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SCHOOL COMMUNITY·EMPIRE UNION ELEMENTARY·NCES 061269009536

Bernard L. Hughes Elementary

512 North McClure Rd., Modesto, CA 95357 · (209) 527-1330 · Stanislaus County
GRADES KG–06ELEMENTARY12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL455 STUDENTS
C+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 44% of California public elementary schools
  • CTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
  • C+Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
  • A+Three-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

Enrollment
455
Elementary
DISTRICT 438 · STATE 465
Student : Teacher
26.8:1
17 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 24.9:1 · STATE 22.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
82%
375 students
DISTRICT 84% · 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

GradeStudentsShare
Kindergarten7116%
Grade 14911%
Grade 26615%
Grade 37216%
Grade 46815%
Grade 56214%
Grade 66615%
Grade 710%
Student demographics
56%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 48% · STATE 62% · US 70%
White
5813%
DISTRICT 16% · STATE 20% · US 43%
Hispanic
28964%
DISTRICT 70% · STATE 56% · US 30%
Black
225%
DISTRICT 4% · STATE 5% · US 15%
Asian
4610%
DISTRICT 5% · STATE 12% · US 6%
Two+
143%
DISTRICT 4% · STATE 6% · US 5%
Native American
20%
DISTRICT 0% · STATE 0% · US 1%
Pacific Islander
245%
DISTRICT 1% · STATE 0% · US 0%
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
Male
23251%
Female
22349%

School pathway

Students here typically continue to
Bernard L. Hughes Elementary→Norman N. Glick Middle
Based on grade levels within Empire Union Elementary. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.

Discussions

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Test scores

CAASPP 2024-25 . % met or exceeded standard
English Language Arts
37.1%
CA avg 49.1% . +3.1pp since 2014
Math
29.6%
CA avg 37.7% . +1.6pp since 2014

What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 37 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 30 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 3 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 2 points.

Performance levels, 2024-25

SubjectStandard ExceededStandard MetStandard Nearly MetStandard Not Met
English Language Arts14.0%23.1%28.8%34.1%
Math8.2%21.4%30.3%40.1%
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 yearEnglish Language ArtsMath
2024-2537.1%29.6%
2023-2430.9%25.1%
2022-2331.3%28.6%
2021-2221.1%17.0%
2018-1937.6%29.6%
2017-1836.8%32.9%
2016-1731.7%26.0%
2015-1630.0%27.0%
2014-1534.0%28.0%
% 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 · methodology
Tier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
30.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
31.3%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-0.6pp
below demographic expectation

What this means: About 31% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 31% 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 Bernard L. Hughes Elementary

Bernard L. Hughes Elementary's state test result (30.6% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.

SchoolStudentsLow-incomeProficient
Bernard L. Hughes Elementary this school45582.4%30.6%
Sierra Vista Elementary
Clovis
46584.9%32.2%
Capistrano Avenue Elementary
West Hills
41581.0%54.2%
Catherine Everett Elementary
Modesto
42880.6%26.2%
Elihu Beard Elementary
Modesto
46780.3%29.9%
Westmont Elementary
Westminster
44181.2%36.0%
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 Bernard L. Hughes Elementary ranks

Among elementary schools
MeasureThis schoolIn CaliforniaIn Stanislaus County
State test proficiency
ranked highest first
30.6%#3,428 of 5,151#49 of 100
Math proficiency
ranked highest first
29.6%#3,265 of 5,172
▲ 354
#48 of 100
▲ 7
Reading proficiency
ranked highest first
37.1%#3,209 of 5,172
▲ 479
#47 of 100
▲ 9
3-year test score change
ranked biggest gain first
+14.3pp#213 of 5,116#4 of 100
Enrollment
ranked largest first
455#2,962 of 5,915#66 of 108
Students per teacher
ranked fewest first
26.8:1#5,061 of 5,352#97 of 97
Diversity index
ranked most diverse first
56.4%#2,192 of 5,354#35 of 97
Free and reduced lunch
ranked highest share first
82.4%#1,920 of 5,625#37 of 105
Enrollment change since 2017-18
ranked steepest decline first
-19.3%#1,493 of 3,837#7 of 56
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 2024-25
Enrollment
455
-61 (-12%) vs 2020
+28% since 1990-91, when it was 356
Student : Teacher
26.8:1
was 24.6:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Enrollment and staffing by year

School yearStudentsTeachers (FTE)Students per teacherFree and reduced lunch
2024-254551726.8:182% (375)
2023-244741924.9:176% (361)
2022-2350720.225.1:177% (388)
2020-215162124.6:173% (376)
2017-185642126.9:182% (464)
2015-165212026.1:180% (416)
2010-11480N/AN/A72% (345)
2000-015963019.9:147% (280)
1990-913561327.4:1N/A
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Bernard L. Hughes Elementary.

Since 2017-18: students down 19% (564 to 455); teachers down 19% (21 to 17).

About Bernard L. Hughes Elementary

Bernard L. Hughes Elementary is a public elementary school run by Empire Union Elementary in Modesto, California. The grade span is kindergarten through 6, and enrollment is 455 students.

Empire Union Elementary (6 schools, 2,794 students) runs Bernard L. Hughes Elementary.

Roughly 64% of students at Bernard L. Hughes Elementary are Hispanic. Enrollment also includes 13% White, 10% Asian, 5% Pacific Islander, and 5% Black. Among people living in Stanislaus County, the Hispanic share is about 50%. The school's diversity index is 56%, meaning two students picked at random have a 56% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.

The school's student-to-teacher ratio is about 26.8:1, with 17 full-time-equivalent teachers. That is higher than the 22.3:1 average for elementary schools in California. Lunch subsidy eligibility at Bernard L. Hughes Elementary is 82%. For comparison, public schools in Stanislaus County average 71%.

Measured against California public elementary schools, Bernard L. Hughes Elementary receives a C+. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.

On a poverty-adjusted basis, Bernard L. Hughes Elementary falls in the middle 80% of California schools: 30.6% actual against 31.3% predicted.

Census estimates describe Stanislaus County this way: the median household income is $81,468, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 20% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 11%. In all, Stanislaus County has 190 public schools and roughly 106,477 students.

The next-closest public school is Peter Johansen High, about 0.6 miles away. Bernard L. Hughes Elementary is one of several public schools in the area, with at least 8 others within five miles. Bernard L. Hughes Elementary's average proficiency of 30.6% compares with 36.1% for its nearest scored neighbors.

NCES assigns Bernard L. Hughes Elementary the locale City: Mid-size, meaning inside a principal city with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.

The school enrolled 455 students in 2024-25, 61 fewer than the 516 it had in 2020-21. Federal data show the ratio rising from 24.6:1 to 26.8:1.

If you have questions about school safety, transportation, and start times at Bernard L. Hughes Elementary, you can post them here. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.

Stanislaus County at a glance

View full county profile
Population
553,990
Census ACS
Median income
$81,468
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
20%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
11%
Below federal line
Schools in county
190
106,477 students

Quick facts

School name
Bernard L. Hughes Elementary
District
Empire Union Elementary
Address
512 North McClure Rd., Modesto, CA 95357
Phone
(209) 527-1330
County
Stanislaus County
Level
Elementary
Grade range
KG–06
Total enrollment
455
Teachers (FTE)
17
Student–teacher ratio
26.8:1
Free and reduced lunch
375 (82%)
Locale
12-City: Mid-size
NCES ID
061269009536
Charter school
No
Virtual school
No

Related schools

Other schools in Empire Union Elementary
Other schools in Modesto
Nearby schools

Frequently asked questions

About Bernard L. Hughes Elementary
How large is Bernard L. Hughes Elementary?
Bernard L. Hughes Elementary enrolls approximately 455 students in grades KG-06.
What age range does Bernard L. Hughes Elementary serve?
Bernard L. Hughes Elementary serves students from grade KG through grade 06.
How many students per teacher at Bernard L. Hughes Elementary?
Approximately 26.8:1 students per teacher at Bernard L. Hughes Elementary.
How diverse is Bernard L. Hughes Elementary?
Bernard L. Hughes Elementary reports a student body of 13% White, 64% Hispanic, 5% Black, 10% Asian, 3% Two or more.
What district is Bernard L. Hughes Elementary in?
Bernard L. Hughes Elementary is part of Empire Union Elementary.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.
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