Is Rachel Carson Elementary a good school?

Rachel Carson Elementary ranks 2830 th of 5862 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Rachel Carson Elementary?

In the 2023-24 school year, 196 students attended Rachel Carson Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Rachel Carson Elementary?

Students at Rachel Carson Elementary are 45% Hispanic, 20% Asian, 19% White, 12% Two or more races, 5% African American.

What schools do graduates of Rachel Carson Elementary attend?

Students who attend Rachel Carson Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : John Muir Middle High : Gunderson High

Rachel Carson Elementary

Summary:

Rachel Carson Elementary is a public elementary school in San Jose, California, serving 180 students in grades K-5 and part of the San Jose Unified school district.

The school faces several challenges, including high chronic absenteeism rates that have risen from 7.7% in 2020-2021 to 33% in 2022-2023, significantly higher than district and state averages. Test scores at Rachel Carson Elementary are also lower than the district and state, with only 39.02% of students proficient or better in English Language Arts/Literacy in 2023-2024, compared to 49.53% for the district and 47.04% for the state. The school also serves a higher proportion of students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds, with 43.33% receiving free or reduced-price lunch in 2022-2023.

When compared to nearby schools in the same district, such as Hacienda Science/Environmental Magnet, Rachel Carson Elementary is underperforming, with Hacienda consistently outperforming it in test scores and having a lower chronic absenteeism rate. Additionally, Rachel Carson's performance varies significantly across different student subgroups, ranking 2,206 out of 5,636 California elementary schools for male students but only 4,846 out of 5,102 for Hispanic students, indicating significant achievement gaps. The school's statewide ranking has also steadily declined over the years, suggesting its performance has not kept pace with the state's overall improvement.

Detail:

Public K-5

4245 Meg Dr.
San Jose, CA 95136-1959

(408) 535-6287

District: San Jose Unified

SchoolDigger Rank:
2830^th of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $12,799

Students who attend Rachel Carson Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	John Muir Middle
High:	Gunderson High

Student/teacher ratio: 16.1

Number of students: 196

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

44.9%

Asian:

19.9%

White:

18.9%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 44.4%

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Performance Trends

Compare Details Rachel Carson Elementary ranks better than 51.7% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks 12^th among 27 ranked elementary schools in the San Jose Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 45.45. (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 Rachel Carson Elementary has the smallest elementary school student body size in the San Jose Unified School District. Student population at Rachel Carson Elementary is diverse. Racial makeup is: Hispanic (44.9%), Asian (19.9%), White (18.9%). (See more...)

Compare Details 44.4% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Rachel Carson Elementary is 16.1, which is the 3^rd best among 27 elementary schools in the San Jose Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Rachel Carson Elementary employs 12.1 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Rachel Carson Elementary is $12,799, which is the 10^th highest among 27 elementary schools in the San Jose Unified School District.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Rachel Carson Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Rachel Carson Elementary 2830^th of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Rachel Carson Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

San Jose Unified:

SchoolDigger ranks San Jose Unified 796^th of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Parent Rating:

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Rank History for Rachel Carson Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Rachel Carson Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	55.31	1910^th	4809	60.3%
2005	60.18	1729^th	4822	64.1%
2006	68.17	1426^th	4818	70.4%
2007	69.65	1391^st	5113	72.8%
2008	70.01	1401^st	5113	72.6%
2009	56.90	2079^th	5193	60.0%
2010	73.15	1319^th	5314	75.2%
2011	73.67	1316^th	5377	75.5%
2012	71.36	1450^th	5390	73.1%
2013	72.01	1471^st	5530	73.4%
2015	78.66	1160^th	5611	79.3%
2016	77.20	1227^th	5614	78.1%
2017	73.52	1409^th	5692	75.2%
2018	53.72	2355^th	5662	58.4%
2019	43.91	2952^nd	5789	49.0%
2021	34.71	871^st	1417	38.5%
2022	39.79	3109^th	5883	47.2%
2023	46.42	2731^st	5874	53.5%
2024	45.45	2830^th	5862	51.7%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Rachel Carson Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	43.76	2768^th	5084	45.6%
2019	42.66	2921^st	5173	43.5%
2021	36.59	702^nd	1110	36.8%
2023	39.82	3084^th	5374	42.6%
2024	30.87	3860^th	5511	30.0%

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

Rank History for Female students at Rachel Carson Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	48.54	2565^th	5413	52.6%
2019	45.23	2784^th	5492	49.3%
2021	36.87	741^st	1267	41.5%
2022	52.09	2313^th	5635	59.0%
2023	43.05	2813^th	5617	49.9%

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

Rank History for Male students at Rachel Carson Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	55.16	2159^th	5431	60.2%
2019	42.12	2907^th	5510	47.2%
2021	33.02	790^th	1272	37.9%
2022	34.10	3449^th	5663	39.1%
2023	46.49	2654^th	5650	53.0%
2024	55.11	2206^th	5636	60.9%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Rachel Carson Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	49.73	2241^st	4830	53.6%
2019	29.67	3713^th	4963	25.2%
2022	32.66	3472^nd	5084	31.7%
2023	38.83	3001^st	5098	41.1%
2024	13.55	4846^th	5102	5.0%

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: 5)

100%

Reviews:
No reviews have been submitted!

Enrollment information for Rachel Carson Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	297	16	53	216	4	n/a	n/a	0	586
1989	272	17	63	280	6	n/a	n/a	0	638
1990	260	10	63	291	11	n/a	n/a	0	635
1991	242	11	69	311	2	n/a	n/a	0	635
1992	222	15	63	286	1	n/a	n/a	0	587
1993	201	15	59	303	4	n/a	n/a	0	582
1994	177	26	61	295	8	n/a	n/a	0	567
1995	178	43	82	265	11	n/a	n/a	0	579
1996	178	43	82	265	11	n/a	n/a	0	579
1997	166	47	79	307	12	n/a	n/a	0	611
1998	172	36	83	253	10	n/a	n/a	0	554
1999	155	26	85	229	7	n/a	n/a	0	502
2000	145	29	88	208	1	n/a	n/a	0	471
2001	136	29	102	165	0	n/a	n/a	0	432
2002	133	25	85	143	3	n/a	n/a	2	391
2003	133	25	85	143	3	n/a	n/a	2	391
2004	135	23	100	144	6	n/a	n/a	0	408
2005	135	15	81	104	11	n/a	n/a	6	352
2006	142	22	93	117	18	n/a	n/a	14	406
2007	138	19	101	129	3	n/a	n/a	15	405
2008	120	22	86	157	5	n/a	n/a	0	390
2009	121	21	85	172	4	1	23	0	427
2010	133	22	99	154	6	0	31	0	445
2011	114	25	90	160	4	0	38	0	431
2012	116	27	102	150	3	1	34	0	433
2013	107	23	96	149	3	1	43	0	422
2014	118	24	84	142	2	1	42	0	413
2015	110	20	74	146	1	1	44	0	396
2016	79	15	70	150	0	1	39	0	354
2017	82	10	49	136	0	1	37	0	315
2018	71	11	47	143	0	0	35	0	307
2019	59	11	52	136	0	1	32	0	291
2020	61	3	51	123	0	0	27	0	265
2021	56	4	55	102	0	0	21	0	238
2022	43	7	37	90	1	0	23	0	201
2023	38	7	35	79	1	0	20	0	180
2024	37	9	39	88	0	0	23	0	196

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 Rachel Carson Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	586	26.0	22.5	n/a
1989	638	28.0	22.7	n/a
1990	635	27.5	23.0	n/a
1991	635	28.5	22.2	n/a
1992	587	29.0	20.2	44.6
1993	582	24.5	23.8	49.7
1994	567	25.5	22.2	41.1
1995	579	25.5	22.7	49.2
1996	579	25.5	22.7	49.2
1997	611	25.0	24.4	52.7
1998	554	28.0	19.8	59.2
1999	502	25.0	20.1	35.9
2000	471	22.0	21.4	31
2001	432	23.0	18.8	28
2002	391	22.0	17.8	37.8
2003	391	22.0	17.8	37.8
2004	408	22.0	18.5	38.5
2005	352	19.9	17.7	29.5
2006	406	22.5	18.0	32.1
2007	405	21.8	18.6	32.3
2008	390	24.8	15.7	36.2
2009	427	22.9	17.6	36.5
2010	445	23.5	18.9	32.1
2011	431	n/a	n/a	36.4
2012	433	18.5	23.4	n/a
2013	422	19.0	22.1	37.7
2014	413	16.7	24.6	35.6
2015	396	18.0	22.0	35.4
2016	354	17.0	20.8	36.7
2017	315	14.6	21.5	40.6
2018	307	14.6	20.9	41.7
2019	291	13.6	21.3	38.1
2020	265	n/a	n/a	32.8
2021	238	11.7	20.3	31.1
2022	201	11.4	17.6	28.4
2023	180	11.5	15.5	43.3
2024	196	12.1	16.1	44.4

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 Rachel Carson Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	586	26.0	22.5	n/a
1989	638	28.0	22.7	n/a
1990	635	27.5	23.0	n/a
1991	635	28.5	22.2	n/a
1992	587	29.0	20.2	44.6
1993	582	24.5	23.8	49.7
1994	567	25.5	22.2	41.1
1995	579	25.5	22.7	49.2
1996	579	25.5	22.7	49.2
1997	611	25.0	24.4	52.7
1998	554	28.0	19.8	59.2
1999	502	25.0	20.1	35.9
2000	471	22.0	21.4	31
2001	432	23.0	18.8	28
2002	391	22.0	17.8	37.8
2003	391	22.0	17.8	37.8
2004	408	22.0	18.5	38.5
2005	352	19.9	17.7	29.5
2006	406	22.5	18.0	32.1
2007	405	21.8	18.6	32.3
2008	390	24.8	15.7	36.2
2009	427	22.9	17.6	36.5
2010	445	23.5	18.9	32.1
2011	431	n/a	n/a	36.4
2012	433	18.5	23.4	n/a
2013	422	19.0	22.1	37.7
2014	413	16.7	24.6	35.6
2015	396	18.0	22.0	35.4
2016	354	17.0	20.8	36.7
2017	315	14.6	21.5	40.6
2018	307	14.6	20.9	41.7
2019	291	13.6	21.3	38.1
2020	265	n/a	n/a	32.8
2021	238	11.7	20.3	31.1
2022	201	11.4	17.6	28.4
2023	180	11.5	15.5	43.3
2024	196	12.1	16.1	44.4

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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