The top reported proficiency rate is 20% in English language arts. The lowest is 10% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Cesar E Chavez Elementary
Cesar E Chavez Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade in the Salem-Keizer School District, Oregon’s second-largest school system. The school is located on Walker Road NE in Salem, in a residential section of the state capital. Salem itself is a city of state government, food processing, and a public university campus, sitting in the middle of the Willamette Valley. The district has been navigating budget pressures in recent years, closing several elementary schools to address shortfalls, while also passing a substantial construction bond in 2022 for safety and classroom upgrades across all its schools. In 2025, the school board approved a new strategic plan emphasizing academic excellence, belonging, and workforce readiness.
The school’s enrollment is moderate for an elementary school in this district, with roughly balanced class sizes across the kindergarten through fifth-grade span. The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with smaller shares of white students, Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students, and those identifying with two or more races. A substantial majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a measure that indicates the school serves a high-poverty population.
State testing results from the 2024-2025 school year show proficiency rates that are below statewide averages across all subjects and grade levels tested. In English language arts, the share of students meeting the state bar was modest, with the strongest performance in fifth grade. In math, proficiency rates were very low across third, fourth, and fifth grades. Fifth-grade science results also showed a very low rate. Overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places this school in the bottom quartile relative to districts in Marion County. A parent considering this school will want to ask the principal and teachers directly about the specific strategies being used to raise academic achievement and how the school supports students who are behind grade level.
The data does not include information on the school’s English learner or special education populations, chronic absenteeism, or staffing levels, so a fuller picture of student support and daily operations would require a conversation with the school. Because Chavez Elementary serves only kindergarten through fifth grade, there is no graduation rate to report; a parent looking ahead to high school would be planning for the broader Salem-Keizer secondary options.
Housing in the area around the school, based on the ZIP code data, is priced at a level close to the national typical home value, while rents are somewhat below the national benchmark. This suggests that for families moving into Salem, the neighborhood around Chavez Elementary is relatively attainable compared to other parts of the city or the state as a whole. The district’s property tax increase from the 2022 bond is a lasting cost a buying family would factor into their budget.
Cesar E Chavez Elementary is a regular public school in a large, urban district that is managing both facility investments and budget reductions. The student body is diverse and economically disadvantaged, and the academic results on state assessments are a point where the school has clear room for growth. Families who value a neighborhood school with a high level of need and a district that is publicly working on improvement plans will want to learn more about the school’s classroom supports and early literacy initiatives.
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