Is Murdock Elementary a good school?

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

How many students attend Murdock Elementary?

In the 2023-24 school year, 592 students attended Murdock Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Murdock Elementary?

Students at Murdock Elementary are 53% Hispanic, 37% White, 4% American Indian, 4% Asian, 2% Two or more races, 1% African American.

What schools do graduates of Murdock Elementary attend?

Students who attend Murdock Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Willows Intermediate High : Willows High

Murdock Elementary

Summary:

Murdock Elementary is a public elementary school located in Willows, California, serving grades K-5 with a total enrollment of 602 students. The school is part of the Willows Unified School District, which is ranked 1259 out of 1568 districts in California and has a rating of 1 out of 5 stars by SchoolDigger.

Murdock Elementary consistently ranks in the bottom 10-15% of California elementary schools based on the statewide SchoolDigger ranking. The school's performance on Smarter Balanced Assessments is significantly below the state and district averages across all grade levels and subject areas, with only 13.52% of Murdock students proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to 21.6% for the Willows Unified district and 47.04% statewide. Murdock Elementary also has a concerning increase in chronic absenteeism, rising from 11.1% in 2017-2018 to 36.9% in 2020-2021, which is much higher than the state average. Additionally, the school has a very high percentage of students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds, with 81.06% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, and a relatively high student-teacher ratio ranging from 21.1 to 22.4 students per teacher.

Comparing Murdock Elementary to the nearby Capay Joint Union Elementary, Lake Elementary, and Plaza Elementary, these schools generally perform significantly better than Murdock on academic measures, with higher proficiency rates and better statewide rankings. Murdock's performance is particularly low for certain student subgroups, such as Hispanic students, English Language Learners, and students with special needs. The high percentage of low-income students and the relatively high student-teacher ratio at Murdock Elementary may be contributing factors to the school's academic struggles, along with the increasing chronic absenteeism rate, suggesting a need for targeted interventions and support to address these issues.

Detail:

Public K-5

655 West French St.
Willows, CA 95988-2305

(530) 934-6640

District: Willows Unified

SchoolDigger Rank:
5475^th of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $8,995

Students who attend Murdock Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Willows Intermediate
High:	Willows High

Student/teacher ratio: 21.0

Number of students: 592

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

53.0%

White:

36.8%

American Indian:

3.9%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 78.2%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Murdock Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Murdock Elementary ranks worse than 93.4% of elementary schools in California. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 12.98. (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 (53%), White (36.8%), American Indian (3.9%). (See more...)

Compare Details 78.2% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Murdock Elementary is 21. (See more...)

Compare Murdock Elementary employs 28.1 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Murdock Elementary is $8,995.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Murdock Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Murdock Elementary 5475^th of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Murdock 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:

White students:

Willows Unified:

SchoolDigger ranks Willows Unified 1259^th of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Murdock Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Murdock Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	28.52	3331^st	4809	30.7%
2005	45.51	2420^th	4822	49.8%
2006	39.10	2760^th	4818	42.7%
2007	39.77	2917^th	5113	42.9%
2008	41.68	2841^st	5113	44.4%
2009	34.18	3424^th	5193	34.1%
2010	24.91	4231^st	5314	20.4%
2011	7.93	5278^th	5377	1.8%
2012	12.50	5104^th	5390	5.3%
2013	13.58	5134^th	5530	7.2%
2015	18.49	4789^th	5611	14.6%
2016	21.15	4513^th	5614	19.6%
2017	16.70	4976^th	5692	12.6%
2018	19.71	4708^th	5662	16.8%
2019	18.99	4899^th	5789	15.4%
2021	22.05	1111^th	1417	21.6%
2022	17.63	5093^rd	5883	13.4%
2023	15.28	5296^th	5874	9.8%
2024	12.98	5475^th	5862	6.6%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Murdock Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	20.13	3039^th	3246	6.4%
2019	31.07	2406^th	3275	26.5%
2021	22.61	588^th	602	2.3%
2022	29.63	2638^th	3311	20.3%
2023	32.49	2360^th	3250	27.4%
2024	29.86	2562^nd	3160	18.9%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at Murdock Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2024	15.44	2612^th	2634	0.8%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Murdock Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	18.86	4549^th	5084	10.5%
2019	20.77	4518^th	5173	12.7%
2021	32.01	783^rd	1110	29.5%
2022	23.81	4343^rd	5264	17.5%
2023	17.62	4863^rd	5374	9.5%
2024	16.05	5073^rd	5511	7.9%

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

Rank History for Female students at Murdock Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	20.19	4518^th	5413	16.5%
2019	16.33	4924^th	5492	10.3%
2021	30.49	842^nd	1267	33.5%
2022	22.85	4425^th	5635	21.5%
2023	16.88	4974^th	5617	11.4%
2024	12.44	5328^th	5605	4.9%

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

Rank History for Male students at Murdock Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	20.87	4489^th	5431	17.3%
2019	22.70	4403^rd	5510	20.1%
2021	18.67	1070^th	1272	15.9%
2022	14.68	5234^th	5663	7.6%
2023	14.79	5188^th	5650	8.2%
2024	15.48	5119^th	5636	9.2%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Murdock Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	18.52	4340^th	4830	10.1%
2019	19.64	4394^th	4963	11.5%
2022	14.62	4822^nd	5084	5.2%
2023	12.01	4954^th	5098	2.8%
2024	14.38	4797^th	5102	6.0%

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

Rank History for White students at Murdock Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	12.56	2495^th	2737	8.8%
2019	10.24	2621^st	2834	7.5%
2022	11.62	2489^th	2726	8.7%
2023	9.30	2490^th	2662	6.5%
2024	5.65	2561^st	2647	3.2%

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 Murdock Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	617	6	21	76	9	n/a	n/a	0	729
1989	626	6	70	98	9	n/a	n/a	0	809
1990	577	2	115	93	8	n/a	n/a	0	795
1991	580	4	177	117	7	n/a	n/a	0	885
1992	539	5	207	136	11	n/a	n/a	0	898
1993	519	7	213	149	4	n/a	n/a	0	892
1994	484	7	228	164	36	n/a	n/a	0	919
1995	410	11	201	159	33	n/a	n/a	0	814
1996	410	11	201	159	33	n/a	n/a	0	814
1997	412	8	212	179	15	n/a	n/a	0	826
1998	397	5	192	181	21	n/a	n/a	0	796
1999	370	4	166	189	23	n/a	n/a	0	752
2000	381	4	144	220	18	n/a	n/a	0	767
2001	387	5	101	234	15	n/a	n/a	0	742
2002	342	9	63	263	23	n/a	n/a	0	700
2003	342	9	63	263	23	n/a	n/a	0	700
2004	323	10	47	302	20	n/a	n/a	1	703
2005	319	10	55	304	19	n/a	n/a	4	711
2006	335	11	46	294	18	n/a	n/a	0	704
2007	326	11	45	283	19	n/a	n/a	0	684
2008	310	7	52	294	17	n/a	n/a	0	680
2009	319	3	54	279	15	2	4	0	676
2010	301	7	42	278	20	1	1	0	650
2011	243	8	40	270	20	1	2	0	584
2012	213	7	34	266	20	0	2	0	542
2013	236	5	40	318	19	2	10	0	630
2014	227	4	42	330	18	1	13	0	635
2015	213	4	42	347	19	3	11	0	639
2016	222	8	41	335	18	2	11	0	637
2017	225	4	33	310	14	2	15	0	603
2018	224	5	35	313	14	3	17	0	611
2019	223	4	27	330	13	1	21	0	619
2020	220	1	25	321	9	2	29	0	607
2021	202	2	26	312	17	1	21	0	581
2022	216	5	29	306	16	1	18	0	591
2023	229	4	21	309	18	1	20	0	602
2024	218	6	21	314	23	1	9	0	592

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 Murdock Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	729	28.3	25.7	n/a
1989	809	29.0	27.8	n/a
1990	795	33.9	23.4	n/a
1991	885	36.5	24.2	n/a
1992	898	37.1	24.2	57.9
1993	892	37.2	24.0	63
1994	919	37.2	24.7	63
1995	814	33.0	24.7	67
1996	814	33.0	24.7	67
1997	826	34.0	24.3	67.3
1998	796	37.0	21.5	68.6
1999	752	37.0	20.3	66.1
2000	767	40.0	19.2	65.8
2001	742	40.2	18.5	63.6
2002	700	37.5	18.7	63.4
2003	700	37.5	18.7	63.4
2004	703	38.5	18.3	65
2005	711	38.0	18.7	65.8
2006	704	38.0	18.5	65.5
2007	684	36.0	19.0	63.2
2008	680	38.5	17.7	62.5
2009	676	36.0	17.8	64.5
2010	650	24.0	27.0	67.2
2011	584	n/a	n/a	69.3
2012	542	20.0	27.1	n/a
2013	630	23.0	27.3	76.5
2014	635	23.0	27.6	74.6
2015	639	24.0	26.6	75.4
2016	637	26.0	24.5	75
2017	603	26.0	23.1	72
2018	611	26.0	23.5	77.3
2019	619	26.0	23.8	74.8
2020	607	n/a	n/a	72.5
2021	581	26.5	21.9	85
2022	591	26.3	22.4	84.8
2023	602	28.4	21.1	81.1
2024	592	28.1	21.0	78.2

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 Murdock Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	729	28.3	25.7	n/a
1989	809	29.0	27.8	n/a
1990	795	33.9	23.4	n/a
1991	885	36.5	24.2	n/a
1992	898	37.1	24.2	57.9
1993	892	37.2	24.0	63
1994	919	37.2	24.7	63
1995	814	33.0	24.7	67
1996	814	33.0	24.7	67
1997	826	34.0	24.3	67.3
1998	796	37.0	21.5	68.6
1999	752	37.0	20.3	66.1
2000	767	40.0	19.2	65.8
2001	742	40.2	18.5	63.6
2002	700	37.5	18.7	63.4
2003	700	37.5	18.7	63.4
2004	703	38.5	18.3	65
2005	711	38.0	18.7	65.8
2006	704	38.0	18.5	65.5
2007	684	36.0	19.0	63.2
2008	680	38.5	17.7	62.5
2009	676	36.0	17.8	64.5
2010	650	24.0	27.0	67.2
2011	584	n/a	n/a	69.3
2012	542	20.0	27.1	n/a
2013	630	23.0	27.3	76.5
2014	635	23.0	27.6	74.6
2015	639	24.0	26.6	75.4
2016	637	26.0	24.5	75
2017	603	26.0	23.1	72
2018	611	26.0	23.5	77.3
2019	619	26.0	23.8	74.8
2020	607	n/a	n/a	72.5
2021	581	26.5	21.9	85
2022	591	26.3	22.4	84.8
2023	602	28.4	21.1	81.1
2024	592	28.1	21.0	78.2

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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