Oak Grove Elementary, Visalia CA

Original Research by School Decision on Oak Grove Elementary

Oak Grove Elementary sits on West Ferguson Avenue in Visalia, serving students from kindergarten through eighth grade within Visalia Unified School District. The school is a regular public school, not a charter, and its K-8 span is relatively uncommon, meaning students stay on a single campus through the end of middle school rather than transitioning to a separate building.

Academic performance on the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress tells a clear story: Oak Grove posts strong results. Across English language arts, proficiency rates by grade run solidly above the majority of districts in Tulare County, and the school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile relative to the districts in Tulare County, a comparison set that includes more than four dozen districts. ELA tends to be a particular strength, with seventh graders showing the highest proficiency among tested grades and fifth grade not far behind. Math results are also healthy, with fourth and fifth grade standing out as the strongest points and third and eighth showing somewhat lower, though still respectable, rates. Science, tested in fifth and eighth grade under the California Science Test, falls slightly below the math and ELA averages but remains above what many schools in the region report. Multi-year trend data was available for only the most recent year, so it is not possible to characterize whether these results have been rising, falling, or holding steady.

The student body is moderately sized for a K-8 school. Hispanic and white students each make up substantial shares of enrollment, with Asian students and students of two or more races also present in meaningful numbers. Roughly a third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a relatively modest economic disadvantage rate for the Central Valley. Data on English learners and students with individualized education programs was not reported in the available data, so families with children who receive those services may want to ask the school directly about staffing, caseloads, and program continuity.

Visalia Unified has made two curriculum changes that directly affect Oak Grove families. The district rolled out a board-adopted phonics program in grades K through 2 after finding that explicit phonics instruction had been inconsistent, with a publicly stated goal of reading by third grade. And middle school Math 1 now counts toward high school credit, giving Oak Grove's upper-grade students a pathway to access more advanced math in high school and an easier route to meeting UC and CSU admissions requirements. Those are meaningful structural shifts worth understanding for families choosing between schools.

At the district level, the long-discussed fifth comprehensive high school remains on hold due to cost and the loss of anticipated state funding after a statewide bond measure failed. Existing high schools in Visalia are publicly reported to be over capacity, and attendance-boundary changes have been the district's substitute approach. Families choosing a home near Oak Grove should know their eventual high school assignment may reflect those boundary decisions.

The surrounding housing market sits well below California's statewide median home value and modestly above the national figure, making the west Visalia area more accessible than much of the state. Rents have changed only slightly year over year. Visalia itself is growing quickly, with a notable jump in new home permits over the past year and several large master-planned neighborhoods taking shape, particularly to the north. The city's economic base spans healthcare anchored by Kaweah Health, food processing and dairy through employers like California Dairies and Ruiz Foods, and a significant industrial park off Highway 99. Downtown Visalia has a walkable core with a library, restaurants, and civic institutions, though the broader city, including the area around Oak Grove, is primarily suburban and car-dependent.

Discipline rates, chronic absenteeism, and staffing data were not available in the provided data and would be worth asking the school about directly.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 358%

School 58% · District 41% · ▲ 17 pts above district

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

Grade 473%

School 73% · District 35% · ▲ 38 pts above district

▲ 36 pts above state median · ▲ 43 pts above county median

Grade 571%

School 71% · District 29% · ▲ 42 pts above district

▲ 41 pts above state median · ▲ 48 pts above county median

Grade 661%

School 61% · District 33% · ▲ 29 pts above district

▲ 31 pts above state median · ▲ 38 pts above county median

Grade 765%

School 65% · District 28% · ▲ 37 pts above district

▲ 34 pts above state median · ▲ 40 pts above county median

Grade 860%

School 60% · District 22% · ▲ 38 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 367%

School 67% · District 44% · ▲ 23 pts above district

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

Grade 469%

School 69% · District 42% · ▲ 27 pts above district

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 34 pts above county median

Grade 576%

School 76% · District 45% · ▲ 32 pts above district

▲ 31 pts above state median · ▲ 41 pts above county median

Grade 671%

School 71% · District 46% · ▲ 25 pts above district

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 34 pts above county median

Grade 781%

School 81% · District 44% · ▲ 37 pts above district

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

Grade 871%

School 71% · District 43% · ▲ 29 pts above district

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 31 pts above county median

Science

Grade 555%

School 55% · District 28% · ▲ 27 pts above district

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

Grade 864%

School 64% · District 25% · ▲ 39 pts above district

▲ 38 pts above state median · ▲ 44 pts above county median

This schoolVisalia 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-income40%Higher-income82%42 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income71%Higher-income68%3 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income68%Higher-income81%13 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income54%Higher-income77%23 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income72%Higher-income87%15 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income67%Higher-income74%7 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income26%Higher-income77%51 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income65%Higher-income77%13 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income60%Higher-income77%17 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income30%Higher-income74%45 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income44%Higher-income78%34 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income50%Higher-income65%15 pp gap