Enrollment
106
Elementary
STATE 465
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·HAPPY VALLEY ELEMENTARY·NCES 061656002088
Happy Valley Elementary
3125 Branciforte Dr., Santa Cruz, CA 95065 · (831) 429-1456 · Santa Cruz County
GRADES KG–06ELEMENTARY41-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL106 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 87% of California public elementary schools
- ATest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- BBeats 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
16.6:1
6 FTE teachers
STATE 22.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
8%
8 students
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 | 10 | 9% |
| Grade 1 | 15 | 14% |
| Grade 2 | 17 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 18 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 17 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 14 | 13% |
| Grade 6 | 15 | 14% |
This year's kindergarten class (10) is 33% smaller than its 6th grade class (15).
Student demographics
37%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
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
80.0%
CA avg 49.1% . +2.0pp since 2014
Math
83.1%
CA avg 37.7% . +24.1pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 80 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 83 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 24 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 46.1% | 33.9% | 10.8% | 9.2% |
| Math | 38.5% | 44.6% | 12.3% | 4.6% |
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 | 80.0% | 83.1% |
| 2023-24 | 82.1% | 74.6% |
| 2022-23 | 90.3% | 72.6% |
| 2021-22 | 86.6% | 64.2% |
| 2018-19 | 87.1% | 79.0% |
| 2017-18 | 83.8% | 73.5% |
| 2016-17 | 80.3% | 70.4% |
| 2015-16 | 87.0% | 76.0% |
| 2014-15 | 78.0% | 59.0% |
% 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
80.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
75.1%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+5.3pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 80% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 75% 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 Happy Valley Elementary
Happy Valley Elementary's state test result (80.4% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Happy Valley Elementary this school | 106 | 7.5% | 80.4% |
| Ballard Elementary Solvang | 113 | 10.6% | 73.6% |
| Gratton Charter Denair | 111 | 12.6% | 60.7% |
| Knights Ferry Elementary Knights Ferry | 106 | 15.1% | 55.3% |
| Newcastle Elementary Newcastle | 164 | 13.4% | 66.6% |
| Mountain Elementary Soquel | 143 | 14.7% | 63.0% |
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 Happy Valley Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Santa Cruz County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 80.4% | #209 of 5,151 | #1 of 36 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 83.1% | #141 of 5,172 ▲ 285 | #1 of 36 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 80.0% | #270 of 5,172 ▼ 99 | #1 of 36 no change |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +6.2pp | #1,314 of 5,116 | #6 of 36 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 106 | #5,623 of 5,915 | #37 of 39 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 7.5% | #5,529 of 5,625 | #37 of 37 |
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
106
+1 (+1%) vs 2020
-28% since 1990-91, when it was 148
Student : Teacher
16.6:1
was 21.0:1
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 | 106 | 6.4 | 16.6:1 | 8% (8) |
| 2023-24 | 122 | 6.4 | 19.1:1 | 11% (13) |
| 2022-23 | 120 | 6.4 | 18.8:1 | 10% (12) |
| 2020-21 | 105 | 5 | 21.0:1 | 10% (11) |
| 2017-18 | 120 | 6.2 | 19.4:1 | 12% (14) |
| 2015-16 | 132 | 6 | 22.0:1 | 9% (12) |
| 2010-11 | 135 | N/A | N/A | 14% (19) |
| 2000-01 | 130 | 8 | 16.3:1 | 8% (11) |
| 1990-91 | 148 | 6 | 24.7:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Happy Valley Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 12% (120 to 106); teachers up 3% (6.2 to 6.4).
About Happy Valley Elementary
As a small elementary school, Happy Valley Elementary serves students in Santa Cruz, California. The student body numbers 106 students, from kindergarten through 6. Average enrollment for elementary schools in California is about 465, so this school runs 77% smaller than that.
Federal records list Happy Valley Elementary as its own district.
By race and ethnicity, Happy Valley Elementary is 77% White. The school is also 13% multiracial and 8% Hispanic. That is higher than the 60% White share among all Santa Cruz County residents. By the diversity index, Happy Valley Elementary comes in at 37%.
The school employs the equivalent of 6.4 full-time teachers, for a ratio of 16.6:1. The average ratio among elementary schools in California is 22.3:1, higher than at this school. The free or reduced-price lunch rate at Happy Valley Elementary is 8%. For comparison, public schools in Santa Cruz County average 52%.
The allk12 Grade for Happy Valley Elementary is A. Compared with California public elementary schools, the school scored higher than 87% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
On the allk12 BeatsExpectations measure, Happy Valley Elementary is 5.3 points above the average proficiency rate on state tests predicted for its free or reduced-price lunch share: 80.4% actual, 75.1% predicted. That is outside both the top and bottom 10% in California.
Census estimates describe Santa Cruz County this way: median household income is about $111,093, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 44%, and roughly 6% of residents are in poverty. The public schools of Santa Cruz County number 83 and enroll about 36,316.
Nearest public school: Santa Cruz Gardens Elementary, about 1.6 miles away. The five-mile area around Happy Valley Elementary holds at least 8 other public schools. Local comparison: Happy Valley Elementary ranks 1st of 8 nearby schools, at 80.4% versus a 54.3% average.
NCES lists the school's locale as Rural: Fringe. That means it sits in rural territory close to an urban area.
There was little change in enrollment from 2020-21 (105) to 2024-25 (106). The school's ratio fell from 21.0:1 to 16.6:1 between 2020-21 and 2024-25.
Posts about school safety, transportation, and start times are welcome on this page. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Santa Cruz County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
264,926
Census ACS
Median income
$111,093
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
44%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
83
36,316 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Santa Cruz
- Santa Cruz HighHigh · 1,093 students
- Harbor HighHigh · 1,013 students
- Santa Cruz County CommunityHigh · 730 students
- Pacific Collegiate CharterHigh · 536 students
- Mission Hill MiddleMiddle · 510 students
- Brook Knoll ElementaryElementary · 498 students
Other Happy Valley Elementary schools
6 other US public schools in 5 states are named Happy Valley Elementary. Happy Valley Elementary is the 7th largest of the 7.
- Happy Valley ElementaryLafayette, CA · 463 students
- Happy Valley ElementaryAnderson, CA · 242 students
- Happy Valley ElementaryJohnson City, TN · 506 students
- Happy Valley Elementary SchoolHappy Valley, OR · 491 students
- Happy Valley Elementary SchoolBellingham, WA · 455 students
Nearby schools
- Santa Cruz Gardens Elementary1.6 mi · 214
- Mountain Elementary2.3 mi · 143
- Brook Knoll Elementary2.3 mi · 498
- Scotts Valley Middle2.3 mi · 463
- De Laveaga Elementary2.3 mi · 481
- California Online Public Schools Monterey Bay2.4 mi · 440
Frequently asked questions
About Happy Valley ElementaryHow large is Happy Valley Elementary?
Happy Valley Elementary enrolls approximately 106 students in grades KG-06.
What grades does Happy Valley Elementary serve?
Happy Valley Elementary serves grades KG-06.
How many students per teacher at Happy Valley Elementary?
Approximately 16.6:1 students per teacher at Happy Valley Elementary.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Happy Valley Elementary?
At Happy Valley Elementary, the student body is approximately 77% White, 8% Hispanic, 1% Asian, 13% Two or more.
Who oversees Happy Valley Elementary?
Happy Valley Elementary is overseen by Happy Valley Elementary in Santa Cruz County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.