Jefferson Elementary, Sanger CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Jefferson Elementary

Jefferson Elementary serves kindergarten through sixth grade in Sanger, a small agricultural community in the Central Valley about sixteen miles east of Fresno. The school sits at 1110 Tucker Street and enrolls a school population of roughly five hundred students, most of whom come from families experiencing economic hardship. Nearly nine in ten students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The student body is predominantly Hispanic/Latino, with small numbers of Asian, white, and other students.

Academic proficiency at Jefferson shows uneven performance across grades and subjects. In English language arts, the school's proficiency ranges from about seven in ten in third grade down to about one in three in both fifth and sixth grades. Mathematics performance is notably lower, ranging from about two in three in third grade but dropping sharply to about two in five in fourth grade, one in five in fifth grade, and about one in three in sixth grade. Science proficiency in fifth grade was particularly low. When proficiency rates are averaged across all tested grades and subjects, Jefferson sits in the top quartile among the county's districts on this combined index, a positioning that reflects relatively stronger early-grade literacy outcomes even as the school's overall numbers remain below what many families would consider secure performance.

The sharp drop in proficiency between grade three and the upper elementary grades is the school's most visible pattern. A parent may want to look into this further with the school and understand what instructional shifts occur around fourth grade and what support systems exist for students in the later elementary years. The state testing data provided covers only the most recent year, so trends over time are not available to assess whether this gap is new or persistent.

Sanger itself is developing rapidly, with new housing subdivisions and apartment complexes appearing on the west side along the State Route corridor out of Fresno. The median home value in the area is moderate for California, and rents are modest, though housing remains an expense for most households. The town retains a historic downtown core with a public library branch, parks, and local restaurants alongside newer retail development farther out. Employment is rooted in agriculture, food manufacturing, logistics, and healthcare; the school district is also a significant employer. Most residents commute by car, many working in Fresno or other nearby communities.

Jefferson is one of twenty schools in Sanger Unified. District-level recent changes or strategic priorities were not clearly documented in available sources, so a prospective parent should connect directly with the district office for a fuller picture of instructional direction, any ongoing literacy or mathematics initiatives, and school-specific support offerings.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 365%

School 65% · District 60% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 25 pts above county median

Grade 443%

School 43% · District 45% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 520%

School 20% · District 35% · ▼ 15 pts below district

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

Grade 633%

School 33% · District 44% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 371%

School 71% · District 57% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▲ 30 pts above state median · ▲ 32 pts above county median

Grade 446%

School 46% · District 49% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 539%

School 39% · District 49% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 633%

School 33% · District 52% · ▼ 19 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 514%

School 14% · District 30% · ▼ 16 pts below district

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

This schoolSanger 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-income70%Higher-income73%2 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income69%Higher-income46%23 pp gap