Selma Olinder Elementary, San Jose CA

Original Research by School Decision on Selma Olinder Elementary

Selma Olinder Elementary is a small elementary school in San Jose serving kindergarten through fifth grade, located in an area with significant economic challenge. A majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the student body is overwhelmingly Hispanic. The school draws from the immediate neighborhood on the city's east side.

On California state assessments administered in 2024-25, Selma Olinder's proficiency rates are well below grade level. In English language arts across tested grades, the school shows proficiency ranging from very low in fourth grade to modest in fifth grade. Mathematics proficiency similarly spans a wide range by grade, with fifth-grade performance the weakest. In science, fifth-grade proficiency is also low. Across all tested subjects and grades, Selma Olinder's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile relative to schools across Santa Clara County's districts. A parent may want to look into these results further with the school to understand what instructional supports and interventions are underway and what the school's trajectory has been over time; only one year of data is available here, so prior-year comparison is not possible.

The school is small for its grade band, with an enrollment distributed fairly evenly across kindergarten through fifth grade. Demographic data on English learners and students with individualized education programs are not available from the sources consulted. The neighborhood is in an area of dense, older, lower-income residential development typical of inner San Jose.

San Jose itself is a major urban center dominated by technology employment, with downtown undergoing significant residential expansion and investment. The broader district, San Jose Unified, is managing sustained enrollment decline; in March 2026 the board voted to close five elementary schools effective 2026-27, though Selma Olinder was not among those targeted. The district also passed a major facilities bond in November 2024 that will fund building renovations and classroom upgrades across the system, raising local property taxes on a long-term basis. Housing costs in the area are high relative to regional and national benchmarks, and rents have continued to climb year over year, reflecting the city's position in Silicon Valley.

Selma Olinder serves a neighborhood and student population that will benefit from the district's capital investments and any instructional improvements those enable. The test results, however, signal that the school faces genuine academic challenge, and prospective families should engage directly with staff about the school's plans for strengthening instruction and its current baseline, rather than rely on single-year snapshots alone.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 326%

School 26% · District 48% · ▼ 22 pts below district

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

Grade 422%

School 22% · District 46% · ▼ 23 pts below district

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

Grade 514%

School 14% · District 42% · ▼ 27 pts below district

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 33 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 322%

School 22% · District 44% · ▼ 22 pts below district

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

Grade 44%

School 4% · District 47% · ▼ 43 pts below district

▼ 38 pts below state median · ▼ 51 pts below county median

Grade 528%

School 28% · District 52% · ▼ 24 pts below district

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 29 pts below county median

Science

Grade 519%

School 19% · District 38% · ▼ 19 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 24 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.