Is Empire Gardens Elementary a good school?

Empire Gardens Elementary ranks in the bottom 1.2% of California elementary schools.

How many students attend Empire Gardens Elementary?

In the 2023-24 school year, 226 students attended Empire Gardens Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Empire Gardens Elementary?

Students at Empire Gardens Elementary are 90% Hispanic, 4% White, 3% Asian, 2% Two or more races, 1% African American.

What schools do graduates of Empire Gardens Elementary attend?

Students who attend Empire Gardens Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Muwekma Ohlone Middle High : San Jose High

Empire Gardens Elementary

Summary:

Empire Gardens Elementary is a public elementary school located in San Jose, California, serving grades K-5 with a total enrollment of 232 students. The school is part of the San Jose Unified School District, which is ranked 796 out of 1,568 districts in California and has a 2-star rating out of 5 from SchoolDigger.

Over the past 10 years, Empire Gardens Elementary has consistently ranked in the bottom 10-15% of California elementary schools, with rankings ranging from 5,138 out of 5,611 schools in 2014-2015 to 5,789 out of 5,862 schools in 2023-2024. The school has maintained a 0 or 1-star rating from SchoolDigger during this time period. Additionally, the school has seen a significant increase in chronic absenteeism, rising from 11.1% in 2017-2018 to 46.0% in 2022-2023, which is notably higher than the district and state averages. Academically, the school's performance, as measured by the Smarter Balanced Assessments and CAST Science tests, is significantly below the district and state averages across all grade levels and subject areas.

When comparing Empire Gardens Elementary to other nearby schools within the San Jose Unified School District, such as Anne Darling Elementary and Grant Elementary, it is clear that the school is an outlier in terms of academic performance and other key metrics. The high rates of chronic absenteeism and the school's large population of students from disadvantaged backgrounds (72.41% free/reduced lunch recipients in 2022-2023) may be contributing factors to the school's consistently low academic performance, which will likely require targeted interventions and support to address the unique needs of the student population.

Detail:

Public K-5

1060 East Empire St.
San Jose, CA 95112-1715

(408) 535-6221

District: San Jose Unified

SchoolDigger Rank:
5789^th of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $13,450

Students who attend Empire Gardens Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Muwekma Ohlone Middle
High:	San Jose High

Student/teacher ratio: 16.3

Number of students: 226

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

90.3%

White:

4.0%

Asian:

2.7%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 76.1%

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Performance Trends

Compare Details Empire Gardens Elementary ranks worse than 98.8% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks last among 27 ranked elementary schools in the San Jose Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 7.39. (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 (90.3%), White (4%), Asian (2.7%). (See more...)

Compare Details 76.1% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Empire Gardens Elementary is 16.3, which is the 4^th best among 27 elementary schools in the San Jose Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Empire Gardens Elementary employs 13.8 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Empire Gardens Elementary is $13,450, which is the 5^th highest among 27 elementary schools in the San Jose Unified School District.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Empire Gardens Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Empire Gardens Elementary 5789^th of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Empire Gardens Elementary 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:

San Jose Unified:

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

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Rank History for Empire Gardens Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Empire Gardens Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	16.14	4255^th	4809	11.5%
2005	17.84	4116^th	4822	14.6%
2006	13.25	4447^th	4818	7.7%
2007	9.77	4927^th	5113	3.6%
2008	9.85	4928^th	5113	3.6%
2009	8.53	5054^th	5193	2.7%
2010	9.97	5150^th	5314	3.1%
2011	11.67	5141^st	5377	4.4%
2012	5.08	5336^th	5390	1.0%
2013	6.03	5446^th	5530	1.5%
2015	14.59	5138^th	5611	8.4%
2016	20.30	4592^nd	5614	18.2%
2017	28.60	3947^th	5692	30.7%
2018	22.56	4468^th	5662	21.1%
2019	18.14	4979^th	5789	14.0%
2021	13.26	1336^th	1417	5.7%
2022	12.87	5543^rd	5883	5.8%
2023	7.32	5819^th	5874	0.9%
2024	7.39	5789^th	5862	1.2%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Empire Gardens Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	41.51	1688^th	3246	48.0%
2019	52.46	1125^th	3275	65.6%
2021	31.95	449^th	602	25.4%
2022	28.57	2715^th	3311	18.0%
2023	22.54	3022^nd	3250	7.0%
2024	23.67	2913^th	3160	7.8%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at Empire Gardens Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2024	17.92	2500^th	2634	5.1%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Empire Gardens Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	28.46	3885^th	5084	23.6%
2019	22.26	4404^th	5173	14.9%
2021	20.20	993^rd	1110	10.5%
2022	16.56	4877^th	5264	7.4%
2023	10.40	5268^th	5374	2.0%
2024	8.98	5428^th	5511	1.5%

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

Rank History for Female students at Empire Gardens Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	27.11	3988^th	5413	26.3%
2019	18.57	4744^th	5492	13.6%
2021	13.36	1209^th	1267	4.6%
2022	12.29	5410^th	5635	4.0%
2023	7.95	5570^th	5617	0.8%
2024	6.30	5582^nd	5605	0.4%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at Empire Gardens Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2021	28.15	198^th	293	32.4%

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

Rank History for Male students at Empire Gardens Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	20.31	4543^rd	5431	16.4%
2019	20.13	4650^th	5510	15.6%
2021	14.61	1170^th	1272	8.0%
2022	14.95	5217^th	5663	7.9%
2023	8.17	5585^th	5650	1.2%
2024	8.93	5541^st	5636	1.7%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Empire Gardens Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	28.99	3622^nd	4830	25.0%
2019	25.22	4021^st	4963	19.0%
2022	16.54	4722^nd	5084	7.1%
2023	9.17	5040^th	5098	1.1%
2024	8.90	5020^th	5102	1.6%

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

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Enrollment information for Empire Gardens Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	111	5	60	329	4	n/a	n/a	0	509
1989	132	5	39	289	2	n/a	n/a	0	467
1990	130	8	32	279	3	n/a	n/a	0	452
1991	133	13	41	278	1	n/a	n/a	0	466
1992	131	11	46	286	3	n/a	n/a	0	477
1993	107	12	49	297	4	n/a	n/a	0	469
1994	117	10	50	274	5	n/a	n/a	0	456
1995	90	10	55	318	5	n/a	n/a	0	478
1996	90	10	55	318	5	n/a	n/a	0	478
1997	82	13	42	363	4	n/a	n/a	0	504
1998	55	11	35	371	4	n/a	n/a	0	476
1999	42	5	44	379	6	n/a	n/a	0	476
2000	36	8	38	370	4	n/a	n/a	0	456
2001	26	2	42	369	2	n/a	n/a	2	443
2002	14	4	30	333	4	n/a	n/a	2	387
2003	14	4	30	333	4	n/a	n/a	2	387
2004	13	1	26	233	0	n/a	n/a	0	273
2005	14	9	39	314	2	n/a	n/a	1	379
2006	10	1	30	394	3	n/a	n/a	2	440
2007	14	1	19	404	3	n/a	n/a	8	449
2008	12	5	23	386	4	n/a	n/a	0	430
2009	7	3	22	397	5	2	13	0	449
2010	9	0	10	393	3	0	13	0	428
2011	10	1	15	383	1	1	13	0	424
2012	9	6	16	370	1	2	7	0	411
2013	12	5	17	403	2	4	7	0	450
2014	14	3	20	408	1	7	1	0	454
2015	7	2	27	387	1	5	9	0	438
2016	8	5	19	350	1	6	5	0	394
2017	11	5	15	297	1	6	5	0	340
2018	10	7	17	265	1	4	5	0	309
2019	14	3	18	250	1	0	5	0	291
2020	18	4	16	240	0	0	7	0	285
2021	16	5	18	218	0	0	6	0	263
2022	10	4	12	192	0	0	5	0	223
2023	10	2	9	207	0	0	4	0	232
2024	9	3	6	204	0	0	4	0	226

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 Empire Gardens Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	509	23.2	21.9	n/a
1989	467	22.2	21.0	n/a
1990	452	21.8	20.7	n/a
1991	466	20.8	22.4	n/a
1992	477	21.1	22.6	51.8
1993	469	22.8	20.6	53.7
1994	456	21.8	20.9	60.7
1995	478	20.0	23.9	67.6
1996	478	20.0	23.9	67.6
1997	504	17.0	29.6	71.8
1998	476	22.0	21.6	64.3
1999	476	24.0	19.8	68.1
2000	456	22.0	20.7	65.6
2001	443	22.0	20.1	72.8
2002	387	26.0	14.9	80.3
2003	387	26.0	14.9	80.3
2004	273	17.0	16.1	91.6
2005	379	22.6	16.8	81.5
2006	440	23.1	19.0	84.5
2007	449	26.1	17.2	83.9
2008	430	26.6	16.2	90.2
2009	449	21.0	19.5	89.8
2010	428	23.0	18.6	90.9
2011	424	n/a	n/a	91
2012	411	15.9	25.8	n/a
2013	450	18.9	23.8	80.9
2014	454	18.9	24.0	85
2015	438	18.0	24.3	84
2016	394	17.0	23.1	82.7
2017	340	16.0	21.2	85.9
2018	309	15.8	19.5	84.5
2019	291	12.7	22.9	82.8
2020	285	n/a	n/a	77.5
2021	263	13.9	18.8	60.8
2022	223	11.9	18.7	70
2023	232	11.7	19.8	72.4
2024	226	13.8	16.3	76.1

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 Empire Gardens Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	509	23.2	21.9	n/a
1989	467	22.2	21.0	n/a
1990	452	21.8	20.7	n/a
1991	466	20.8	22.4	n/a
1992	477	21.1	22.6	51.8
1993	469	22.8	20.6	53.7
1994	456	21.8	20.9	60.7
1995	478	20.0	23.9	67.6
1996	478	20.0	23.9	67.6
1997	504	17.0	29.6	71.8
1998	476	22.0	21.6	64.3
1999	476	24.0	19.8	68.1
2000	456	22.0	20.7	65.6
2001	443	22.0	20.1	72.8
2002	387	26.0	14.9	80.3
2003	387	26.0	14.9	80.3
2004	273	17.0	16.1	91.6
2005	379	22.6	16.8	81.5
2006	440	23.1	19.0	84.5
2007	449	26.1	17.2	83.9
2008	430	26.6	16.2	90.2
2009	449	21.0	19.5	89.8
2010	428	23.0	18.6	90.9
2011	424	n/a	n/a	91
2012	411	15.9	25.8	n/a
2013	450	18.9	23.8	80.9
2014	454	18.9	24.0	85
2015	438	18.0	24.3	84
2016	394	17.0	23.1	82.7
2017	340	16.0	21.2	85.9
2018	309	15.8	19.5	84.5
2019	291	12.7	22.9	82.8
2020	285	n/a	n/a	77.5
2021	263	13.9	18.8	60.8
2022	223	11.9	18.7	70
2023	232	11.7	19.8	72.4
2024	226	13.8	16.3	76.1

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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