Knolls Elementary, Simi Valley CA

Original Research by School Decision on Knolls Elementary

Knolls Elementary is a kindergarten through sixth-grade school in Simi Valley serving a small enrollment. The student body is nearly evenly split between Hispanic and white students, with a modest share of Asian and multiracial students. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting economic diversity in the school's community.

Academic performance in tested grades shows consistent weakness across subjects. In math, proficiency in third grade reaches the low end; by fourth and fifth grades it declines further. In English language arts, third and fourth grades show low proficiency; fifth grade improves but remains below typical benchmarks. Science proficiency in fifth grade is similarly low. Across all tested subjects and grades, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile relative to other schools serving elementary grades in Ventura County. The school has only one year of state assessment data, so it is not yet possible to discern whether performance is stable, improving, or declining.

The teaching challenge appears substantial. The patterns across math, ELA, and science—with younger tested grades showing some response in ELA but consistent weakness in math, and continued struggle in the upper grades—suggest students may be arriving with foundational gaps that are not being closed at the rate needed to reach proficiency standards. A parent considering the school may want to look into what instructional supports, intervention programs, and remedial pathways the school has in place, and how they are being applied to students below proficiency.

Simi Valley itself is a mature suburban community functioning primarily as a bedroom community for Los Angeles County employment. Housing costs are moderate for the region, with both ownership and rental markets active. The city has limited vacant land and population has been essentially flat in recent years; future growth is expected to come through infill and higher-density housing rather than new subdivisions. A Civic Center consolidates municipal services including the library and transit depot. Parks, trails, and the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library serve recreational and cultural life, though the city itself lacks a walkable downtown; that is an explicit planning goal for the next several years.

At the district level, a significant structural change took effect this year: sixth graders now move to middle school campuses rather than remaining in elementary schools. Families with younger children should anticipate this transition. The district has also launched a new Dual Language Immersion program in Spanish and English at Arroyo Elementary, starting in TK and kindergarten and expanding by grade; this pathway feeds into a designated middle and high school cohort. The district is pursuing a new facilities bond for the November 2026 ballot, which would add to existing bond obligations, a factor to consider when evaluating property tax exposure.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 321%

School 21% · District 51% · ▼ 30 pts below district

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

Grade 411%

School 11% · District 48% · ▼ 37 pts below district

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

Grade 512%

School 12% · District 37% · ▼ 25 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 330%

School 30% · District 48% · ▼ 18 pts below district

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

Grade 437%

School 37% · District 50% · ▼ 14 pts below district

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

Grade 544%

School 44% · District 55% · ▼ 11 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 520%

School 20% · District 38% · ▼ 18 pts below district

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

This schoolSimi Valley 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-income19%Higher-income50%31 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income29%Higher-income64%35 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income10%Higher-income42%32 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income7%Higher-income18%11 pp gap