Is Mariano Castro Elementary a good school?

Mariano Castro Elementary ranks in the bottom 6.6% of California elementary schools.

How many students attend Mariano Castro Elementary?

In the 2023-24 school year, 257 students attended Mariano Castro Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Mariano Castro Elementary?

Students at Mariano Castro Elementary are 85% Hispanic, 8% Asian, 5% White, 2% Two or more races.

What schools do graduates of Mariano Castro Elementary attend?

Students who attend Mariano Castro Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Isaac Newton Graham Middle High : Los Altos High

Mariano Castro Elementary

Summary:

Mariano Castro Elementary is a public elementary school in Mountain View, California, serving 248 students in grades K-5. The school is part of the Mountain View Whisman School District, which is ranked 302 out of 1,568 districts in the state.

Mariano Castro Elementary faces significant academic and socioeconomic challenges compared to its surrounding schools. The school consistently ranks in the bottom 10-15% of California elementary schools based on the statewide SchoolDigger ranking, with proficiency rates in Smarter Balanced Assessments for English Language Arts and Mathematics that are significantly lower than the district and state averages. Additionally, the school has experienced a sharp increase in chronic absenteeism, rising from 6.5% in 2017-2018 to 29.4% in 2022-2023. Mariano Castro Elementary also serves a high percentage of students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds, with 80.65% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, and a high proportion of English Language Learner (ELL) students.

In contrast, the nearby Springer Elementary and Almond Elementary, which are part of the neighboring Los Altos Elementary School District, are among the top-performing schools in the state. Similarly, Amy Imai Elementary and Stevenson Elementary, which are also part of the Mountain View Whisman School District, significantly outperform Mariano Castro Elementary in academic achievement, with proficiency rates that are 2-3 times higher.

Detail:

Public K-5

500 Toft St.
Mountain View, CA 94041-2006

(650) 526-3590

District: Mountain View Whisman

SchoolDigger Rank:
5476^th of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Students who attend Mariano Castro Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Isaac Newton Graham Middle
High:	Los Altos High

Student/teacher ratio: 18.3

Number of students: 257

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

84.8%

Asian:

8.2%

White:

4.7%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 74.3%

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Compare Mariano Castro Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Mariano Castro Elementary ranks worse than 93.4% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks last among 8 ranked elementary schools in the Mountain View Whisman School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 12.94. (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 Mariano Castro Elementary has the smallest elementary school student body size in the Mountain View Whisman School District. Racial makeup is: Hispanic (84.8%), Asian (8.2%), White (4.7%). (See more...)

Compare Details 74.3% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. This is the highest percentage in the Mountain View Whisman School District. (See more...)

Compare Details

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Mariano Castro Elementary is 18.3, which is the 2^nd best among 8 elementary schools in the Mountain View Whisman School District. (See more...)

Compare Mariano Castro Elementary employs 14 full-time teachers.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Mariano Castro Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Mariano Castro Elementary 5476^th of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Mariano Castro Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

English Language Learner students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Homeless students:

Female students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

Mountain View Whisman:

SchoolDigger ranks Mountain View Whisman 302^nd of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Parent Rating:

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Rank History for Mariano Castro Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Mariano Castro Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	18.23	4098^th	4809	14.8%
2005	17.33	4146^th	4822	14.0%
2006	22.22	3836^th	4818	20.4%
2007	56.95	1969^th	5113	61.5%
2008	50.91	2321^st	5113	54.6%
2009	63.01	1767^th	5193	66.0%
2010	59.50	2009^th	5314	62.2%
2011	50.71	2558^th	5377	52.4%
2012	54.09	2394^th	5390	55.6%
2013	63.61	1911^th	5530	65.4%
2015	57.60	2047^th	5611	63.5%
2016	43.50	2871^st	5614	48.9%
2017	52.49	2404^th	5692	57.8%
2018	46.69	2743^rd	5662	51.6%
2019	40.13	3182^nd	5789	45.0%
2022	17.68	5085^th	5883	13.6%
2023	17.18	5141^st	5874	12.5%
2024	12.94	5476^th	5862	6.6%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Mariano Castro Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	55.59	1023^rd	3246	68.5%
2019	43.75	1562^nd	3275	52.3%
2022	26.97	2819^th	3311	14.9%
2023	34.31	2220^th	3250	31.7%
2024	22.56	2970^th	3160	6.0%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Mariano Castro Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	63.06	1570^th	5084	69.1%
2019	49.05	2471^st	5173	52.2%
2022	20.79	4592^nd	5264	12.8%
2023	20.26	4693^rd	5374	12.7%
2024	12.54	5291^st	5511	4.0%

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

Rank History for Homeless students at Mariano Castro Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2022	11.38	354^th	356	0.6%
2024	25.27	307^th	364	15.7%

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

Rank History for Female students at Mariano Castro Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	49.64	2516^th	5413	53.5%
2019	38.98	3177^th	5492	42.2%
2022	17.09	4986^th	5635	11.5%
2023	25.11	4216^th	5617	24.9%
2024	16.01	5032^nd	5605	10.2%

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

Rank History for Male students at Mariano Castro Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	42.22	2907^th	5431	46.5%
2019	40.25	3025^th	5510	45.1%
2022	20.53	4658^th	5663	17.7%
2023	12.20	5370^th	5650	5.0%
2024	12.69	5326^th	5636	5.5%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Mariano Castro Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	57.02	1780^th	4830	63.1%
2019	45.20	2600^th	4963	47.6%
2022	19.15	4567^th	5084	10.2%
2023	18.27	4595^th	5098	9.9%
2024	10.86	4971^st	5102	2.6%

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

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 1)

100%

Reviews:
No reviews have been submitted!

Enrollment information for Mariano Castro Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	132	45	103	192	0	n/a	n/a	0	472
1989	135	39	113	236	1	n/a	n/a	0	524
1990	111	59	107	298	0	n/a	n/a	0	575
1991	121	42	100	367	2	n/a	n/a	0	632
1992	113	48	95	412	8	n/a	n/a	0	676
1993	112	53	94	453	2	n/a	n/a	0	714
1994	88	41	89	472	1	n/a	n/a	0	691
1995	90	51	69	590	2	n/a	n/a	0	802
1996	90	51	69	590	2	n/a	n/a	0	802
1997	66	37	60	501	2	n/a	n/a	0	666
1998	60	38	46	526	1	n/a	n/a	0	671
1999	39	22	30	420	0	n/a	n/a	0	511
2000	47	19	27	433	0	n/a	n/a	0	526
2001	36	13	24	434	0	n/a	n/a	1	508
2002	45	8	21	384	0	n/a	n/a	0	458
2003	45	8	21	384	0	n/a	n/a	0	458
2004	41	9	20	379	0	n/a	n/a	0	449
2005	41	5	18	293	0	n/a	n/a	0	357
2006	53	3	17	260	0	n/a	n/a	5	338
2007	165	8	46	287	2	n/a	n/a	17	525
2008	219	6	59	324	1	n/a	n/a	0	609
2009	239	9	56	357	1	4	26	0	692
2010	122	10	31	357	1	3	19	0	543
2011	95	4	16	388	1	1	34	0	539
2012	99	5	18	415	1	2	34	0	574
2013	105	6	23	449	0	2	34	0	619
2014	117	5	24	491	0	2	36	0	675
2015	127	4	33	522	0	2	38	0	726
2016	20	1	17	253	0	2	12	0	305
2017	17	1	21	227	0	2	6	0	274
2018	18	1	14	215	0	0	5	0	253
2019	18	1	11	230	0	0	8	0	268
2020	20	3	15	280	1	0	8	0	327
2021	18	0	14	269	0	0	5	0	306
2022	12	1	12	236	0	0	5	0	266
2023	11	2	15	213	0	1	6	0	248
2024	12	1	21	218	0	1	4	0	257

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 Mariano Castro Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	472	22.5	20.9	n/a
1989	524	24.6	21.3	n/a
1990	575	28.6	20.1	n/a
1991	632	29.6	21.3	n/a
1992	676	30.1	22.4	70.1
1993	714	30.1	23.7	67.6
1994	691	29.1	23.7	65.7
1995	802	32.9	24.4	90.1
1996	802	32.9	24.4	90.1
1997	666	31.6	21.1	13.4
1998	671	34.5	19.4	76.9
1999	511	29.0	17.6	87.9
2000	526	26.0	20.2	80.6
2001	508	26.5	19.2	78.9
2002	458	24.3	18.8	74.5
2003	458	24.3	18.8	74.5
2004	449	24.5	18.3	77.5
2005	357	19.8	18.0	96.4
2006	338	20.0	16.9	78.1
2007	525	29.0	18.1	54.7
2008	609	33.0	18.5	38.4
2009	692	33.0	19.2	51
2010	543	26.8	20.2	61.5
2011	539	n/a	n/a	62.7
2012	574	25.2	22.7	n/a
2013	619	28.5	21.6	60.6
2014	675	26.9	25.0	60.1
2015	726	30.0	24.2	59.9
2016	305	14.0	21.7	82.3
2017	274	12.5	21.9	83.2
2018	253	12.0	21.0	88.1
2019	268	12.0	22.3	85.4
2020	327	n/a	n/a	84.7
2021	306	13.5	22.6	83.7
2022	266	13.6	19.5	77.4
2023	248	13.0	19.0	80.6
2024	257	14.0	18.3	74.3

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 Mariano Castro Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	472	22.5	20.9	n/a
1989	524	24.6	21.3	n/a
1990	575	28.6	20.1	n/a
1991	632	29.6	21.3	n/a
1992	676	30.1	22.4	70.1
1993	714	30.1	23.7	67.6
1994	691	29.1	23.7	65.7
1995	802	32.9	24.4	90.1
1996	802	32.9	24.4	90.1
1997	666	31.6	21.1	13.4
1998	671	34.5	19.4	76.9
1999	511	29.0	17.6	87.9
2000	526	26.0	20.2	80.6
2001	508	26.5	19.2	78.9
2002	458	24.3	18.8	74.5
2003	458	24.3	18.8	74.5
2004	449	24.5	18.3	77.5
2005	357	19.8	18.0	96.4
2006	338	20.0	16.9	78.1
2007	525	29.0	18.1	54.7
2008	609	33.0	18.5	38.4
2009	692	33.0	19.2	51
2010	543	26.8	20.2	61.5
2011	539	n/a	n/a	62.7
2012	574	25.2	22.7	n/a
2013	619	28.5	21.6	60.6
2014	675	26.9	25.0	60.1
2015	726	30.0	24.2	59.9
2016	305	14.0	21.7	82.3
2017	274	12.5	21.9	83.2
2018	253	12.0	21.0	88.1
2019	268	12.0	22.3	85.4
2020	327	n/a	n/a	84.7
2021	306	13.5	22.6	83.7
2022	266	13.6	19.5	77.4
2023	248	13.0	19.0	80.6
2024	257	14.0	18.3	74.3

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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