Frank Zeek Elementary, Ukiah CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Frank Zeek Elementary

Frank Zeek Elementary serves about a third of its students in a community-rooted setting. Located on North Bush Street in Ukiah, the school sits within a town of mixed residential, commercial, and civic uses that serves as Mendocino County's seat and center. Ukiah itself is anchored by county government, healthcare, education, and wine-country agriculture, with a walkable downtown along State Street featuring historic brick buildings, shops, galleries, and a year-round farmers market. The town has been pursuing infill housing and accessibility improvements including a multi-use trail and Complete Streets priorities.

Frank Zeek's enrollment is small for its grade band, spanning kindergarten through sixth grade. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting economic characteristics of the households the school draws from. The student body is predominantly Latino, with a meaningful share of white students and smaller numbers across other racial and ethnic groups. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available.

On state assessments, Frank Zeek's results show uneven performance by subject and grade. In English language arts, proficiency across tested grades averages just under three-fifths, with a dip to around half of students proficient in third grade, climbing to around seven-tenths in fifth grade. Math proficiency is lower, averaging just under half, with results in the mid-40s across grades three through five. Science proficiency, tested only in fifth grade, is around four-tenths. When proficiency rates are averaged across all tested subjects and grades, the school sits in the top quartile relative to other districts in Mendocino County, a positioning that reflects above-median performance within its local peer set. Only current-year data was available, so trend comparisons cannot be made.

The school is part of Ukiah Unified, a district serving students from preschool through adult education. In March 2020, voters approved Measure A, a voter-backed bond funded through property taxes that has been driving facility upgrades across the district, including roof and mechanical system replacements, classroom modernization, and expansions to career and technical education spaces. At the high school level, this has included construction of an all-weather sports field with stadium lighting. These investments continue to roll out, so families in the district are experiencing direct facilities improvements.

Housing in the Ukiah zip code is moderately valued compared to statewide benchmarks. Rental costs remain moderate but have climbed year over year. The area's growth model emphasizes smaller-scale infill housing and missing-middle options rather than sprawl, with recent state recognition for pro-housing policies. Developments like Orr Creek Commons, completed in recent years, have added supply of units for low-income and special-needs households.

A parent considering Frank Zeek would encounter a school whose academic performance sits above its local peer group but whose proficiency rates, particularly in math, are below the midline. Whether this is the right fit depends partly on what instructional support and curriculum the school has in place to address the gaps, information not provided in the available data. The school serves a predominantly low-income, majority-Latino enrollment in a walkable town with accessible civic anchors and ongoing public investment in schools, a context that shapes both peer environment and community resources.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 357%

School 57% · District 31% · ▲ 27 pts above district

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▲ 26 pts above county median

Grade 445%

School 45% · District 28% · ▲ 17 pts above district

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

Grade 544%

School 44% · District 26% · ▲ 19 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 350%

School 50% · District 30% · ▲ 21 pts above district

▲ 9 pts above state median · ▲ 26 pts above county median

Grade 460%

School 60% · District 31% · ▲ 29 pts above district

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 36 pts above county median

Grade 570%

School 70% · District 38% · ▲ 32 pts above district

▲ 24 pts above state median · ▲ 42 pts above county median

Science

Grade 544%

School 44% · District 22% · ▲ 22 pts above district

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 27 pts above county median

This schoolUkiah 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 4Lower-income54%Higher-income75%21 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income68%Higher-income73%5 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 4Lower-income35%Higher-income69%34 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income44%Higher-income47%3 pp gap