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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at Patterson Road Elementary?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
662
Elementary
DISTRICT 453 · STATE 465
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·ORCUTT UNION ELEMENTARY·NCES 062871004466
Patterson Road Elementary
400 Patterson Rd., Santa Maria, CA 93455 · (805) 938-8750 · Santa Barbara County
GRADES KG–06ELEMENTARY22-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL662 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 34% 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.
- C+Beats 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
26.8:1
25 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 25.2:1 · STATE 22.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
61%
403 students
DISTRICT 67% · 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 | 133 | 20% |
| Grade 1 | 76 | 11% |
| Grade 2 | 92 | 14% |
| Grade 3 | 88 | 13% |
| Grade 4 | 79 | 12% |
| Grade 5 | 109 | 16% |
| Grade 6 | 85 | 13% |
This year's kindergarten class (133) is 56% larger than its 6th grade class (85).
Student demographics
58%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 57% · 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
41.6%
CA avg 49.1% . +4.6pp since 2014
Math
37.1%
CA avg 37.7% . +6.1pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 42 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 37 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 5 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 6 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 16.9% | 24.7% | 27.8% | 30.6% |
| Math | 15.4% | 21.6% | 30.3% | 32.6% |
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 | 41.6% | 37.1% |
| 2023-24 | 46.1% | 39.4% |
| 2022-23 | 45.8% | 40.2% |
| 2021-22 | 49.2% | 43.0% |
| 2018-19 | 54.1% | 42.6% |
| 2017-18 | 46.6% | 38.5% |
| 2016-17 | 44.6% | 33.6% |
| 2015-16 | 43.0% | 35.0% |
| 2014-15 | 37.0% | 31.0% |
% 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
40.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
43.9%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-3.1pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 41% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 44% 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 Patterson Road Elementary
Patterson Road Elementary's state test result (40.7% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Patterson Road Elementary this school | 662 | 60.9% | 40.7% |
| Pine Grove Elementary Santa Maria | 569 | 58.7% | 51.4% |
| Northlake Hills Elementary Castaic | 556 | 59.2% | 53.8% |
| Gerald R. Ford Elementary Indian Wells | 598 | 62.9% | 60.9% |
| Crafton Elementary Redlands | 694 | 57.5% | 42.1% |
| Crossroads Elementary Riverbank | 752 | 61.2% | 43.9% |
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 Patterson Road Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Santa Barbara County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 40.7% | #2,415 of 5,151 | #32 of 66 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 37.1% | #2,540 of 5,172 ▼ 298 | #30 of 66 ▼ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 41.6% | #2,763 of 5,172 ▼ 586 | #34 of 66 ▼ 7 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -6.8pp | #324 of 5,116 | #10 of 66 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 662 | #948 of 5,915 | #19 of 75 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 26.8:1 | #5,059 of 5,352 | #63 of 63 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 57.9% | #2,036 of 5,354 | #16 of 63 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 60.9% | #3,443 of 5,625 | #39 of 70 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +1.8% | #985 of 1,139 | #10 of 13 |
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
662
+97 (+17%) vs 2020
+45% since 1990-91, when it was 457
Student : Teacher
26.8:1
was 25.7:1
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 | 662 | 24.8 | 26.8:1 | 61% (403) |
| 2023-24 | 641 | 25 | 25.6:1 | 45% (291) |
| 2022-23 | 612 | 22.5 | 27.2:1 | 42% (254) |
| 2020-21 | 565 | 22 | 25.7:1 | 37% (210) |
| 2017-18 | 650 | 25 | 26.0:1 | 42% (275) |
| 2015-16 | 675 | 25 | 27.0:1 | 43% (289) |
| 2010-11 | 451 | N/A | N/A | 49% (223) |
| 2000-01 | 669 | 30 | 22.3:1 | 26% (177) |
| 1990-91 | 457 | 19 | 24.1:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Patterson Road Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students up 2% (650 to 662); teachers down 1% (25 to 24.8).
About Patterson Road Elementary
Students in Santa Maria, California, attend Patterson Road Elementary, a medium-sized elementary school. The school's enrollment of 662 students covers kindergarten through 6. Enrollment is 42% higher than the average for elementary schools in California, which is about 465.
The district for Patterson Road Elementary is Orcutt Union Elementary, with 10 schools and 4,911 students.
Hispanic students make up a majority at Patterson Road Elementary, at 57%. The remaining students are 28% White and 12% multiracial. Census figures show Santa Barbara County is about 48% Hispanic. Pick two students at random and there is a 58% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
Patterson Road Elementary employs 24.8 full-time-equivalent teachers. That gives a ratio of about 26.8:1. This ratio sits 4.4 above the 22.3:1 average for elementary schools in California. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility was 61% in 2024-25.
allk12 grades Patterson Road Elementary a C. The grade compares the school only with California public elementary schools, because each state gives its own test.
On a poverty-adjusted basis, Patterson Road Elementary falls in the middle 80% of California schools: 40.7% actual against 43.9% predicted.
Within Santa Barbara County, the median household income is $98,161, about 37% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 9%. In all, Santa Barbara County has 129 public schools and roughly 66,191 students.
The closest other public school is Delta High, about 0.2 miles away. Within five miles are at least 8 other public schools. On proficiency, Patterson Road Elementary is behind the 44.7% nearby average, ranking 3rd of 5.
Locale data from NCES put Patterson Road Elementary in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population between 100,000 and 250,000 (Suburb: Mid-size).
Compared with 2020-21, the school had 97 more students in 2024-25. The school's ratio rose from 25.7:1 to 26.8:1 between 2020-21 and 2024-25.
Topics for discussion here include school events, clubs, and volunteer needs. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Santa Barbara County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
443,701
Census ACS
Median income
$98,161
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
37%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
129
66,191 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Orcutt Union Elementary
- Orcutt Academy CharterCombined · 812 students
- Joe Nightingale ElementaryElementary · 695 students
- Pine Grove ElementaryElementary · 569 students
- Alice Shaw ElementaryElementary · 530 students
- Ralph Dunlap ElementaryElementary · 502 students
- Orcutt Junior HighMiddle · 464 students
Other schools in Santa Maria
- Santa Maria HighHigh · 3,143 students
- Pioneer Valley HighHigh · 3,080 students
- Ernest Righetti HighHigh · 2,416 students
- JIMENEZ ROBERTO AND DR. FRANCISCO ELEMENTARYElementary · 1,177 students
- Bruce (Robert) ElementaryElementary · 1,050 students
- Alvin ElementaryElementary · 998 students
Nearby schools
- Delta High0.2 mi · 291
- Orcutt Junior High0.7 mi · 464
- Orcutt Academy Charter0.7 mi · 812
- Olive Grove Charter - Orcutt/Santa Maria0.7 mi · 153
- Family Partnership Charter0.8 mi · 372
- Orcutt School for Independent Study1.0 mi · 44
Frequently asked questions
About Patterson Road ElementaryWhat is the total enrollment at Patterson Road Elementary?
Patterson Road Elementary enrolls approximately 662 students in grades KG-06.
What age range does Patterson Road Elementary serve?
Patterson Road Elementary serves students from grade KG through grade 06.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Patterson Road Elementary?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Patterson Road Elementary is approximately 26.8:1 (25 FTE teachers).
How diverse is Patterson Road Elementary?
Patterson Road Elementary reports a student body of 28% White, 57% Hispanic, 0% Black, 1% Asian, 12% Two or more.
Who oversees Patterson Road Elementary?
Patterson Road Elementary is overseen by Orcutt Union Elementary in Santa Barbara County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.