Is Valley Springs Elementary a good school?

Valley Springs Elementary ranks 4283 rd of 5862 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

How many students attend Valley Springs Elementary?

In the 2023-24 school year, 397 students attended Valley Springs Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Valley Springs Elementary?

Students at Valley Springs Elementary are 58% White, 34% Hispanic, 5% Two or more races, 1% Asian.

What schools do graduates of Valley Springs Elementary attend?

Students who attend Valley Springs Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Toyon Middle High : Calaveras High

Valley Springs Elementary

Summary:

Valley Springs Elementary is a public elementary school in Valley Springs, California, serving 408 students in grades K-5 and part of the Calaveras Unified school district.

Valley Springs Elementary faces several key challenges. The school has seen a significant increase in chronic absenteeism rates, rising from 9.6% in 2018-2019 to 46.8% in 2022-2023, which is notably higher than nearby Mokelumne Hill Elementary and San Andreas Elementary, as well as the state average. Academically, Valley Springs Elementary consistently performs below the Calaveras Unified district and the state averages across all grade levels and subject areas, with only 25% of students proficient or better in ELA and Math in 2023-2024, compared to 47.04% and 35.54% statewide, respectively. The school also struggles to support its student subgroups, ranking in the bottom 10% of California schools for White students and the bottom 20% for students with disabilities in ELA and Math.

Over time, Valley Springs Elementary's statewide ranking has steadily declined, from a high of 2930 out of 5611 California elementary schools in 2014-2015 to 4283 out of 5862 in 2023-2024, suggesting the school is struggling to keep pace with academic performance improvements across the state. Additionally, the high percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 46.32% to 50.47% over the past three years, indicates the community faces significant socioeconomic challenges that may be impacting student learning and achievement.

Detail:

Public K-5

240 Pine St.
Valley Springs, CA 95252-0187

(209) 754-2141

District: Calaveras Unified

SchoolDigger Rank:
4283^rd of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $4,355

Students who attend Valley Springs Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Toyon Middle
High:	Calaveras High

Student/teacher ratio: 21.4

Number of students: 397

Racial breakdown:

White:

57.9%

Hispanic:

34.0%

Two or more races:

5.3%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 44.3%

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Performance Trends

Compare Details Valley Springs Elementary ranks worse than 73.1% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks 3^rd among 5 ranked elementary schools in the Calaveras Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 25.89. (See more...)

Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.

Student Body

Compare Details Racial makeup is: White (57.9%), Hispanic (34%), two or more races (5.3%). (See more...)

Compare Details 44.3% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Valley Springs Elementary is 21.4, which is the 2^nd best among 5 elementary schools in the Calaveras Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Valley Springs Elementary employs 18.5 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Valley Springs Elementary is $4,355, which is the lowest among 5 elementary schools in the Calaveras Unified School District!

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Valley Springs Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Valley Springs Elementary 4283^rd of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Valley Springs Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

White students:

Calaveras Unified:

SchoolDigger ranks Calaveras Unified 1208^th of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Valley Springs Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Valley Springs Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	51.52	2078^th	4809	56.8%
2005	58.74	1810^th	4822	62.5%
2006	58.05	1817^th	4818	62.3%
2007	57.66	1940^th	5113	62.1%
2008	49.97	2373^rd	5113	53.6%
2009	47.29	2651^st	5193	49.0%
2010	48.76	2636^th	5314	50.4%
2011	43.86	2959^th	5377	45.0%
2012	50.65	2575^th	5390	52.2%
2013	38.95	3389^th	5530	38.7%
2015	41.57	2930^th	5611	47.8%
2016	33.96	3481^st	5614	38.0%
2017	28.15	3985^th	5692	30.0%
2018	24.10	4315^th	5662	23.8%
2019	31.28	3833^rd	5789	33.8%
2021	22.25	1106^th	1417	21.9%
2022	29.38	3919^th	5883	33.4%
2023	29.50	3937^th	5874	33.0%
2024	25.89	4283^rd	5862	26.9%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Special Education students at Valley Springs Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	36.28	1374^th	2420	43.2%
2024	24.09	2159^th	2634	18.0%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Valley Springs Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	20.04	4486^th	5084	11.8%
2019	29.46	3887^th	5173	24.9%
2021	25.96	895^th	1110	19.4%
2022	15.41	4947^th	5264	6.0%
2023	20.33	4689^th	5374	12.7%
2024	27.68	4172^nd	5511	24.3%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Valley Springs Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	33.58	3510^th	5413	35.2%
2019	40.00	3101^st	5492	43.5%
2021	21.78	1000^th	1267	21.1%
2022	28.65	3868^th	5635	31.4%
2023	29.17	3840^th	5617	31.6%
2024	26.31	4119^th	5605	26.5%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Disabled students at Valley Springs Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2019	33.09	1622^nd	2585	37.3%
2022	22.87	1873^rd	2227	15.9%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for Male students at Valley Springs Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	17.46	4787^th	5431	11.9%
2019	27.04	4020^th	5510	27.0%
2021	24.86	945^th	1272	25.7%
2022	30.74	3728^th	5663	34.2%
2023	30.47	3740^th	5650	33.8%
2024	26.28	4145^th	5636	26.5%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Valley Springs Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	18.83	4323^rd	4830	10.5%
2019	19.53	4405^th	4963	11.2%
2022	31.46	3573^rd	5084	29.7%
2023	39.82	2918^th	5098	42.8%
2024	32.76	3517^th	5102	31.1%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Valley Springs Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	9.15	2558^th	2737	6.5%
2019	15.39	2498^th	2834	11.9%
2022	11.14	2500^th	2726	8.3%
2023	9.13	2497^th	2662	6.2%
2024	10.59	2432^nd	2647	8.1%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: California Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Data source: California Department of Education

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Enrollment information for Valley Springs Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	550	2	0	41	6	n/a	n/a	0	599
1989	645	2	3	61	7	n/a	n/a	0	718
1990	412	2	4	40	1	n/a	n/a	0	459
1991	395	9	3	78	5	n/a	n/a	0	490
1992	446	8	8	46	7	n/a	n/a	0	515
1993	352	5	4	61	3	n/a	n/a	0	425
1994	355	10	7	59	0	n/a	n/a	0	431
1995	355	8	6	49	0	n/a	n/a	0	418
1996	355	8	6	49	0	n/a	n/a	0	418
1997	359	10	8	48	0	n/a	n/a	0	425
1998	374	12	7	54	0	n/a	n/a	0	447
1999	389	10	8	55	0	n/a	n/a	0	462
2000	378	12	12	50	3	n/a	n/a	0	455
2001	363	10	6	46	3	n/a	n/a	0	428
2002	366	4	4	59	6	n/a	n/a	9	448
2003	366	4	4	59	6	n/a	n/a	9	448
2004	377	8	4	48	7	n/a	n/a	16	460
2005	378	5	8	36	9	n/a	n/a	50	486
2006	343	2	6	55	10	n/a	n/a	51	467
2007	346	4	4	68	14	n/a	n/a	70	506
2008	322	3	6	71	11	n/a	n/a	0	413
2009	360	9	4	85	12	3	85	0	558
2010	385	9	6	87	8	2	28	0	525
2011	369	11	7	110	8	1	17	0	523
2012	349	4	11	103	7	1	15	0	490
2013	328	4	7	110	7	2	17	0	475
2014	339	5	5	108	5	1	22	0	485
2015	344	5	5	109	7	0	25	0	495
2016	357	3	5	100	1	0	27	0	493
2017	332	3	4	106	2	0	32	0	479
2018	339	1	4	100	3	2	36	0	485
2019	309	1	4	104	3	1	32	0	454
2020	267	1	6	90	3	0	29	0	396
2021	205	3	6	89	2	0	14	0	319
2022	247	2	4	118	4	0	17	0	392
2023	256	1	3	122	4	1	21	0	408
2024	230	2	5	135	3	1	21	0	397

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Valley Springs Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	599	22.5	26.6	n/a
1989	718	26.1	27.5	n/a
1990	459	19.0	24.1	n/a
1991	490	19.0	25.7	n/a
1992	515	19.3	26.6	27.4
1993	425	14.0	30.4	42.6
1994	431	15.0	28.7	37.4
1995	418	16.0	26.1	44
1996	418	16.0	26.1	44
1997	425	18.0	23.6	45.6
1998	447	22.0	20.3	39.1
1999	462	22.0	21.0	37
2000	455	22.0	20.7	37.1
2001	428	21.0	20.4	32
2002	448	22.0	20.4	34.6
2003	448	22.0	20.4	34.6
2004	460	24.3	18.9	32.7
2005	486	23.0	21.1	41.5
2006	467	23.0	20.3	33.2
2007	506	25.3	20.0	42.2
2008	413	27.0	15.3	43.8
2009	558	27.9	18.6	43.4
2010	525	29.5	17.8	53.3
2011	523	n/a	n/a	55.3
2012	490	21.2	23.0	n/a
2013	475	19.6	24.1	53.1
2014	485	18.0	26.9	51.3
2015	495	18.0	27.5	55.8
2016	493	19.0	25.9	55.8
2017	479	18.0	26.6	49.9
2018	485	18.5	26.2	57.5
2019	454	20.7	21.8	60.1
2020	396	n/a	n/a	55.6
2021	319	16.0	19.9	50.5
2022	392	n/a	n/a	47.2
2023	408	21.0	19.4	46.3
2024	397	18.5	21.4	44.3

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Valley Springs Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	599	22.5	26.6	n/a
1989	718	26.1	27.5	n/a
1990	459	19.0	24.1	n/a
1991	490	19.0	25.7	n/a
1992	515	19.3	26.6	27.4
1993	425	14.0	30.4	42.6
1994	431	15.0	28.7	37.4
1995	418	16.0	26.1	44
1996	418	16.0	26.1	44
1997	425	18.0	23.6	45.6
1998	447	22.0	20.3	39.1
1999	462	22.0	21.0	37
2000	455	22.0	20.7	37.1
2001	428	21.0	20.4	32
2002	448	22.0	20.4	34.6
2003	448	22.0	20.4	34.6
2004	460	24.3	18.9	32.7
2005	486	23.0	21.1	41.5
2006	467	23.0	20.3	33.2
2007	506	25.3	20.0	42.2
2008	413	27.0	15.3	43.8
2009	558	27.9	18.6	43.4
2010	525	29.5	17.8	53.3
2011	523	n/a	n/a	55.3
2012	490	21.2	23.0	n/a
2013	475	19.6	24.1	53.1
2014	485	18.0	26.9	51.3
2015	495	18.0	27.5	55.8
2016	493	19.0	25.9	55.8
2017	479	18.0	26.6	49.9
2018	485	18.5	26.2	57.5
2019	454	20.7	21.8	60.1
2020	396	n/a	n/a	55.6
2021	319	16.0	19.9	50.5
2022	392	n/a	n/a	47.2
2023	408	21.0	19.4	46.3
2024	397	18.5	21.4	44.3

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.

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