Taft Elementary, Stockton CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Taft Elementary

Taft Elementary serves kindergarten through eighth grade in Stockton, a large inland city in California's San Joaquin Valley. The school enrolls a small-to-moderate student body across its grade band, with a student population that is predominantly Hispanic, and a substantial share of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. The school draws from an economically constrained neighborhood; homes in the surrounding area are notably more affordable than the state average, and rent is moderately priced relative to local incomes.

State test results show persistent academic challenges across both English language arts and mathematics. In ELA, proficiency rates range from low levels in third grade up to the mid-range by seventh grade, then decline again in eighth. Math proficiency is weaker across nearly all tested grades, with the lowest results appearing in eighth grade. Science proficiency, where tested, is similarly low. In the comparison set of San Joaquin County districts, Taft's overall proficiency index sits in the bottom quartile, a placement that reflects the breadth of the academic gap.

Within Stockton Unified, the district has recently adopted a structured literacy program called SIPPS focused on phonological awareness and phonics in early grades, and district leadership credits this with gains in early reading. However, Taft's own ELA proficiency data for third and fourth grade suggest the school remains in the early stages of seeing such gains reflected at scale. The district also enacted a cell phone use policy beginning in the 2025-26 school year and adopted a multi-year Local Control Accountability Plan with explicit equity goals, including support for students with disabilities and conditions for Black students to thrive.

Taft faces real headwinds in academic performance that a parent would want to explore directly with the school. The consistently low proficiency rates, particularly in math and across upper grades, suggest students are not meeting state standards at rates the school and district would likely aim for. A parent considering Taft should ask the school what interventions are in place for struggling readers and mathematicians, how the school is implementing the district's literacy work, and what progress they have seen. The school's setting and student composition are straightforward facts: it is a neighborhood elementary school serving a predominantly Hispanic student body from economically modest households. Whether that aligns with your family's needs and values is for you to weigh.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 320%

School 20% · District 27% · ▼ 7 pts below district

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

Grade 429%

School 29% · District 21% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 517%

School 17% · District 14% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 616%

School 16% · District 17% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 726%

School 26% · District 19% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 810%

School 10% · District 19% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 312%

School 12% · District 24% · ▼ 12 pts below district

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

Grade 425%

School 25% · District 24% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Grade 526%

School 26% · District 25% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Grade 629%

School 29% · District 28% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Grade 740%

School 40% · District 31% · ▲ 8 pts above district

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

Grade 827%

School 27% · District 34% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Science

Grade 515%

School 15% · District 15%

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 812%

School 12% · District 15% · ▼ 3 pts below district

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

Social studies

Grade 89%

School 9% · District 23% · ▼ 14 pts below district

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

This schoolStockton 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.