Is Vista Colorado Elementary a good school?

Vista Colorado Elementary ranks in the bottom 12.9% of California elementary schools.

How many students attend Vista Colorado Elementary?

In the 2023-24 school year, 327 students attended Vista Colorado Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Vista Colorado Elementary?

Students at Vista Colorado Elementary are 47% White, 37% Hispanic, 6% American Indian, 5% African American, 4% Two or more races, 2% Asian.

What schools do graduates of Vista Colorado Elementary attend?

Students who attend Vista Colorado Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Needles Middle High : Needles High

Vista Colorado Elementary

Summary:

Vista Colorado Elementary is a public elementary school in Needles, California, serving 321 students from kindergarten to 5th grade. The school is part of the Needles Unified School District, which is ranked 1323 out of 1568 districts in the state and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Vista Colorado Elementary consistently performs below the district and state averages in standardized test scores across all grade levels and subject areas. In the 2023-2024 school year, only 17.14% of students were proficient or better in English Language Arts/Literacy, compared to 29.59% for the district and 47.04% for the state. In mathematics, 21.14% of students were proficient or better, compared to 19.66% for the district and 35.54% for the state. The school's performance in science is also significantly lower than the district and state averages. Additionally, Vista Colorado Elementary has experienced high rates of chronic absenteeism, with 33.7% of students chronically absent in the 2022-2023 school year, compared to the state average of 14.3%.

The school's challenges are further compounded by its high percentage of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, with 82.55% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch in the 2022-2023 school year. Despite these obstacles, Vista Colorado Elementary has consistently ranked in the bottom 20% of California elementary schools, with a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger for most of the past decade. The school's ranking has declined over the years, from 3181 out of 5611 California elementary schools in the 2014-2015 school year to 5104 out of 5862 in the 2023-2024 school year, indicating a lack of improvement over time.

Detail:

Public K-5

700 Bailey Ave.
Needles, CA 92363-2802

(760) 326-2167

District: Needles Unified

SchoolDigger Rank:
5104^th of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $6,609

Students who attend Vista Colorado Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Needles Middle
High:	Needles High

Student/teacher ratio: 21.3

Number of students: 327

Racial breakdown:

White:

46.8%

Hispanic:

36.7%

American Indian:

6.1%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 82.6%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Vista Colorado Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Vista Colorado Elementary ranks worse than 87.1% of elementary schools in California. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 17.11. (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 (46.8%), Hispanic (36.7%), American Indian (6.1%). (See more...)

Compare Details 82.6% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Vista Colorado Elementary is 21.3. (See more...)

Compare Vista Colorado Elementary employs 15.3 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Vista Colorado Elementary is $6,609.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Vista Colorado Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Vista Colorado Elementary 5104^th of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Vista Colorado 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:

Needles Unified:

SchoolDigger ranks Needles Unified 1323^rd of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Vista Colorado Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Vista Colorado Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	28.42	3339^th	4809	30.6%
2005	26.29	3534^th	4822	26.7%
2006	15.32	4332^nd	4818	10.1%
2007	15.97	4576^th	5113	10.5%
2008	20.89	4286^th	5113	16.2%
2009	8.91	5046^th	5193	2.8%
2010	18.59	4671^st	5314	12.1%
2011	13.14	5059^th	5377	5.9%
2012	21.35	4562^nd	5390	15.4%
2013	25.07	4393^rd	5530	20.6%
2015	37.32	3181^st	5611	43.3%
2016	27.91	3938^th	5614	29.9%
2017	28.23	3981^st	5692	30.1%
2018	33.88	3548^th	5662	37.3%
2019	25.97	4273^rd	5789	26.2%
2022	30.69	3823^rd	5883	35.0%
2023	23.00	4560^th	5874	22.4%
2024	17.11	5104^th	5862	12.9%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Special Education students at Vista Colorado Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	29.61	1667^th	2420	31.1%
2024	22.98	2238^th	2634	15.0%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Vista Colorado Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	38.27	3144^th	5084	38.2%
2019	27.11	4090^th	5173	20.9%
2022	37.29	3231^st	5264	38.6%
2023	25.61	4259^th	5374	20.7%
2024	19.55	4811^th	5511	12.7%

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

Rank History for Female students at Vista Colorado Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	34.61	3434^th	5413	36.6%
2019	31.75	3693^rd	5492	32.8%
2022	30.46	3689^th	5635	34.5%
2023	23.61	4370^th	5617	22.2%
2024	16.74	4981^st	5605	11.1%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at Vista Colorado Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2022	46.52	895^th	2227	59.8%

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

Rank History for Male students at Vista Colorado Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	35.15	3333^rd	5431	38.6%
2019	21.46	4523^rd	5510	17.9%
2022	31.47	3666^th	5663	35.3%
2023	26.04	4150^th	5650	26.5%
2024	19.70	4752^nd	5636	15.7%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Vista Colorado Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	56.91	1790^th	4830	62.9%
2019	40.04	2962^nd	4963	40.3%
2022	45.56	2483^rd	5084	51.2%
2023	50.88	2184^th	5098	57.2%
2024	22.79	4288^th	5102	16.0%

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

Rank History for Native American students at Vista Colorado Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2019	35.86	14^th	18	22.2%

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

Rank History for White students at Vista Colorado Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	19.43	2336^th	2737	14.7%
2019	10.11	2628^th	2834	7.3%
2022	15.19	2389^th	2726	12.4%
2023	4.07	2614^th	2662	1.8%
2024	6.21	2545^th	2647	3.9%

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 Vista Colorado Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	264	14	8	57	20	n/a	n/a	0	363
1989	279	15	12	59	22	n/a	n/a	0	387
1990	283	10	16	87	30	n/a	n/a	0	426
1991	319	14	16	77	26	n/a	n/a	0	452
1992	240	15	13	72	38	n/a	n/a	0	378
1993	209	16	14	73	34	n/a	n/a	0	346
1994	214	28	7	64	28	n/a	n/a	0	341
1995	203	17	7	61	48	n/a	n/a	0	336
1996	203	17	7	61	48	n/a	n/a	0	336
1997	169	11	9	62	28	n/a	n/a	0	279
1998	184	8	9	49	37	n/a	n/a	0	287
1999	195	11	4	59	29	n/a	n/a	0	298
2000	203	6	2	40	28	n/a	n/a	0	279
2001	190	5	3	59	27	n/a	n/a	0	284
2002	180	8	3	49	41	n/a	n/a	1	282
2003	180	8	3	49	41	n/a	n/a	1	282
2004	196	9	2	55	52	n/a	n/a	9	323
2005	171	14	3	63	47	n/a	n/a	18	316
2006	149	10	7	55	34	n/a	n/a	23	278
2007	162	6	5	52	48	n/a	n/a	26	299
2008	146	9	4	48	50	n/a	n/a	0	257
2009	141	15	3	53	42	0	2	0	256
2010	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
2011	165	6	2	61	41	2	5	0	282
2012	253	5	2	114	63	5	9	0	451
2013	234	9	2	94	73	4	8	0	424
2014	219	10	6	94	73	2	17	0	421
2015	216	7	5	106	77	2	14	0	427
2016	227	11	5	120	72	1	16	0	452
2017	226	12	6	113	65	0	17	0	439
2018	220	10	4	114	56	1	16	0	421
2019	195	12	5	136	42	0	18	0	408
2020	203	12	5	131	23	2	9	0	385
2021	184	10	5	125	21	2	15	0	362
2022	177	7	5	130	13	2	11	0	345
2023	160	7	5	119	16	1	13	0	321
2024	153	16	5	120	20	0	13	0	327

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 Vista Colorado Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	363	13.9	26.1	n/a
1989	387	14.9	25.9	n/a
1990	426	17.0	25.0	n/a
1991	452	18.0	25.1	n/a
1992	378	18.3	20.6	71.2
1993	346	15.0	23.1	65
1994	341	15.0	22.7	62.2
1995	336	13.0	25.8	67.6
1996	336	13.0	25.8	67.6
1997	279	12.0	23.3	74.9
1998	287	15.0	19.1	82.2
1999	298	15.0	19.9	72.1
2000	279	14.0	19.9	69.2
2001	284	15.0	18.9	68.3
2002	282	16.8	16.8	71.5
2003	282	16.8	16.8	71.5
2004	323	16.0	20.2	67.2
2005	316	15.0	21.1	72.5
2006	278	14.0	19.9	70.6
2007	299	15.0	19.9	65.9
2008	257	15.0	17.1	82.5
2009	256	13.0	18.3	76.6
2010	0	10.0	0.0	n/a
2011	282	n/a	n/a	75.2
2012	451	16.7	26.9	n/a
2013	424	14.7	28.7	74.5
2014	421	16.0	26.3	69.4
2015	427	17.0	25.1	78
2016	452	17.0	26.5	78.8
2017	439	18.0	24.3	79.3
2018	421	18.1	23.1	79.3
2019	408	17.0	24.0	78.9
2020	385	n/a	n/a	80
2021	362	17.0	21.2	81.5
2022	345	17.7	19.4	80.3
2023	321	15.0	21.3	82.6
2024	327	15.3	21.3	82.6

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 Vista Colorado Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	363	13.9	26.1	n/a
1989	387	14.9	25.9	n/a
1990	426	17.0	25.0	n/a
1991	452	18.0	25.1	n/a
1992	378	18.3	20.6	71.2
1993	346	15.0	23.1	65
1994	341	15.0	22.7	62.2
1995	336	13.0	25.8	67.6
1996	336	13.0	25.8	67.6
1997	279	12.0	23.3	74.9
1998	287	15.0	19.1	82.2
1999	298	15.0	19.9	72.1
2000	279	14.0	19.9	69.2
2001	284	15.0	18.9	68.3
2002	282	16.8	16.8	71.5
2003	282	16.8	16.8	71.5
2004	323	16.0	20.2	67.2
2005	316	15.0	21.1	72.5
2006	278	14.0	19.9	70.6
2007	299	15.0	19.9	65.9
2008	257	15.0	17.1	82.5
2009	256	13.0	18.3	76.6
2010	0	10.0	0.0	n/a
2011	282	n/a	n/a	75.2
2012	451	16.7	26.9	n/a
2013	424	14.7	28.7	74.5
2014	421	16.0	26.3	69.4
2015	427	17.0	25.1	78
2016	452	17.0	26.5	78.8
2017	439	18.0	24.3	79.3
2018	421	18.1	23.1	79.3
2019	408	17.0	24.0	78.9
2020	385	n/a	n/a	80
2021	362	17.0	21.2	81.5
2022	345	17.7	19.4	80.3
2023	321	15.0	21.3	82.6
2024	327	15.3	21.3	82.6

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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