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SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SAN DIEGO UNIFIED·NCES 063432005451

Ralph Waldo Emerson Elementary

3510 Newton Ave., San Diego, CA 92113 · (619) 344-6200 · San Diego County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL456 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 24% of California public elementary schools
  • DTest 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.
  • 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

Enrollment
456
Elementary
DISTRICT 416 · STATE 465
Student : Teacher
25.3:1
18 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 23.6:1 · STATE 22.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
97%
441 students
DISTRICT 63% · 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

GradeStudentsShare
Kindergarten9621%
Grade 16614%
Grade 27617%
Grade 38018%
Grade 47316%
Grade 56514%

This year's kindergarten class (96) is 48% larger than its 5th grade class (65).

Student demographics
11%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 71% · STATE 62% · US 70%
White
51%
DISTRICT 24% · STATE 20% · US 43%
Hispanic
43094%
DISTRICT 45% · STATE 56% · US 30%
Black
143%
DISTRICT 7% · STATE 5% · US 15%
Asian
10%
DISTRICT 14% · STATE 12% · US 6%
Two+
51%
DISTRICT 9% · STATE 6% · US 5%
Pacific Islander
10%
DISTRICT 0% · STATE 0% · US 0%
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
Male
22549%
Female
23151%

Discussions

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Test scores

CAASPP 2024-25 . % met or exceeded standard
English Language Arts
31.6%
CA avg 49.1% . +12.6pp since 2014
Math
19.7%
CA avg 37.7% . +2.7pp since 2014

What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 32 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 20 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 13 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 3 points.

Performance levels, 2024-25

SubjectStandard ExceededStandard MetStandard Nearly MetStandard Not Met
English Language Arts12.7%18.9%23.1%45.3%
Math5.2%14.6%25.8%54.5%
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 yearEnglish Language ArtsMath
2024-2531.6%19.7%
2023-2421.2%15.1%
2022-2331.6%17.8%
2021-2226.6%16.4%
2018-1932.3%29.6%
2017-1830.0%30.6%
2016-1723.8%27.8%
2015-1633.0%25.0%
2014-1519.0%17.0%
% 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 · methodology
Tier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
21.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
22.9%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-1.2pp
below demographic expectation

What this means: About 22% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 23% 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 Ralph Waldo Emerson Elementary

Ralph Waldo Emerson Elementary's state test result (21.7% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.

SchoolStudentsLow-incomeProficient
Ralph Waldo Emerson Elementary this school45696.7%21.7%
Dr. Lawrence H. Moore Math Science Technology Academy
Los Angeles
45497.8%38.1%
Mt. Vernon Elementary
San Bernardino
47196.2%14.0%
Hawaiian Avenue Elementary
Wilmington
45596.5%24.4%
Nevin Avenue Elementary
Los Angeles
47897.7%35.1%
Wilmington Park Elementary
Wilmington
47296.0%36.1%
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 Ralph Waldo Emerson Elementary ranks

Among elementary schools
MeasureThis schoolIn CaliforniaIn San Diego County
State test proficiency
ranked highest first
21.7%#4,425 of 5,151#358 of 392
Math proficiency
ranked highest first
19.7%#4,334 of 5,172
▲ 336
#346 of 393
▲ 22
Reading proficiency
ranked highest first
31.6%#3,816 of 5,172
▲ 817
#317 of 393
▲ 56
3-year test score change
ranked biggest gain first
+4.2pp#1,924 of 5,116#119 of 387
Enrollment
ranked largest first
456#2,953 of 5,915#228 of 453
Students per teacher
ranked fewest first
25.3:1#4,592 of 5,352#363 of 418
Diversity index
ranked most diverse first
11.0%#4,890 of 5,354#401 of 418
Free and reduced lunch
ranked highest share first
96.7%#236 of 5,625#6 of 442
Enrollment change since 2017-18
ranked steepest decline first
-0.2%#3,829 of 3,837#278 of 279
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 2024-25
Enrollment
456
+45 (+11%) vs 2020
-53% since 1990-91, when it was 974
Student : Teacher
25.3:1
was 21.6:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Enrollment and staffing by year

School yearStudentsTeachers (FTE)Students per teacherFree and reduced lunch
2024-254561825.3:197% (441)
2023-244192020.9:196% (401)
2022-234111724.2:195% (392)
2020-214111921.6:180% (329)
2017-184572022.9:197% (443)
2015-165672621.8:198% (553)
2010-11640N/AN/A91% (582)
2000-011,3717817.6:189% (1,214)
1990-919744422.1:1N/A
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Ralph Waldo Emerson Elementary.

Since 2017-18: students unchanged (457 to 456); teachers down 10% (20 to 18).

About Ralph Waldo Emerson Elementary

Ralph Waldo Emerson Elementary is a public medium-sized elementary school in San Diego, California. It enrolled 456 students in kindergarten through 5 for the 2024-25 school year.

San Diego Unified is the local district for Ralph Waldo Emerson Elementary. It runs 174 schools with 94,828 students.

The student body at Ralph Waldo Emerson Elementary is 94% Hispanic. Other reported shares: 3% Black. San Diego County's residents are about 35% Hispanic, 60 points below the school's share. Pick two students at random and there is an 11% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.

At Ralph Waldo Emerson Elementary, 18 full-time-equivalent teachers work with students, a ratio of about 25.3:1. On average, elementary schools in California have 22.3:1, compared with 25.3:1 here. Students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch make up 97% of enrollment. That is higher than the 54% average for public schools in San Diego County.

The allk12 Grade for Ralph Waldo Emerson Elementary is C-. Compared with California public elementary schools, the school scored higher than 24% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.

BeatsExpectations compares each school's average proficiency rate on state tests with a prediction based on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility. For Ralph Waldo Emerson Elementary, the prediction is 22.9% and the result is 21.7%.

San Diego County has these Census figures: the median household income is $106,268, about 43% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 7% of residents are in poverty. In all, San Diego County has 766 public schools and roughly 467,437 students.

Mountain View is the closest public school, about 0.2 miles away in a straight line. In all, at least 8 other public schools sit within five miles of Ralph Waldo Emerson Elementary. Ralph Waldo Emerson Elementary places 5th of 7 on proficiency among the closest schools that report scores.

Its NCES locale code is City: Large: the school is inside a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more.

Over 4 years, Ralph Waldo Emerson Elementary's enrollment climbed 11%, to 456. The school's ratio rose from 21.6:1 to 25.3:1 between 2020-21 and 2024-25.

Conversations here can range across school safety, transportation, and start times. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.

San Diego County at a glance

View full county profile
Population
3,288,774
Census ACS
Median income
$106,268
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
43%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
766
467,437 students

Quick facts

School name
Ralph Waldo Emerson Elementary
District
San Diego Unified
Address
3510 Newton Ave., San Diego, CA 92113
Phone
(619) 344-6200
County
San Diego County
Level
Elementary
Grade range
KG–05
Total enrollment
456
Teachers (FTE)
18
Student–teacher ratio
25.3:1
Free and reduced lunch
441 (97%)
Locale
11-City: Large
NCES ID
063432005451
Charter school
No
Virtual school
No

Related schools

Other schools in San Diego Unified
Other schools in San Diego
Other Ralph Waldo Emerson Elementary schools

2 other US public schools in 3 states are named Ralph Waldo Emerson Elementary. Ralph Waldo Emerson Elementary is the largest of the 3.

Nearby schools

Frequently asked questions

About Ralph Waldo Emerson Elementary
What is the total enrollment at Ralph Waldo Emerson Elementary?
Ralph Waldo Emerson Elementary enrolls approximately 456 students in grades KG-05.
What age range does Ralph Waldo Emerson Elementary serve?
Ralph Waldo Emerson Elementary serves students from grade KG through grade 05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Ralph Waldo Emerson Elementary?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Ralph Waldo Emerson Elementary is approximately 25.3:1 (18 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Ralph Waldo Emerson Elementary?
At Ralph Waldo Emerson Elementary, the student body is approximately 1% White, 94% Hispanic, 3% Black, 0% Asian, 1% Two or more.
Is Ralph Waldo Emerson Elementary public or private?
Ralph Waldo Emerson Elementary is a public K-12 school, overseen by San Diego Unified.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.
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