Shandon Elementary, Shandon CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Shandon Elementary

Shandon Elementary is a small public school serving kindergarten through eighth grade in a rural community in San Luis Obispo County. The school enrolls students from a working-family population; nearly seventy percent of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the student body is predominantly Hispanic, with smaller populations of white and Black students. The school sits in a town of modest size whose residential base has been stable to slightly declining, with most housing stock built between the nineteen-seventies and early two-thousands. County planning now guides modest future growth through accessory dwelling units and modest infill rather than large development.

State test results from the most recent school year show proficiency rates well below state norms across the tested grades and subjects. In mathematics, grade four stands somewhat apart at just above a midpoint rate; grades three through eight cluster in the low-to-mid range, with fifth, seventh, and eighth grades particularly low. English language arts results are similarly distributed, though grade six reaches just over half and grades three and eight approach forty percent. Science proficiency in the two tested grades (five and eight) sits around a quarter of students. Overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places the school in the bottom quartile among the county's districts.

The school's academic environment reflects the needs of its student population. Data on English learner enrollment and special education identification were not available, but the high free-lunch rate and the demographic composition suggest a population with varied academic needs and home language backgrounds. The school's testing pattern shows unevenness across grades; a parent may want to ask the school directly about how instruction addresses literacy, numeracy, and science foundations across the elementary and middle years, and whether specific grades or grade transitions show particular support or challenge.

The district passed a general obligation bond in November 2020 to fund septic system upgrades, safety and technology improvements, and additional classrooms. The bond is being repaid through a property tax levy that will remain in place through the end of this decade. Families moving into the district as homeowners would assume this ongoing property tax obligation as part of their assessed-value levy.

The school's small, tight-knit community and its position within a stable rural area create a particular setting. There is no indication of planned rapid enrollment growth or large new housing developments nearby. The school serves students whose family circumstances often include lower household income and the language and educational diversity that characterizes rural agricultural and working-class communities. For a family considering Shandon, the school's chief academic lift lies in mathematics and literacy at the elementary and middle grades. The low proficiency rates and the uneven distribution across grades warrant direct conversation with the school about intervention strategies, instructional approach, and support structures in place.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 339%

School 39% · District 36% · ▲ 3 pts above district

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

Grade 462%

School 62% · District 59% · ▲ 3 pts above district

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

Grade 513%

School 13% · District 13%

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 27 pts below county median

Grade 622%

School 22% · District 26% · ▼ 4 pts below district

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

Grade 715%

School 15% · District 15%

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

Grade 813%

School 13% · District 13%

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

English language arts

Grade 333%

School 33% · District 31% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

Grade 415%

School 15% · District 24% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

Grade 536%

School 36% · District 36%

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

Grade 653%

School 53% · District 55% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

Grade 725%

School 25% · District 25%

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

Grade 840%

School 40% · District 40%

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

Science

Grade 527%

School 27% · District 27%

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

Grade 827%

School 27% · District 27%

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Social studies

Grade 886%

School 86% · District 86%

▲ 37 pts above state median · ▲ 29 pts above county median

This schoolShandon Joint 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.