Aromas, Aromas CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Aromas

Aromas is a K-8 school in a small, rural unincorporated community straddling Monterey and San Benito counties. The school serves about a hundred and twenty grade students across nine grades, with a student body that is predominantly Hispanic and economically disadvantaged; about half the enrollment qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. The community itself has a close-knit, agricultural character, with ranches, horses, and artistic residents forming part of local life. Most families work outside Aromas, in nearby cities like Salinas, Watsonville, or Gilroy, or have shifted to remote work in professional fields.

Academically, the school's test results show areas of real concern. In English language arts across all grades, proficiency stands in the mid-range, with sixth and seventh graders performing relatively better, while third through fifth graders have proficiency rates substantially below half. Math proficiency is weaker across the board, clustering in the low-to-mid range, with fifth grade particularly low. Science results, available for grades five and eight, show fifth grade well below proficiency and eighth grade closer to mid-range. The school appears to be positioned above the midpoint among Monterey County's districts on an overall proficiency index, but that reflects a comparison to a group that includes some very low-performing schools; the reality is that most students at Aromas are not meeting California standards in core subjects. Reading the proficiency rates, a parent should look closely at what kind of support and intervention the school is providing for students who are not yet on grade level, particularly in the elementary grades where gaps can widen.

No data on chronic absenteeism, graduation rate, or other outcome metrics were reported for the school. The school does not serve high school grades, so those metrics do not apply.

The school's district, Aromas-San Juan Unified, has been actively reshaping its physical and instructional environment. In late 2024, voters approved a significant school facilities bond that will fund classroom renovation, modernization, and new construction, along with expanded offerings in coding, robotics, and engineering. This bond raises property taxes for about a generation and is layered on top of prior bond obligations. The bond reflects the district's commitment to physical plant and 21st-century skills programming. In parallel, the district has partnered with educational designers to move away from traditional rows of desks toward flexible, adaptable learning spaces and makerspaces, signaling a deliberate shift toward hands-on, adaptable instruction. The neighboring San Juan School, which feeds into Anzar High in San Juan Bautista, is undergoing full reconstruction with earthquake-safe modular buildings and a library-makerspace, so the district is not standing still.

For a family considering Aromas, the main trade-offs are clear. The setting is genuinely rural, close-knit, and residential, with a quiet pace and strong community institutions like the volunteer-run sports park and library. Housing is custom and spacious rather than dense, and the school is embedded in town life. But academic proficiency is below state norms, particularly in the elementary grades and in math, and a parent would want to understand what the school's strategy is for accelerating learning in those areas and whether the family's own support and tutoring capacity at home would fill the gap. The district's recent investments in facilities and flexible learning spaces may help shift outcomes over time, but that is not yet visible in the data.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 344%

School 44% · District 33% · ▲ 11 pts above district

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

Grade 438%

School 38% · District 33% · ▲ 6 pts above district

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

Grade 520%

School 20% · District 17% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▼ 10 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 640%

School 40% · District 28% · ▲ 12 pts above district

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

Grade 737%

School 37% · District 26% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

Grade 845%

School 45% · District 39% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 23 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 332%

School 32% · District 23% · ▲ 9 pts above district

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

Grade 435%

School 35% · District 32% · ▲ 3 pts above district

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

Grade 528%

School 28% · District 29% · ▼ 1 pts below district

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

Grade 645%

School 45% · District 47% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

Grade 754%

School 54% · District 37% · ▲ 17 pts above district

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

Grade 860%

School 60% · District 53% · ▲ 7 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 519%

School 19% · District 22% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 10 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 838%

School 38% · District 34% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 826%

School 26% · District 53% · ▼ 27 pts below district

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

This schoolAromas - San Juan 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-income11%Higher-income71%60 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income30%Higher-income40%10 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income21%Higher-income36%15 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income38%Higher-income56%19 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income41%Higher-income77%36 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income48%Higher-income74%26 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income30%Higher-income71%42 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income27%Higher-income52%25 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income10%Higher-income32%22 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income33%Higher-income50%17 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income32%Higher-income46%14 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income24%Higher-income68%45 pp gap