Enrollment
283
Elementary
DISTRICT 328 · STATE 465
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BERKELEY UNIFIED·NCES 060474000436
Emerson Elementary
2800 Forest Ave., Berkeley, CA 94705 · (510) 644-6890 · Alameda County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY12-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL283 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
21.8:1
13 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 20.4:1 · STATE 22.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
30%
84 students
DISTRICT 32% · STATE 65%
Community
0
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 | 57 | 20% |
| Grade 1 | 44 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 44 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 47 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 47 | 17% |
| Grade 5 | 44 | 16% |
This year's kindergarten class (57) is 30% larger than its 5th grade class (44).
Student demographics
72%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 74% · 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
75.9%
CA avg 49.1% . +19.9pp since 2014
Math
68.9%
CA avg 37.7% . +11.9pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 76 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 69 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 20 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 12 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 51.9% | 24.1% | 12.8% | 11.3% |
| Math | 49.6% | 19.3% | 17.8% | 13.3% |
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 | 75.9% | 68.9% |
| 2023-24 | 75.6% | 71.8% |
| 2022-23 | 71.3% | 71.0% |
| 2021-22 | 73.0% | 67.3% |
| 2018-19 | 71.9% | 69.2% |
| 2017-18 | 71.1% | 65.1% |
| 2016-17 | 72.5% | 68.3% |
| 2015-16 | 65.0% | 62.0% |
| 2014-15 | 56.0% | 57.0% |
% 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
72.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
62.1%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+10.7pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 73% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 62% 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 Emerson Elementary
Emerson Elementary's state test result (72.9% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Emerson Elementary this school | 283 | 29.7% | 72.9% |
| Oxford Elementary at West Campus Berkeley | 254 | 27.6% | 66.8% |
| Kentwood Elementary Los Angeles | 352 | 30.4% | 74.5% |
| Cragmont Elementary Berkeley | 290 | 28.6% | 69.5% |
| John Muir Elementary Berkeley | 293 | 30.7% | 71.6% |
| Malcolm X Elementary Berkeley | 469 | 31.6% | 65.1% |
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 Emerson Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Alameda County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 72.9% | #522 of 5,151 | #44 of 189 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 68.9% | #653 of 5,172 ▼ 132 | #56 of 192 ▼ 8 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 75.9% | #446 of 5,172 ▼ 7 | #34 of 192 ▲ 4 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +2.3pp | #2,524 of 5,116 | #63 of 187 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 283 | #4,895 of 5,915 | #184 of 216 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 21.8:1 | #2,014 of 5,352 | #59 of 201 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 71.5% | #447 of 5,354 | #47 of 201 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 29.7% | #4,771 of 5,625 | #146 of 211 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -11.6% | #2,478 of 3,837 | #99 of 138 |
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
283
-25 (-8%) vs 2020
-18% since 1990-91, when it was 345
Student : Teacher
21.8:1
was 20.5:1
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 | 283 | 13 | 21.8:1 | 30% (84) |
| 2023-24 | 282 | 13 | 21.7:1 | 32% (89) |
| 2022-23 | 270 | 14.5 | 18.6:1 | 27% (74) |
| 2020-21 | 308 | 15 | 20.5:1 | 28% (86) |
| 2017-18 | 320 | 16.5 | 19.4:1 | 37% (119) |
| 2015-16 | 305 | 14 | 21.8:1 | 41% (126) |
| 2010-11 | 306 | N/A | N/A | 56% (170) |
| 2000-01 | 337 | 21 | 16.1:1 | 54% (182) |
| 1990-91 | 345 | 15 | 23.0:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Emerson Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 12% (320 to 283); teachers down 21% (16.5 to 13).
About Emerson Elementary
Emerson Elementary is a low-enrollment elementary school in Berkeley, California, administered by Berkeley Unified. Classes run from kindergarten through 5, and the school has 283 students. Against the 465-student average for elementary schools in California, enrollment here is 39% lower.
Emerson Elementary falls under Berkeley Unified, which has 17 schools enrolling 9,116 students.
White students form the largest group at Emerson Elementary, 45% of enrollment. The next largest groups are 17% Black, 15% multiracial, 15% Hispanic, and 7% Asian. In Alameda County overall, about 30% of residents are White. The chance that two students picked at random at Emerson Elementary belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 72%.
A ratio of 21.8:1 comes from the school's 13 full-time-equivalent teachers. Elementary schools in California average about 22.3:1, a similar figure. The lunch program counts 30% of students at Emerson Elementary as eligible for free or reduced-price meals. Among public schools in Alameda County, the average eligibility rate is 49%.
Emerson Elementary is 10.7 points above its predicted average proficiency rate on state tests (72.9% versus 62.1%), which places it in neither the top nor the bottom 10% in California.
Census Bureau estimates for Alameda County show that median household income is about $129,367, roughly 52% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Emerson Elementary is one of 394 public schools in Alameda County, which together enroll about 210,511 students.
The next-closest public school is John Muir Elementary, about 0.4 miles away. In all, at least 8 other public schools sit within five miles of Emerson Elementary. Its average proficiency rate of 72.9% is above the 68.0% average for nearby schools.
Its location is classified as City: Mid-size by the National Center for Education Statistics.
Enrollment was 308 in 2020-21 and 283 in 2024-25, a decrease of 25 students. The student-to-teacher ratio rose from 20.5:1 in 2020-21 to 21.8:1 in 2024-25.
Discussions about Emerson Elementary may include sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Alameda County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
1,649,473
Census ACS
Median income
$129,367
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
52%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
394
210,511 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Berkeley Unified
- Berkeley HighHigh · 3,218 students
- Martin Luther King MiddleMiddle · 851 students
- Willard MiddleMiddle · 596 students
- Malcolm X ElementaryElementary · 469 students
- Longfellow Arts and Technology MiddleMiddle · 462 students
- Ruth Acty ElementaryElementary · 410 students
Other schools in Berkeley
- Berkeley HighHigh · 3,218 students
- Martin Luther King MiddleMiddle · 851 students
- Willard MiddleMiddle · 596 students
- Malcolm X ElementaryElementary · 469 students
- Longfellow Arts and Technology MiddleMiddle · 462 students
- Ruth Acty ElementaryElementary · 410 students
Other Emerson Elementary schools
35 other US public schools in 18 states are named Emerson Elementary. Emerson Elementary is the 26th largest of the 36.
- Emerson ElementaryRiverside, CA · 669 students
- Emerson ElementaryCompton, CA · 544 students
- Emerson ElementaryOakland, CA · 354 students
- Emerson Elementary SchoolHOUSTON, TX · 990 students
- Emerson Elementary SchoolMESA, AZ · 717 students
Nearby schools
- John Muir Elementary0.4 mi · 293
- Willard Middle0.4 mi · 596
- Sylvia Mendez Elementary0.7 mi · 379
- Chabot Elementary0.9 mi · 576
- Peralta Elementary0.9 mi · 355
- Claremont Middle1.1 mi · 487
Frequently asked questions
About Emerson ElementaryHow large is Emerson Elementary?
Emerson Elementary enrolls approximately 283 students in grades KG-05.
What grades does Emerson Elementary serve?
Emerson Elementary serves grades KG-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Emerson Elementary?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Emerson Elementary is approximately 21.8:1 (13 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at Emerson Elementary?
Student demographics at Emerson Elementary are roughly 45% White, 15% Hispanic, 17% Black, 7% Asian, 15% Two or more.
What district is Emerson Elementary in?
Emerson Elementary is part of Berkeley Unified.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.