Is James Madison Elementary a good school?

James Madison Elementary ranks in the bottom 20.1% of California elementary schools.

How many students attend James Madison Elementary?

In the 2023-24 school year, 670 students attended James Madison Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of James Madison Elementary?

Students at James Madison Elementary are 96% Hispanic, 2% Two or more races, 2% White.

What schools do graduates of James Madison Elementary attend?

Students who attend James Madison Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Thomas Jefferson Middle High : Madera High

James Madison Elementary

Summary:

James Madison Elementary is a public elementary school in Madera, California, serving 639 students in grades K-6 as part of the Madera Unified School District. However, the school faces significant challenges, including high chronic absenteeism rates, underperformance on academic assessments compared to district and state averages, and equity concerns for certain student subgroups.

James Madison Elementary has seen a concerning increase in chronic absenteeism, rising from 11.3% in 2017-2018 to 19.7% in 2022-2023, which is higher than the district average of 15.1% and the state average of 15.1%. Academically, the school consistently performs below the Madera Unified School District and the state of California in Smarter Balanced Assessments, with proficiency rates ranging from 16.22% to 33.68% in English Language Arts/Literacy and 13.48% to 26.58% in Mathematics, compared to the district's 26.57% to 31.65% and 20.08% to 32.71%, and the state's 42.8% to 47.04% and 34.31% to 45.64%, respectively.

Additionally, James Madison Elementary has a high percentage of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, with 88.89% qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, significantly higher than the district average of 90.57%. This socioeconomic challenge likely contributes to the school's academic struggles and high chronic absenteeism rates. The school also faces equity concerns, with significant performance gaps between different student subgroups, such as Hispanic students and English Language Learners, on Smarter Balanced Assessments.

Detail:

Public K-6

109 Stadium Rd.
Madera, CA 93637-5389

(559) 675-4630

District: Madera Unified

SchoolDigger Rank:
4684^th of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $2,069

Students who attend James Madison Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Thomas Jefferson Middle
High:	Madera High

Student/teacher ratio: 23.9

Number of students: 670

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

95.5%

Two or more races:

1.9%

White:

1.8%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 86.7%

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Performance Trends

Compare Details James Madison Elementary ranks worse than 79.9% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks 16^th among 18 ranked elementary schools in the Madera Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 21.84. (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: Hispanic (95.5%), two or more races (1.9%), White (1.8%). (See more...)

Compare Details 86.7% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at James Madison Elementary is 23.9, which is the 9^th best among 18 elementary schools in the Madera Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare James Madison Elementary employs 28 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at James Madison Elementary is $2,069, which is the 4^th highest among 18 elementary schools in the Madera Unified School District.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

James Madison Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks James Madison Elementary 4684^th of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See James Madison Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

English Language Learner students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

Madera Unified:

SchoolDigger ranks Madera Unified 1170^th of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for James Madison Elementary

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Rank History for all students at James Madison Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	12.03	4552^nd	4809	5.3%
2005	9.01	4697^th	4822	2.6%
2006	10.78	4590^th	4818	4.7%
2007	17.04	4500^th	5113	12.0%
2008	16.95	4534^th	5113	11.3%
2009	20.51	4380^th	5193	15.7%
2010	12.77	5030^th	5314	5.3%
2011	10.34	5193^rd	5377	3.4%
2012	9.93	5199^th	5390	3.5%
2013	8.24	5367^th	5530	2.9%
2015	8.73	5541^st	5611	1.2%
2016	8.86	5498^th	5614	2.1%
2017	11.18	5424^th	5692	4.7%
2018	15.47	5052^nd	5662	10.8%
2019	12.47	5420^th	5789	6.4%
2022	25.23	4314^th	5883	26.7%
2023	21.05	4752^nd	5874	19.1%
2024	21.84	4684^th	5862	20.1%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at James Madison Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	33.71	2142^nd	3246	34.0%
2019	26.01	2781^st	3275	15.1%
2022	43.32	1583^rd	3311	52.2%
2023	34.19	2229^th	3250	31.4%
2024	37.53	2000^th	3160	36.7%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at James Madison Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	20.96	4411^th	5084	13.2%
2019	17.95	4694^th	5173	9.3%
2022	34.47	3479^th	5264	33.9%
2023	25.63	4258^th	5374	20.8%
2024	23.81	4472^nd	5511	18.9%

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

Rank History for Female students at James Madison Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	17.95	4703^rd	5413	13.1%
2019	13.21	5139^th	5492	6.4%
2022	28.95	3836^th	5635	31.9%
2023	19.23	4771^st	5617	15.1%
2024	21.39	4567^th	5605	18.5%

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

Rank History for Male students at James Madison Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	14.38	5013^th	5431	7.7%
2019	13.19	5170^th	5510	6.2%
2022	23.56	4360^th	5663	23.0%
2023	24.96	4264^th	5650	24.5%
2024	23.98	4362^nd	5636	22.6%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at James Madison Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	21.60	4138^th	4830	14.3%
2019	16.97	4565^th	4963	8.0%
2022	37.28	3124^th	5084	38.6%
2023	30.27	3679^th	5098	27.8%
2024	31.37	3632^nd	5102	28.8%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Hispanic 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 James Madison Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1997	0	0	0	17	0	n/a	n/a	0	17
1998	55	10	3	296	0	n/a	n/a	0	364
1999	73	14	0	437	0	n/a	n/a	0	524
2000	69	16	0	446	0	n/a	n/a	0	531
2001	58	30	1	515	1	n/a	n/a	0	605
2002	94	29	0	711	0	n/a	n/a	0	834
2003	94	29	0	711	0	n/a	n/a	0	834
2004	89	25	0	761	0	n/a	n/a	3	878
2005	69	15	1	751	2	n/a	n/a	0	838
2006	51	12	3	746	1	n/a	n/a	1	814
2007	49	6	4	626	4	n/a	n/a	2	691
2008	49	8	3	642	3	n/a	n/a	0	705
2009	28	9	2	606	3	0	1	0	649
2010	34	16	1	583	0	0	1	0	635
2011	24	19	0	578	1	0	1	0	623
2012	30	12	2	597	1	0	3	0	645
2013	24	9	3	575	3	0	3	0	617
2014	21	9	4	571	1	0	1	0	607
2015	27	10	6	601	4	0	0	0	648
2016	27	16	2	608	6	0	2	0	661
2017	31	6	3	580	6	0	0	0	626
2018	27	3	5	584	5	0	0	0	624
2019	21	2	6	580	5	0	0	0	614
2020	19	1	3	616	6	0	3	0	648
2021	16	2	3	602	6	0	7	0	636
2022	11	3	3	604	4	0	7	0	632
2023	12	3	0	611	3	0	10	0	639
2024	12	3	0	640	2	0	13	0	670

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 James Madison Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1997	17	2.0	8.5	94.1
1998	364	17.0	21.4	89.3
1999	524	27.0	19.4	91.2
2000	531	25.0	21.2	96.2
2001	605	29.0	20.9	89.6
2002	834	43.0	19.4	95.9
2003	834	43.0	19.4	95.9
2004	878	41.5	21.2	98.5
2005	838	42.5	19.7	98
2006	814	44.3	18.4	96.1
2007	691	35.9	19.2	93.3
2008	705	37.9	18.6	98.9
2009	649	33.9	18.6	97.1
2010	635	29.9	21.2	99.5
2011	623	n/a	n/a	99.4
2012	645	24.0	26.8	n/a
2013	617	21.0	29.3	95.1
2014	607	22.0	27.5	95.7
2015	648	26.0	24.9	98.5
2016	661	25.0	26.4	97.4
2017	626	27.0	23.1	97.1
2018	624	26.0	24.0	93.9
2019	614	25.0	24.5	94.5
2020	648	n/a	n/a	92.4
2021	636	30.4	20.9	90.6
2022	632	31.0	20.3	88.1
2023	639	30.4	20.9	88.9
2024	670	28.0	23.9	86.7

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 James Madison Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1997	17	2.0	8.5	94.1
1998	364	17.0	21.4	89.3
1999	524	27.0	19.4	91.2
2000	531	25.0	21.2	96.2
2001	605	29.0	20.9	89.6
2002	834	43.0	19.4	95.9
2003	834	43.0	19.4	95.9
2004	878	41.5	21.2	98.5
2005	838	42.5	19.7	98
2006	814	44.3	18.4	96.1
2007	691	35.9	19.2	93.3
2008	705	37.9	18.6	98.9
2009	649	33.9	18.6	97.1
2010	635	29.9	21.2	99.5
2011	623	n/a	n/a	99.4
2012	645	24.0	26.8	n/a
2013	617	21.0	29.3	95.1
2014	607	22.0	27.5	95.7
2015	648	26.0	24.9	98.5
2016	661	25.0	26.4	97.4
2017	626	27.0	23.1	97.1
2018	624	26.0	24.0	93.9
2019	614	25.0	24.5	94.5
2020	648	n/a	n/a	92.4
2021	636	30.4	20.9	90.6
2022	632	31.0	20.3	88.1
2023	639	30.4	20.9	88.9
2024	670	28.0	23.9	86.7

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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