Enrollment
364
Elementary
DISTRICT 454 · STATE 465
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CHICO UNIFIED·NCES 060837000823
Neal Dow Elementary
1420 Neal Dow Ave., Chico, CA 95926 · (530) 891-3110 · Butte County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY12-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL364 STUDENTS
B+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 74% of California public elementary schools
- B+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A-Beats 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
16.9:1
22 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 19.9:1 · STATE 22.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
68%
247 students
DISTRICT 65% · 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 | 100 | 27% |
| Grade 1 | 41 | 11% |
| Grade 2 | 48 | 13% |
| Grade 3 | 59 | 16% |
| Grade 4 | 44 | 12% |
| Grade 5 | 72 | 20% |
This year's kindergarten class (100) is 39% larger than its 5th grade class (72).
Student demographics
62%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 64% · 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
50.0%
CA avg 49.1% . +14.0pp since 2014
Math
51.2%
CA avg 37.7% . +13.2pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 50 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 51 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 14 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 13 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 26.2% | 23.8% | 25.6% | 24.4% |
| Math | 23.2% | 28.0% | 22.0% | 26.8% |
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 | 50.0% | 51.2% |
| 2023-24 | 53.8% | 44.9% |
| 2022-23 | 53.1% | 54.3% |
| 2021-22 | 51.2% | 46.1% |
| 2018-19 | 37.4% | 31.6% |
| 2017-18 | 49.1% | 45.9% |
| 2016-17 | 45.1% | 41.9% |
| 2015-16 | 38.0% | 37.0% |
| 2014-15 | 36.0% | 38.0% |
% 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
49.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
39.8%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+10.2pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 50% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 40% 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 Neal Dow Elementary
Neal Dow Elementary's state test result (49.9% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Neal Dow Elementary this school | 364 | 67.9% | 49.9% |
| Wheatland Elementary Wheatland | 380 | 65.8% | 44.3% |
| McKinley Elementary Susanville | 378 | 70.1% | N/A |
| C. Roy Carmichael Elementary Portola | 344 | 70.6% | 29.9% |
| EV Cain Middle Auburn | 411 | 69.1% | 29.8% |
| Meadow Lane Elementary Anderson | 398 | 65.1% | 36.7% |
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 Neal Dow Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Butte County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 49.9% | #1,727 of 5,151 | #3 of 26 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 51.2% | #1,510 of 5,172 ▲ 313 | #3 of 26 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 50.0% | #2,026 of 5,172 ▼ 396 | #5 of 26 ▼ 4 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +2.0pp | #2,635 of 5,116 | #12 of 26 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 364 | #4,132 of 5,915 | #19 of 46 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.9:1 | #126 of 5,352 | #2 of 34 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 61.8% | #1,640 of 5,354 | #18 of 34 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 67.9% | #3,080 of 5,625 | #18 of 39 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +9.6% | #531 of 1,139 | #8 of 15 |
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
364
+50 (+16%) vs 2020
-44% since 1990-91, when it was 645
Student : Teacher
16.9:1
was 18.5:1
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 | 364 | 21.5 | 16.9:1 | 68% (247) |
| 2023-24 | 339 | 21 | 16.1:1 | 66% (225) |
| 2022-23 | 335 | 19 | 17.6:1 | 69% (230) |
| 2020-21 | 314 | 17 | 18.5:1 | 54% (171) |
| 2017-18 | 332 | 14 | 23.7:1 | 56% (186) |
| 2015-16 | 402 | 15 | 26.8:1 | 51% (207) |
| 2010-11 | 434 | N/A | N/A | 47% (206) |
| 2000-01 | 466 | 22 | 21.2:1 | 28% (130) |
| 1990-91 | 645 | 27 | 23.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Neal Dow Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students up 10% (332 to 364); teachers up 54% (14 to 21.5).
About Neal Dow Elementary
Neal Dow Elementary is a low-enrollment elementary school in Chico, California. The school had 364 students in kindergarten through 5 in 2024-25. An average school in this group (elementary schools in California) has about 465 students.
Chico Unified oversees Neal Dow Elementary and 21 other schools, with 12,260 students in total.
Roughly 54% of students at Neal Dow Elementary are White. Other reported shares: 27% Hispanic, 13% multiracial, and 3% Asian. Butte County's residents are about 70% White, 16 points above the school's share. The school's diversity index is 62%, meaning two students picked at random have a 62% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
Its teaching staff equals 21.5 full-time positions, a ratio of 16.9:1. On average, elementary schools in California have 22.3:1, compared with 16.9:1 here. Around 68% of the school's students qualify for free or reduced-price meals.
Measured against California public elementary schools, Neal Dow Elementary receives a B+. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
Neal Dow Elementary's actual average proficiency rate on state tests (49.9%) and its predicted rate (39.8%) put it outside the top and bottom 10% of California schools.
Neal Dow Elementary is located in Butte County, where the median household income is $67,928, about 32% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 12%. Besides Neal Dow Elementary, Butte County has 95 other public schools.
Hooker Oak Elementary is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.5 miles away. The five-mile area around Neal Dow Elementary holds at least 8 other public schools. Neal Dow Elementary's average proficiency of 49.9% compares with 45.4% for its nearest scored neighbors.
For locale, NCES codes Neal Dow Elementary as City: Mid-size.
Neal Dow Elementary's enrollment climbed from 314 in 2020-21 to 364 in 2024-25. Students per teacher fell from 18.5 in 2020-21 to 16.9 in 2024-25.
Discussions about Neal Dow Elementary may include science fairs, picture day, and bus routes. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Butte County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
207,929
Census ACS
Median income
$67,928
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
32%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
12%
Below federal line
Schools in county
96
29,730 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Chico Unified
- Pleasant Valley HighHigh · 1,978 students
- Chico HighHigh · 1,804 students
- Bidwell Junior HighMiddle · 1,012 students
- Chico Junior HighMiddle · 861 students
- Marsh (Harry M.) Junior HighMiddle · 716 students
- Shasta ElementaryElementary · 621 students
Other schools in Chico
- Pleasant Valley HighHigh · 1,978 students
- Chico HighHigh · 1,804 students
- Bidwell Junior HighMiddle · 1,012 students
- CORE Butte CharterCombined · 916 students
- Chico Junior HighMiddle · 861 students
- Marsh (Harry M.) Junior HighMiddle · 716 students
Nearby schools
- Hooker Oak Elementary0.5 mi · 337
- Bidwell Junior High0.7 mi · 1,012
- Wildflower Open Classroom0.8 mi · 183
- McManus (John A.) Elementary0.9 mi · 397
- Sierra View Elementary1.1 mi · 428
- Chico Junior High1.1 mi · 861
Frequently asked questions
About Neal Dow ElementaryHow many students attend Neal Dow Elementary?
Neal Dow Elementary enrolls approximately 364 students in grades KG-05.
Is Neal Dow Elementary an elementary, middle, or high school?
Neal Dow Elementary is an elementary school covering grades KG-05.
How many students per teacher at Neal Dow Elementary?
Approximately 16.9:1 students per teacher at Neal Dow Elementary.
What is the student diversity at Neal Dow Elementary?
Student demographics at Neal Dow Elementary are roughly 54% White, 27% Hispanic, 1% Black, 3% Asian, 13% Two or more.
What district is Neal Dow Elementary in?
Neal Dow Elementary is part of Chico Unified.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.