The top reported proficiency rate is 38% in English language arts. The lowest is 18% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Perry Elementary
Perry Elementary sits on Oriskany Road in the southeastern corner of San Diego, a neighborhood that reads quite differently from the coastal and central parts of the city. The school serves kindergarten through fifth grade as a regular public elementary within San Diego Unified, and its student body reflects the working-class character of the surrounding area. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, making it one of the higher-need campuses in the district. The school draws a racially mixed enrollment, with Hispanic students forming the largest group, followed by Black students, students of two or more races, and Asian students, with smaller shares of white and other students. Data on English learners and students with IEPs were not available in the records we reviewed.
On the California state assessments, proficiency rates at Perry are below the midpoint compared to districts in San Diego County, which is the comparison set available here. In English language arts, fewer than half of students at each tested grade reached the proficient mark, and results decline from third through fifth grade. Math follows a similar pattern, with third graders performing somewhat better than their older peers, but fourth and fifth grade proficiency rates falling noticeably lower. Science, tested at fifth grade through the California Science Test, came in lower still. These are not outliers for high-poverty urban schools, but they are real gaps a parent should weigh. The school had only one year of data available, so trend direction cannot be determined from what we have. A parent wanting to understand whether performance is improving, holding, or declining would need to ask the school directly.
Because Perry serves only elementary grades, it has no graduation rate, which is expected. AP coursework and dual-enrollment pathways also do not apply here.
The district context is worth knowing. San Diego Unified overhauled its secondary grading system, publicly moving toward standards-based grading at the middle and high school level, separating academic grades from behaviors like late work, and giving students chances to revise and reassess. This does not directly affect Perry students now, but families planning to stay in the district through high school will encounter it later. The district also added an ethnic studies course as a graduation requirement, beginning with a recent graduating class, well ahead of the statewide timeline. A major bond measure was approved by voters a few years ago, authorizing a substantial facilities investment covering repairs, renovations, security upgrades, and classroom technology across district schools; it extends an existing property-tax rate rather than raising it, but it is a long-term financial commitment that property owners in the area carry.
On housing, the zip code where Perry sits is priced well below what buyers encounter in the city's coastal neighborhoods, though home values here still sit above the national median and roughly in line with or just below the California state benchmark, depending on recent movement. Values have edged slightly downward year over year in this zip. Rents are high relative to income by standard affordability measures, with rent consuming a very large share of a typical household's earnings, a pattern consistent with the broader San Diego market. The gap between renting and buying is wide, with ownership carrying a monthly cost far above the rental equivalent.
The locale brief for San Diego returned no usable material from our research, so we left out neighborhood-specific detail about Perry's immediate surroundings rather than guess at it. Families considering this school would benefit from a site visit and a conversation with the principal about what support systems exist for students who are below grade level, since the assessment picture suggests a meaningful share of the student body is in that position.
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