Unified, the district that operates Davidson, has adopted Vision 2030: SBCUSD SHINES as its strategic direction through 2030. The plan emphasizes high academic expectations, student and family involvement, health and wellness, equity, and safe learning environments. The district has also built its high school model around Linked Learning career pathways, which blend college-prep academics with career-technical education and work-based learning. While those initiatives set the district's longer-term course, they do not directly address the elementary performance picture at Davidson.

The neighborhood around Davidson sits in San Bernardino proper, a large city with mixed residential and commercial character. It contains downtown institutional anchors such as the Feldheym Library and the restored Santa Fe Depot train station, neighborhoods ranging from renter-heavy urban areas to mid-century residential districts, and a separate university district around California State University San Bernardino. The city is experiencing development growth in retail and commercial sectors, with ongoing infill and new mixed-use construction in multiple districts. Housing values in the zip code are moderate, though rents and affordability ratios reflect economic pressure. The unemployment rate in the region is in the mid-range, and median household income is in the low-to-mid range nationally.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 324%

School 24% · District 31% · ▼ 7 pts below district

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

Grade 428%

School 28% · District 23% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 512%

School 12% · District 19% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

Grade 622%

School 22% · District 24% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 8 pts below state median · even with county median

English language arts

Grade 332%

School 32% · District 31% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Grade 441%

School 41% · District 32% · ▲ 10 pts above district

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

Grade 539%

School 39% · District 34% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 627%

School 27% · District 38% · ▼ 11 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 515%

School 15% · District 18% · ▼ 4 pts below district

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

This schoolSan Bernardino 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.