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What's the vibe like in the hallways at Cottonwood Elementary right now?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
868
Elementary
DISTRICT 799 · STATE 465
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·HESPERIA UNIFIED·NCES 060001409081
Cottonwood Elementary
8850 Cottonwood Ave., Hesperia, CA 92345 · (760) 949-1390 · San Bernardino County
GRADES KG–06ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL868 STUDENTS
D
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 5% 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.
- DBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- B-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
Student : Teacher
22.8:1
38 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 24.7:1 · STATE 22.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
84%
731 students
DISTRICT 74% · 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 | 151 | 17% |
| Grade 1 | 87 | 10% |
| Grade 2 | 120 | 14% |
| Grade 3 | 130 | 15% |
| Grade 4 | 118 | 14% |
| Grade 5 | 125 | 14% |
| Grade 6 | 137 | 16% |
This year's kindergarten class (151) is 10% larger than its 6th grade class (137).
Student demographics
30%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 38% · 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
21.9%
CA avg 49.1% . -3.1pp since 2014
Math
14.8%
CA avg 37.7% . -2.2pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 22 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 15 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all California schools, those numbers are about 49 and 38. Reading and writing scores are down about 3 points since 2014, while math scores are down about 2 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 7.2% | 14.8% | 22.8% | 55.3% |
| Math | 4.3% | 10.5% | 30.9% | 54.3% |
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 | 21.9% | 14.8% |
| 2023-24 | 17.0% | 12.0% |
| 2022-23 | 20.3% | 11.8% |
| 2021-22 | 20.2% | 13.2% |
| 2018-19 | 27.3% | 20.4% |
| 2017-18 | 28.2% | 21.6% |
| 2016-17 | 21.2% | 19.2% |
| 2015-16 | 23.0% | 18.0% |
| 2014-15 | 25.0% | 17.0% |
% 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
16.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
30.2%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-14.0pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 16% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 30% 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 Cottonwood Elementary
Cottonwood Elementary's state test result (16.2% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cottonwood Elementary this school | 868 | 84.2% | 16.2% |
| Hamilton Elementary Fresno | 811 | 85.8% | 27.7% |
| Colonel Howard Nichols Elementary Bakersfield | 960 | 84.2% | 29.4% |
| Maple Elementary Hesperia | 988 | 84.0% | 27.2% |
| Jefferson Elementary Riverside | 886 | 86.5% | 29.1% |
| Railroad Canyon Elementary Lake Elsinore | 873 | 83.2% | 31.5% |
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 Cottonwood Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In California | In San Bernardino County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 16.2% | #4,867 of 5,151 | #288 of 318 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 14.8% | #4,757 of 5,172 ▲ 157 | #278 of 321 ▲ 9 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 21.9% | #4,731 of 5,172 ▲ 201 | #283 of 321 ▲ 13 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +1.7pp | #2,737 of 5,116 | #206 of 318 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 868 | #215 of 5,915 | #21 of 340 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 22.8:1 | #2,857 of 5,352 | #154 of 328 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 30.5% | #3,920 of 5,354 | #214 of 328 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 84.2% | #1,736 of 5,625 | #144 of 331 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -2.6% | #3,577 of 3,837 | #230 of 246 |
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
868
-21 (-2%) vs 2020
-10% since 1990-91, when it was 963
Student : Teacher
22.8:1
was 22.8:1
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 | 868 | 38 | 22.8:1 | 84% (731) |
| 2023-24 | 889 | 38 | 23.4:1 | 66% (583) |
| 2022-23 | 891 | 37 | 24.1:1 | 56% (497) |
| 2020-21 | 889 | 39 | 22.8:1 | 64% (569) |
| 2017-18 | 891 | 36 | 24.8:1 | 79% (705) |
| 2015-16 | 896 | 30 | 29.9:1 | 79% (712) |
| 2010-11 | 867 | N/A | N/A | 70% (607) |
| 2000-01 | 692 | 31 | 22.3:1 | 62% (430) |
| 1990-91 | 963 | 36 | 26.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Cottonwood Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 3% (891 to 868); teachers up 6% (36 to 38).
About Cottonwood Elementary
Cottonwood Elementary is a large elementary school that serves part of Hesperia, California. Its 868 students are spread across kindergarten through 6. The typical figure for elementary schools in California is about 465 students.
Cottonwood Elementary belongs to Hesperia Unified, a district of 25 schools and 23,188 students.
About 83% of the student body at Cottonwood Elementary is Hispanic. Other students are 9% White and 6% Black. By comparison, San Bernardino County residents are about 55% Hispanic. The school's diversity index is 30%, meaning two students picked at random have a 30% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
Teacher staffing is 38 full-time equivalents, or about 22.8 students per teacher. That is close to the 22.3:1 average for elementary schools in California. About 84% of students, or 731, qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Across public schools in San Bernardino County, the average is 74%.
Cottonwood Elementary is graded D by allk12, scoring above 5% of California public elementary schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
The model predicts 30.2% for a school in California with Cottonwood Elementary's free or reduced-price lunch share. Cottonwood Elementary posts 16.2%.
County data help place the school in context: in San Bernardino County, the median household income is $85,478, roughly 23% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 11% of residents live below the federal poverty line. San Bernardino County is home to 583 public schools and about 393,648 public school students.
Mojave River Academy - Rockview Park is the closest public school, about 1.3 miles away in a straight line. In all, at least 8 other public schools sit within five miles of Cottonwood Elementary. By average proficiency, Cottonwood Elementary is 6th among 6 schools close by.
The NCES locale for Cottonwood Elementary is Suburb: Large, which covers schools in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
The student count changed little between 2020-21 (889) and 2024-25 (868).
Discussion on this page can cover science fairs, picture day, and bus routes. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
San Bernardino County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
2,197,104
Census ACS
Median income
$85,478
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
23%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
11%
Below federal line
Schools in county
583
393,648 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Hesperia Unified
- Hesperia HighHigh · 2,405 students
- Oak Hills HighHigh · 2,370 students
- Sultana HighHigh · 2,098 students
- Hesperia Junior HighMiddle · 1,228 students
- Ranchero MiddleMiddle · 1,140 students
- Cedar MiddleMiddle · 1,061 students
Other schools in Hesperia
- Alta Vista Innovation HighHigh · 2,812 students
- Hesperia HighHigh · 2,405 students
- Sultana HighHigh · 2,098 students
- Hesperia Junior HighMiddle · 1,228 students
- Ranchero MiddleMiddle · 1,140 students
- Cedar MiddleMiddle · 1,061 students
Other Cottonwood Elementary schools
20 other US public schools in 12 states are named Cottonwood Elementary. Cottonwood Elementary is the 2nd largest of the 21.
- Cottonwood ElementaryPalmdale, CA · 652 students
- Cottonwood Elementary SchoolCLEVELAND, TX · 1,023 students
- COTTONWOOD ELEMENTARYCARLSBAD, NM · 684 students
- COTTONWOOD ELEMENTARYRIGBY, ID · 682 students
- Cottonwood Elementary SchoolFernley, NV · 572 students
Nearby schools
- Mojave River Academy - Rockview Park1.3 mi · 349
- Altus Schools Mirus Charter1.3 mi · 292
- Hesperia High1.4 mi · 2,405
- Shadow Ridge1.5 mi · 378
- Mesquite Trails Elementary1.5 mi · 882
- Cedar Middle1.6 mi · 1,061
Frequently asked questions
About Cottonwood ElementaryWhat is the total enrollment at Cottonwood Elementary?
Cottonwood Elementary enrolls approximately 868 students in grades KG-06.
What grades does Cottonwood Elementary serve?
Cottonwood Elementary serves grades KG-06.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Cottonwood Elementary?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Cottonwood Elementary is approximately 22.8:1 (38 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at Cottonwood Elementary?
Student demographics at Cottonwood Elementary are roughly 9% White, 83% Hispanic, 6% Black, 1% Asian, 1% Two or more.
What district is Cottonwood Elementary in?
Cottonwood Elementary is part of Hesperia Unified.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.