Lowell Elementary, San Jose CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Lowell Elementary

Lowell Elementary is a small kindergarten-through-fifth-grade school in south San Jose, located at South Seventh and the 95112 zip code, serving a densely Hispanic, economically disadvantaged student population in a neighborhood near downtown. The school enrolls a mixed group across its grades, with the largest cohort in kindergarten and slightly smaller upper elementary classes.

The student body is overwhelmingly Hispanic, with a substantial share qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. English learner enrollment and special education data were not available. The school draws from a neighborhood where median housing values are elevated and rents are climbing, though affordability remains strained; the gap between rent and mortgage is substantial. San Jose's economy is dominated by technology and manufacturing employment, centered around major employers like Cisco Systems, Apple, Google, and Intel, though the broader economic context includes retail and healthcare as well.

On California state assessments, Lowell's results are weak across tested grades and subjects. In English language arts, proficiency ranges from very low in grade three to modest in grade five, with an overall rate well below the midpoint. Math proficiency is lower still, with grade three and five showing near-zero proficiency and grade four only slightly above one percent. Fifth-grade science proficiency is also very low. The school's overall proficiency index sits in the bottom quartile relative to districts in Santa Clara County. Only one year of assessment data is available, so trend information cannot be drawn.

This is a challenging academic environment that a parent would want to investigate further with the school directly. A visitor should ask about specific interventions, curriculum supports, and literacy and numeracy strategies in place. The school may serve a population with significant socioeconomic barriers, recent immigration, or high mobility, all of which affect test performance; those family circumstances are worth understanding directly from school staff.

An important caveat applies: On March 26, 2026, the San Jose Unified school board voted to close Lowell Elementary effective the 2026-27 school year as part of a district-wide consolidation driven by enrollment decline over recent years. Students will be reassigned to other campuses and attendance boundaries redrawn. For families considering a move to this neighborhood, the closure is a defining factor. The district approved Measure R in November 2024, a substantial facilities bond raising property taxes for building renovations and staff housing over roughly thirty years, a long-term obligation relevant to homebuyers in the district.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 30%

School 0% · District 48% · ▼ 48 pts below district

▼ 43 pts below state median · ▼ 57 pts below county median

Grade 411%

School 11% · District 46% · ▼ 34 pts below district

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 42 pts below county median

Grade 54%

School 4% · District 42% · ▼ 37 pts below district

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 43 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 33%

School 3% · District 44% · ▼ 42 pts below district

▼ 38 pts below state median · ▼ 50 pts below county median

Grade 411%

School 11% · District 47% · ▼ 35 pts below district

▼ 31 pts below state median · ▼ 44 pts below county median

Grade 520%

School 20% · District 52% · ▼ 33 pts below district

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 38 pts below county median

Science

Grade 59%

School 9% · District 38% · ▼ 30 pts below district

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

This schoolSan Jose 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.