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What's the one class at Adam (William Laird) Elementary every student should take?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
874
Elementary
DISTRICT 825 · STATE 465
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SANTA MARIA-BONITA·NCES 060558009312
Adam (William Laird) Elementary
500 West Windsor, Santa Maria, CA 93458 · (805) 361-6700 · Santa Barbara County
GRADES KG–06ELEMENTARY12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL874 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 16% of California public elementary schools
- DTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- CBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- BThree-year trend Change in reading and math proficiency over the last three test years.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded California public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
24.6:1
36 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 21.7:1 · STATE 22.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
97%
846 students
DISTRICT 93% · STATE 65%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 192 | 22% |
| Grade 1 | 105 | 12% |
| Grade 2 | 125 | 14% |
| Grade 3 | 98 | 11% |
| Grade 4 | 128 | 15% |
| Grade 5 | 128 | 15% |
| Grade 6 | 98 | 11% |
This year's kindergarten class (192) is 96% larger than its 6th grade class (98).
Student demographics
4%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 9% · STATE 62% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
CAASPP 2024-25 . % met or exceeded standardEnglish Language Arts
18.7%
CA avg 49.1% . +1.7pp since 2014
Math
18.0%
CA avg 37.7% . +4.0pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 19 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 18 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all California schools, those numbers are about 49 and 38. Reading and writing scores are up about 2 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 4 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 5.1% | 13.6% | 27.2% | 54.1% |
| Math | 3.4% | 14.6% | 25.2% | 56.8% |
Share of tested students at each CAASPP level. Each student counts in one level, so a row adds to about 100%.
CAASPP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 18.7% | 18.0% |
| 2023-24 | 18.7% | 16.9% |
| 2022-23 | 18.1% | 11.1% |
| 2021-22 | 18.8% | 10.7% |
| 2018-19 | 28.1% | 26.9% |
| 2017-18 | 25.9% | 24.3% |
| 2016-17 | 23.6% | 21.3% |
| 2015-16 | 19.0% | 16.0% |
| 2014-15 | 17.0% | 14.0% |
% met or exceeded standard, all students and all tested grades.
Source: CAASPP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
18.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
22.8%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-4.6pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 18% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 23% typical for California schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among California's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Adam (William Laird) Elementary
Adam (William Laird) Elementary's state test result (18.2% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adam (William Laird) Elementary this school | 874 | 96.8% | 18.2% |
| Kamala Elementary Oxnard | 842 | 95.8% | 24.1% |
| Oakley (Calvin C.) Elementary Santa Maria | 849 | 95.9% | 18.4% |
| Romero-Cruz Academy Santa Ana | 827 | 95.8% | 10.4% |
| Mendota Elementary Mendota | 857 | 98.7% | 32.1% |
| Rice (William) Elementary Santa Maria | 887 | 95.2% | 16.0% |
Matched among California elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Adam (William Laird) Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Santa Barbara County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 18.2% | #4,719 of 5,151 | #59 of 66 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 18.0% | #4,478 of 5,172 ▲ 28 | #53 of 66 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 18.7% | #4,916 of 5,172 ▼ 85 | #62 of 66 no change |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +3.6pp | #2,084 of 5,116 | #20 of 66 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 874 | #209 of 5,915 | #7 of 75 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 24.6:1 | #4,176 of 5,352 | #53 of 63 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 3.8% | #5,251 of 5,354 | #60 of 63 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 96.8% | #222 of 5,625 | #5 of 70 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -11.1% | #2,547 of 3,837 | #30 of 47 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
874
-19 (-2%) vs 2020
+13% since 1990-91, when it was 771
Student : Teacher
24.6:1
was 25.5:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 874 | 35.5 | 24.6:1 | 97% (846) |
| 2023-24 | 870 | 37.3 | 23.3:1 | 96% (837) |
| 2022-23 | 856 | 37 | 23.1:1 | 91% (783) |
| 2020-21 | 893 | 35 | 25.5:1 | 95% (848) |
| 2017-18 | 983 | 37.8 | 26.0:1 | 96% (941) |
| 2015-16 | 1,036 | 38 | 27.3:1 | 95% (988) |
| 2010-11 | 872 | N/A | N/A | 92% (799) |
| 2000-01 | 911 | 46 | 19.8:1 | 92% (835) |
| 1990-91 | 771 | 32 | 24.1:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Adam (William Laird) Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 11% (983 to 874); teachers down 6% (37.8 to 35.5).
About Adam (William Laird) Elementary
As a high-enrollment elementary school, Adam (William Laird) Elementary serves students in Santa Maria, California. The grade span is kindergarten through 6, and enrollment is 874 students. Average enrollment for elementary schools in California is about 465, so this school runs 88% above that.
Santa Maria-Bonita (21 schools, 17,408 students) runs Adam (William Laird) Elementary.
Federal enrollment data show Adam (William Laird) Elementary is 98% Hispanic. Among all residents of Santa Barbara County, the Hispanic share is about 48%. The school's diversity index is 4%, meaning two students picked at random have a 4% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
Adam (William Laird) Elementary counts 35.5 full-time-equivalent teachers, about 24.6 students for each one. On average, elementary schools in California have 22.3:1, compared with 24.6:1 here. About 97% of enrolled students meet the income rules for free or reduced-price lunch. On average, public schools in Santa Barbara County report 68%.
allk12 grades Adam (William Laird) Elementary a C-. The grade compares the school only with California public elementary schools, because each state gives its own test.
In California, Adam (William Laird) Elementary is in the middle band of BeatsExpectations: 18.2% actual against a predicted 22.8%.
Across Santa Barbara County, the median household income is $98,161, about 37% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 9% of residents are in poverty. In all, Santa Barbara County has 129 public schools and roughly 66,191 students.
Sanchez (David J.) Elementary is located about 0.3 miles from Adam (William Laird) Elementary. Around the school, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. Its average proficiency rate of 18.2% is below the 23.3% average for nearby schools.
By NCES locale, the school is City: Mid-size, or inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
The student count changed little between 2020-21 (893) and 2024-25 (874).
Parents and students can post about sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week at Adam (William Laird) Elementary. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Santa Barbara County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
443,701
Census ACS
Median income
$98,161
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
37%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
129
66,191 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Santa Maria-Bonita
- JIMENEZ ROBERTO AND DR. FRANCISCO ELEMENTARYElementary · 1,177 students
- Bruce (Robert) ElementaryElementary · 1,050 students
- Alvin ElementaryElementary · 998 students
- Fesler (Isaac) Junior HighMiddle · 974 students
- Tunnell (Martin Luther) ElementaryElementary · 917 students
- Kunst (Tommie) Junior HighMiddle · 912 students
Other schools in Santa Maria
- Santa Maria HighHigh · 3,143 students
- Pioneer Valley HighHigh · 3,080 students
- Ernest Righetti HighHigh · 2,416 students
- JIMENEZ ROBERTO AND DR. FRANCISCO ELEMENTARYElementary · 1,177 students
- Bruce (Robert) ElementaryElementary · 1,050 students
- Alvin ElementaryElementary · 998 students
Nearby schools
- Sanchez (David J.) Elementary0.3 mi · 654
- Santa Maria High0.5 mi · 3,143
- Miller (Isaac) Elementary0.7 mi · 883
- Battles (Washington) Elementary0.9 mi · 769
- JIMENEZ ROBERTO AND DR. FRANCISCO ELEMENTARY0.9 mi · 1,177
- Liberty Elementary1.0 mi · 865
Frequently asked questions
About Adam (William Laird) ElementaryHow many students attend Adam (William Laird) Elementary?
Adam (William Laird) Elementary enrolls approximately 874 students in grades KG-06.
What grades does Adam (William Laird) Elementary serve?
Adam (William Laird) Elementary serves grades KG-06.
How many students per teacher at Adam (William Laird) Elementary?
Approximately 24.6:1 students per teacher at Adam (William Laird) Elementary.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Adam (William Laird) Elementary?
At Adam (William Laird) Elementary, the student body is approximately 1% White, 98% Hispanic, 0% Asian, 1% Two or more.
What district is Adam (William Laird) Elementary in?
Adam (William Laird) Elementary is part of Santa Maria-Bonita.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.