1
What's something Orchard Elementary does better than most schools?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
740
Elementary
STATE 465
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·ORCHARD ELEMENTARY·NCES 062868004460
Orchard Elementary
921 Fox Ln., San Jose, CA 95131 · (408) 944-0388 · Santa Clara County
GRADES KG–08ELEMENTARY11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL740 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 15% of California public elementary schools
- C+Test 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.
- FThree-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
16.4:1
45 FTE teachers
STATE 22.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
50%
371 students
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 | 106 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 73 | 10% |
| Grade 2 | 100 | 14% |
| Grade 3 | 75 | 10% |
| Grade 4 | 70 | 9% |
| Grade 5 | 82 | 11% |
| Grade 6 | 83 | 11% |
| Grade 7 | 77 | 10% |
| Grade 8 | 74 | 10% |
This year's kindergarten class (106) is 43% larger than its 8th grade class (74).
Student demographics
64%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
38.7%
CA avg 49.1% . -7.3pp since 2014
Math
26.7%
CA avg 37.7% . -11.3pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 39 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 27 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 7 points since 2014, while math scores are down about 11 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 15.2% | 23.5% | 21.9% | 39.4% |
| Math | 12.3% | 14.5% | 30.3% | 43.0% |
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 | 38.7% | 26.7% |
| 2023-24 | 39.7% | 29.8% |
| 2022-23 | 46.6% | 29.1% |
| 2021-22 | 48.9% | 33.1% |
| 2018-19 | 59.5% | 51.1% |
| 2017-18 | 55.0% | 50.2% |
| 2016-17 | 51.0% | 45.8% |
| 2015-16 | 48.0% | 44.0% |
| 2014-15 | 46.0% | 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
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of CA schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
33.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
50.2%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-16.6pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 34% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 50% typical for California schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
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 Orchard Elementary
Orchard Elementary's state test result (33.6% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orchard Elementary this school | 740 | 50.1% | 33.6% |
| Mesa Elementary West Covina | 753 | 53.7% | 63.8% |
| Anthony C. Traina Elementary Tracy | 721 | 50.9% | 46.5% |
| Garfield Elementary Alhambra | 577 | 46.8% | 54.0% |
| Nixon (Patricia) Elementary Cerritos | 681 | 52.6% | 66.3% |
| Plymouth Elementary Monrovia | 547 | 51.7% | 59.6% |
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 Orchard Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Santa Clara County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 33.6% | #3,106 of 5,151 | #168 of 226 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 26.7% | #3,578 of 5,172 ▼ 475 | #182 of 226 ▼ 9 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 38.7% | #3,073 of 5,172 ▼ 303 | #160 of 226 ▼ 4 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -8.3pp | #202 of 5,116 | #23 of 225 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 740 | #578 of 5,915 | #9 of 255 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.4:1 | #75 of 5,352 | #5 of 247 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 63.9% | #1,386 of 5,354 | #93 of 247 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 50.1% | #3,906 of 5,625 | #94 of 252 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -15.3% | #1,985 of 3,837 | #128 of 189 |
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
740
-75 (-9%) vs 2020
+89% since 1990-91, when it was 392
Student : Teacher
16.4:1
was 18.9:1
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 | 740 | 45.1 | 16.4:1 | 50% (371) |
| 2023-24 | 760 | 46.5 | 16.3:1 | 51% (387) |
| 2022-23 | 763 | 45 | 17.0:1 | 44% (335) |
| 2020-21 | 815 | 43 | 18.9:1 | 27% (219) |
| 2017-18 | 874 | 40.9 | 21.4:1 | 50% (441) |
| 2015-16 | 905 | 43 | 21.1:1 | 52% (474) |
| 2010-11 | 880 | N/A | N/A | 48% (424) |
| 2000-01 | 791 | 46 | 17.2:1 | 30% (234) |
| 1990-91 | 392 | 20 | 19.6:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Orchard Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 15% (874 to 740); teachers up 10% (40.9 to 45.1).
About Orchard Elementary
Among the schools in San Jose, California, is Orchard Elementary, a large elementary school. Students in kindergarten through 8 attend the school, which enrolls 740 students. The average among elementary schools in California is roughly 465 students; this school is 59% above that.
Federal records list Orchard Elementary as its own district.
Enrollment at Orchard Elementary is mixed, with Hispanic students the largest group at 47%. Beyond that, enrollment is 36% Asian, 6% multiracial, 4% White, and 4% Black. In Santa Clara County overall, about 25% of residents are Hispanic. By the diversity index, Orchard Elementary comes in at 64%.
Federal data list 45.1 full-time-equivalent teachers at Orchard Elementary in 2024-25, for a ratio of 16.4:1. The average ratio among elementary schools in California is 22.3:1, higher than at this school. The school's rate of free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is 50%. By comparison, the figure for public schools in Santa Clara County is 37%.
Orchard Elementary is graded C- by allk12, scoring above 15% of California public elementary schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
BeatsExpectations places Orchard Elementary in the bottom 10% of California schools. The measure fits a line through proficiency and free or reduced-price lunch share for each state, and this school sits 16.6 points below it (33.6% actual, 50.2% predicted).
Among Santa Clara County residents, median household income is about $164,281, about 57% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 4% of residents are in poverty. Orchard Elementary is one of 412 public schools in Santa Clara County, which together enroll about 230,059 students.
The shortest distance from Orchard Elementary to another public school is about 0.3 miles, to Santa Clara County Community. A five-mile radius around the school includes at least 8 other public schools. Among the 5 closest schools with test data, this one included, Orchard Elementary ranks 4th on average proficiency.
The federal government classifies Orchard Elementary's location as City: Large.
A comparison of 2020-21 and 2024-25 shows enrollment down 9%, from 815 to 740. The ratio of students to teachers went from 18.9:1 to 16.4:1 over the same years.
Parents and students can post about school events, clubs, and volunteer needs at Orchard Elementary. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Santa Clara County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
1,902,047
Census ACS
Median income
$164,281
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
57%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
4%
Below federal line
Schools in county
412
230,059 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in San Jose
- Evergreen Valley HighHigh · 2,703 students
- Independence HighHigh · 2,289 students
- Silver Creek HighHigh · 2,139 students
- Santa Teresa HighHigh · 2,134 students
- Piedmont Hills HighHigh · 1,918 students
- Leigh HighHigh · 1,884 students
Other Orchard Elementary schools
6 other US public schools in 4 states are named Orchard Elementary. Orchard Elementary is the largest of the 7.
- Orchard ElementaryModesto, CA · 579 students
- Orchard ElementaryVacaville, CA · 437 students
- Orchard ElementaryRio Linda, CA · 366 students
- Orchard Elementary SchoolMobile, AL · 622 students
- Orchard ElementaryRichland, WA · 594 students
Nearby schools
- Santa Clara County Community0.3 mi · 107
- Opportunity Youth Academy0.3 mi · 283
- Santa Clara County Special Education0.3 mi · 771
- Santa Clara County Court0.3 mi · 44
- San Jose Conservation Corps Charter1.1 mi · 158
- Mabel Mattos Elementary1.2 mi · 746
Frequently asked questions
About Orchard ElementaryHow many students attend Orchard Elementary?
Orchard Elementary enrolls approximately 740 students in grades KG-08.
What grades does Orchard Elementary serve?
Orchard Elementary serves grades KG-08.
How many students per teacher at Orchard Elementary?
Approximately 16.4:1 students per teacher at Orchard Elementary.
How diverse is Orchard Elementary?
Orchard Elementary reports a student body of 4% White, 47% Hispanic, 4% Black, 36% Asian, 6% Two or more.
Is Orchard Elementary public or private?
Orchard Elementary is a public K-12 school, overseen by Orchard Elementary.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.