Visitacion Valley Elementary, San Francisco CA

Original Research by School Decision on Visitacion Valley Elementary

Visitacion Valley Elementary sits in a southern San Francisco neighborhood that reads as residential and more suburban in character than much of the city, with single-family homes and a quieter street life than the downtown core or central neighborhoods. The school itself is small, serving kindergarten through fifth grade, and enrolls a student body that is roughly half Asian, about a quarter Hispanic, and with smaller shares of Black, Pacific Islander, and multiracial students. About four out of five students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, placing the school in a community where economic need is substantial.

On state assessments, Visitacion Valley's proficiency rates are low across the board. In English language arts, third-graders showed proficiency around a quarter of students, fourth-graders around a quarter, and fifth-graders about half. Math proficiency ran lower still, with third through fifth graders ranging from about a quarter to just under three in ten reaching proficiency levels. Science results for fifth grade, the only grade tested, showed proficiency near one in five. These figures position the school well below the midpoint of proficiency when compared against other districts in San Francisco County. The school has only one year of data available, so trend information is limited; a parent may want to ask the school about recent efforts to strengthen student performance and what supports are in place for struggling learners.

The broader San Francisco context matters for understanding what housing and neighborhood fit look like. The city is highly walkable with strong transit access via Muni and BART, and it has become expensive; housing values are very high and monthly rents are substantial, with affordability a real constraint for working families. Growth is underway with a state housing mandate driving new development, particularly in southern and western neighborhoods. Visitacion Valley itself is positioned as a residential pocket with more space and less density than many city neighborhoods, which appeals to families seeking quieter surroundings.

San Francisco Unified School District is the operator, a large urban district serving the city. No recent major policy or structural shifts could be identified in the data provided, though the district brief notes that strategic information proved limited.

For a family considering this school, the primary question is academic support. The low proficiency rates suggest students are not yet meeting state standards in reading, writing, and math. This is not uncommon in schools serving high concentrations of students from lower-income backgrounds, but it means the school's instructional approach and the specifics of how it targets skill gaps warrant direct conversation with school leadership. Understanding what professional development teachers receive, how the school uses assessment data to adjust teaching, and what supplemental or small-group instruction is available will help a parent assess whether the environment will meet their child's learning needs. The school's small size and neighborhood character are straightforward descriptors; whether that setup is a fit depends on family preference for school size and community feel.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 325%

School 25% · District 52% · ▼ 27 pts below district

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Grade 424%

School 24% · District 49% · ▼ 25 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Grade 528%

School 28% · District 46% · ▼ 18 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 324%

School 24% · District 47% · ▼ 23 pts below district

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Grade 428%

School 28% · District 51% · ▼ 23 pts below district

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

Grade 547%

School 47% · District 55% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 519%

School 19% · District 42% · ▼ 23 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

This schoolSan Francisco 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-income24%Higher-income23%1 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income27%Higher-income17%10 pp gap