Santa Clarita Elementary, Saugus CA

Original Research by School Decision on Santa Clarita Elementary

Santa Clarita Elementary serves students in grades two through six in Saugus, a community within the Santa Clarita Valley. The school enrolls a modest population of students, with a racial and ethnic composition that is predominantly Hispanic, followed by white, Asian, and Black students. Nearly half the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. English learner and special education enrollment data were not available.

In state testing, the school's performance is mixed. Third-grade proficiency in English language arts runs at a solid midpoint, though math proficiency in the same grade is notably stronger. By fourth grade, both subjects show a sharp decline, with math proficiency dropping to a lower level. Fifth grade shows more ground lost in math, while English language arts holds more stable. Sixth-grade students improve again in both subjects, with English language arts particularly strong and math recovering to roughly half the cohort meeting proficiency. Science proficiency in fifth grade is the weakest of the tested subjects, with only a modest share of students meeting standards. Overall, the school's proficiency across tested grades and subjects sits above the midpoint among the schools in Los Angeles County districts where comparable testing data exists.

The Santa Clarita Valley economy centers on aerospace and defense, medical devices and biotech, advanced manufacturing, and entertainment. Housing values in the zip code are substantially above the state median, and monthly mortgage costs and rent-to-income ratios both exceed affordable ranges for a median household. This reflects the broader Saugus market context: a community with higher cost of living where families typically need higher incomes or will spend a large share of earnings on housing.

The district context has shifted recently. A school facilities bond failed at the ballot in the district, leaving proposed modernization and seismic upgrades unfunded, though property owners also avoided a new levy. More directly relevant to classroom instruction, the district's Local Control and Accountability Plan signals a sustained pivot toward foundational literacy and mathematics as core priorities, with increased professional development in reading, writing integration, and literacy, alongside changes to staffing in enrichment roles. A parent may want to look into how this instructional shift is playing out at the building level and whether it aligns with their child's needs.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 365%

School 65% · District 70% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

Grade 439%

School 39% · District 65% · ▼ 27 pts below district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 535%

School 35% · District 59% · ▼ 23 pts below district

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

Grade 650%

School 50% · District 64% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▲ 20 pts above state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 357%

School 57% · District 65% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

Grade 450%

School 50% · District 67% · ▼ 17 pts below district

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

Grade 560%

School 60% · District 69% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Grade 664%

School 64% · District 75% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

Science

Grade 538%

School 38% · District 56% · ▼ 19 pts below district

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

This schoolSaugus Union, 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 4Lower-income28%Higher-income83%56 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income42%Higher-income78%36 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income52%Higher-income77%25 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 4Lower-income16%Higher-income75%59 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income16%Higher-income56%40 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income52%Higher-income48%4 pp gap