Is Orion Alternative a good school?

Orion Alternative ranks 1620 th of 5862 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Orion Alternative?

In the 2023-24 school year, 461 students attended Orion Alternative.

What is the racial makeup of Orion Alternative?

Students at Orion Alternative are 33% Hispanic, 24% Two or more races, 21% White, 19% Asian, 1% African American, 1% Pacific Islander.

Orion Alternative

Summary:

Orion Alternative is an elementary school located in Redwood City, California, serving 419 students in grades K-5. It is part of the Redwood City Elementary District, which is ranked 875 out of 1,568 districts in the state.

Orion Alternative consistently outperforms the Redwood City Elementary District and the state of California in standardized test scores, with 53.21% of students proficient or better in English Language Arts/Literacy and 51.28% in Mathematics, compared to 45.22% and 37.17% for the district, respectively. The school's performance is particularly strong in the 3rd and 4th grade levels. However, the school's Hispanic and English Language Learner students perform below the state averages, indicating an area for potential improvement. Additionally, Orion Alternative has seen a steady increase in chronic absenteeism, rising from 3.4% in 2018-2019 to 22.1% in 2022-2023, which may impact the school's overall academic performance.

Compared to nearby schools, Orion Alternative outperforms most of the other schools in the Redwood City Elementary District, including Roosevelt Elementary, Henry Ford Elementary, and Hoover Elementary. However, the school lags behind higher-performing schools like Roy Cloud Elementary and Clifford Elementary, which have consistently higher test scores and lower chronic absenteeism rates. The relatively low percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch at Orion Alternative suggests that the school may have a more advantaged student population, which could be a contributing factor to its stronger academic performance.

Detail:

Public K-5

555 Avenue Del Ora
Redwood City, CA 94062-1360

(650) 482-2412

District: Redwood City Elementary

SchoolDigger Rank:
1620^th of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Student/teacher ratio: 22.2

Number of students: 461

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

33.0%

Two or more races:

23.9%

White:

21.3%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 28%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Orion Alternative to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Orion Alternative ranks better than 72.4% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks 2^nd among 9 ranked elementary schools in the Redwood City Elementary School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 69.27. (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 Student population at Orion Alternative is diverse. Racial makeup is: Hispanic (33%), two or more races (23.9%), White (21.3%). (See more...)

Compare Details 28% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Orion Alternative is 22.2. 7 elementary schools in the Redwood City Elementary School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)

Compare Orion Alternative employs 20.6 full-time teachers.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Orion Alternative:

SchoolDigger ranks Orion Alternative 1620^th of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Orion Alternative in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

English Language Learner students:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

White students:

Redwood City Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Redwood City Elementary 875^th of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Orion Alternative

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Rank History for all students at Orion Alternative

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	74.74	1125^th	4809	76.6%
2005	74.30	1154^th	4822	76.1%
2006	69.15	1379^th	4818	71.4%
2007	72.04	1277^th	5113	75.0%
2008	86.86	662^nd	5113	87.1%
2009	75.10	1203^rd	5193	76.8%
2010	69.88	1459^th	5314	72.5%
2011	61.94	1906^th	5377	64.6%
2012	57.89	2164^th	5390	59.9%
2013	61.49	2032^nd	5530	63.3%
2015	60.47	1916^th	5611	65.9%
2016	73.17	1390^th	5614	75.2%
2017	81.24	1077^th	5692	81.1%
2018	59.37	2063^rd	5662	63.6%
2019	57.13	2204^th	5789	61.9%
2022	68.69	1658^th	5883	71.8%
2023	70.50	1555^th	5874	73.5%
2024	69.27	1620^th	5862	72.4%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Orion Alternative

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2022	39.71	1822^nd	3311	45.0%
2024	41.00	1748^th	3160	44.7%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at Orion Alternative

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	73.82	408^th	2420	83.1%
2024	53.28	879^th	2634	66.6%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Orion Alternative

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2022	50.40	2250^th	5264	57.3%
2023	47.94	2502^nd	5374	53.4%
2024	26.94	4238^th	5511	23.1%

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

Rank History for Female students at Orion Alternative

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	65.66	1724^th	5413	68.2%
2019	52.38	2371^st	5492	56.8%
2022	66.71	1656^th	5635	70.6%
2023	70.59	1472^nd	5617	73.8%
2024	66.55	1622^nd	5605	71.1%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at Orion Alternative

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2022	98.13	46^th	2227	97.9%

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

Rank History for Male students at Orion Alternative

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2022	66.38	1669^th	5663	70.5%
2023	67.49	1610^th	5650	71.5%
2024	68.47	1580^th	5636	72.0%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Orion Alternative

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	44.13	2608^th	4830	46.0%
2022	54.35	1925^th	5084	62.1%
2023	50.17	2221^st	5098	56.4%
2024	36.14	3256^th	5102	36.2%

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

Rank History for White students at Orion Alternative

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2022	61.87	1082^nd	2726	60.3%
2023	58.45	1177^th	2662	55.8%
2024	79.43	442^nd	2647	83.3%

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 Orion Alternative

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	89	14	7	25	0	n/a	n/a	0	135
1989	86	8	9	25	2	n/a	n/a	0	130
1990	122	13	8	27	1	n/a	n/a	0	171
1991	117	10	14	30	2	n/a	n/a	0	173
1992	134	9	15	18	3	n/a	n/a	0	179
1993	129	6	12	22	4	n/a	n/a	0	173
1994	162	6	7	31	4	n/a	n/a	0	210
1995	150	11	7	94	4	n/a	n/a	0	266
1996	150	11	7	94	4	n/a	n/a	0	266
1997	194	12	10	188	4	n/a	n/a	0	408
1998	129	7	9	49	1	n/a	n/a	0	195
1999	121	6	10	52	4	n/a	n/a	0	193
2000	107	4	10	55	3	n/a	n/a	0	179
2001	86	4	5	45	2	n/a	n/a	16	158
2002	81	3	15	73	2	n/a	n/a	0	174
2003	81	3	15	73	2	n/a	n/a	0	174
2004	78	2	13	93	1	n/a	n/a	0	187
2005	72	2	12	90	1	n/a	n/a	0	177
2006	85	3	11	88	1	n/a	n/a	0	188
2007	76	7	16	80	1	n/a	n/a	0	180
2008	74	4	20	77	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	175
2009	81	3	19	76	0	4	2	0	185
2010	93	3	22	82	0	2	3	0	205
2011	94	4	21	85	0	2	14	0	220
2012	124	4	16	88	0	2	18	0	252
2013	122	3	16	89	0	3	18	0	251
2014	115	4	14	96	1	3	18	0	251
2015	110	3	10	95	1	1	21	0	241
2016	98	2	9	83	1	1	17	0	211
2017	108	0	9	81	1	1	15	0	215
2018	100	0	7	88	1	2	13	0	211
2019	110	0	9	97	0	2	11	0	229
2020	109	4	69	234	0	11	46	0	473
2021	93	4	75	200	0	7	46	0	425
2022	77	3	79	161	0	6	60	0	386
2023	84	6	86	155	0	5	83	0	419
2024	98	6	89	152	0	6	110	0	461

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 Orion Alternative

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	135	5.0	27.0	n/a
1989	130	5.0	26.0	n/a
1990	171	9.0	19.0	n/a
1991	173	8.0	21.6	n/a
1992	179	8.1	22.0	11.2
1993	173	6.0	28.8	6.9
1994	210	9.4	22.3	9
1995	266	11.8	22.5	23.7
1996	266	11.8	22.5	23.7
1997	408	22.4	18.2	15.2
1998	195	11.3	17.3	58.5
1999	193	11.0	17.5	18.1
2000	179	10.5	17.0	19.6
2001	158	10.7	14.8	22.5
2002	174	11.5	15.1	23.6
2003	174	11.5	15.1	23.6
2004	187	13.1	14.3	26.2
2005	177	10.6	16.7	16.4
2006	188	10.5	17.9	16.5
2007	180	12.5	14.4	24.4
2008	175	12.5	14.0	25.1
2009	185	10.2	16.5	28.1
2010	205	10.5	19.5	24.9
2011	220	n/a	n/a	21.4
2012	252	8.7	28.9	n/a
2013	251	9.7	25.8	28.3
2014	251	9.5	26.4	32.3
2015	241	9.0	26.7	34.9
2016	211	8.0	26.3	26.1
2017	215	9.0	23.8	21.4
2018	211	9.0	23.4	19.9
2019	229	10.0	22.9	24.5
2020	473	n/a	n/a	41.4
2021	425	22.0	19.3	36.9
2022	386	23.0	16.7	30.6
2023	419	19.0	22.0	34.6
2024	461	20.6	22.2	28

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 Orion Alternative

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	135	5.0	27.0	n/a
1989	130	5.0	26.0	n/a
1990	171	9.0	19.0	n/a
1991	173	8.0	21.6	n/a
1992	179	8.1	22.0	11.2
1993	173	6.0	28.8	6.9
1994	210	9.4	22.3	9
1995	266	11.8	22.5	23.7
1996	266	11.8	22.5	23.7
1997	408	22.4	18.2	15.2
1998	195	11.3	17.3	58.5
1999	193	11.0	17.5	18.1
2000	179	10.5	17.0	19.6
2001	158	10.7	14.8	22.5
2002	174	11.5	15.1	23.6
2003	174	11.5	15.1	23.6
2004	187	13.1	14.3	26.2
2005	177	10.6	16.7	16.4
2006	188	10.5	17.9	16.5
2007	180	12.5	14.4	24.4
2008	175	12.5	14.0	25.1
2009	185	10.2	16.5	28.1
2010	205	10.5	19.5	24.9
2011	220	n/a	n/a	21.4
2012	252	8.7	28.9	n/a
2013	251	9.7	25.8	28.3
2014	251	9.5	26.4	32.3
2015	241	9.0	26.7	34.9
2016	211	8.0	26.3	26.1
2017	215	9.0	23.8	21.4
2018	211	9.0	23.4	19.9
2019	229	10.0	22.9	24.5
2020	473	n/a	n/a	41.4
2021	425	22.0	19.3	36.9
2022	386	23.0	16.7	30.6
2023	419	19.0	22.0	34.6
2024	461	20.6	22.2	28

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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