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SCHOOL COMMUNITY·POWAY UNIFIED·NCES 063153010007

Turtleback Elementary

15855 Turtleback Rd., San Diego, CA 92127 · (858) 673-5514 · San Diego County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY11-CITYREGULAR SCHOOL458 STUDENTS
Enrollment
458
Elementary
DISTRICT 607 · STATE 465
Student : Teacher
19.7:1
23 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 22.1:1 · STATE 22.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
22%
99 students
DISTRICT 17% · 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
Kindergarten11224%
Grade 14810%
Grade 27516%
Grade 37617%
Grade 46214%
Grade 58519%

This year's kindergarten class (112) is 32% larger than its 5th grade class (85).

Student demographics
74%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 72% · STATE 62% · US 70%
White
15835%
DISTRICT 38% · STATE 20% · US 43%
Hispanic
10623%
DISTRICT 17% · STATE 56% · US 30%
Black
72%
DISTRICT 2% · STATE 5% · US 15%
Asian
12327%
DISTRICT 31% · STATE 12% · US 6%
Two+
6314%
DISTRICT 12% · STATE 6% · US 5%
Native American
10%
DISTRICT 0% · STATE 0% · US 1%
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
24553%
Female
21347%

Discussions

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Test scores

CAASPP 2024-25 . % met or exceeded standard
English Language Arts
61.1%
CA avg 49.1% . -1.9pp since 2014
Math
57.8%
CA avg 37.7% . -3.2pp since 2014

What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 61 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 58 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 2 points since 2014, while math scores are down about 3 points.

Performance levels, 2024-25

SubjectStandard ExceededStandard MetStandard Nearly MetStandard Not Met
English Language Arts30.6%30.6%17.1%21.8%
Math30.3%27.5%25.2%17.0%
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 yearEnglish Language ArtsMath
2024-2561.1%57.8%
2023-2456.4%62.0%
2022-2359.1%63.4%
2021-2257.7%64.9%
2018-1965.4%65.0%
2017-1865.6%72.6%
2016-1763.1%64.5%
2015-1670.0%62.0%
2014-1563.0%61.0%
% 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
59.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
66.9%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-7.1pp
below demographic expectation

What this means: About 60% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 67% 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 Turtleback Elementary

Turtleback Elementary's state test result (59.7% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.

SchoolStudentsLow-incomeProficient
Turtleback Elementary this school45821.6%59.7%
Nohl Canyon Elementary
Anaheim
52420.0%79.4%
Parkside Montessori
San Mateo
41817.7%66.8%
Park View Elementary
Ripon
46720.3%70.4%
Morning Creek Elementary
San Diego
53121.1%68.8%
Bryant Ranch Elementary
Yorba Linda
50524.0%80.9%
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 Turtleback Elementary ranks

Among elementary schools
MeasureThis schoolIn CaliforniaIn San Diego County
State test proficiency
ranked highest first
59.7%#1,133 of 5,151#123 of 392
Math proficiency
ranked highest first
57.8%#1,161 of 5,172
▼ 224
#126 of 393
▼ 19
Reading proficiency
ranked highest first
61.1%#1,250 of 5,172
▲ 215
#144 of 393
▲ 16
3-year test score change
ranked biggest drop first
-1.9pp#1,253 of 5,116#115 of 387
Enrollment
ranked largest first
458#2,923 of 5,915#224 of 453
Students per teacher
ranked fewest first
19.7:1#826 of 5,352#42 of 418
Diversity index
ranked most diverse first
73.6%#231 of 5,354#19 of 418
Free and reduced lunch
ranked highest share first
21.6%#5,093 of 5,625#380 of 442
Enrollment change since 2017-18
ranked steepest decline first
-24.8%#927 of 3,837#62 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
458
-71 (-13%) vs 2020
-47% since 1990-91, when it was 862
Student : Teacher
19.7:1
was 19.6:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Enrollment and staffing by year

School yearStudentsTeachers (FTE)Students per teacherFree and reduced lunch
2024-2545823.219.7:122% (99)
2023-2450022.722.0:120% (102)
2022-2350623.721.4:118% (92)
2020-215292719.6:118% (97)
2017-186092524.4:116% (96)
2015-166042524.2:116% (96)
2010-11540N/AN/A11% (57)
2000-018264020.6:17% (57)
1990-918623226.9:1N/A
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Turtleback Elementary.

Since 2017-18: students down 25% (609 to 458); teachers down 7% (25 to 23.2).

About Turtleback Elementary

Turtleback Elementary is a medium-sized elementary school for students in San Diego, California. Classes run from kindergarten through 5, and the school has 458 students.

Turtleback Elementary reports to Poway Unified, which has 39 schools and 34,259 students.

Federal enrollment data show White students as the largest group at Turtleback Elementary, at 35%. Other groups include 27% Asian, 23% Hispanic, and 14% multiracial. By comparison, San Diego County residents are about 48% White. Pick two students at random and there is a 74% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.

Turtleback Elementary employs 23.2 full-time-equivalent teachers. That gives a ratio of about 19.7:1. This ratio sits 2.6 below the 22.3:1 average for elementary schools in California. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility was 22% in 2024-25. That is 32 points below the 54% average for public schools in San Diego County.

BeatsExpectations compares each school's average proficiency rate on state tests with a prediction based on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility. For Turtleback Elementary, the prediction is 66.9% and the result is 59.7%.

Census Bureau estimates for San Diego County show that the median household income is $106,268, roughly 43% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 7%. There are 766 public schools in San Diego County, enrolling about 467,437 students in all.

The school nearest to Turtleback Elementary is Rolling Hills Elementary, at a distance of about 1.0 miles. A five-mile radius around the school includes at least 8 other public schools. Of the 9 nearby schools with scores, including this one, Turtleback Elementary is 8th on average proficiency.

Turtleback Elementary has an NCES locale of City: Large.

Enrollment is down 13% from 2020-21, when Turtleback Elementary had 529 students, to 2024-25, when it had 458.

The Turtleback Elementary community page is open for posts about sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.

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
Turtleback Elementary
District
Poway Unified
Address
15855 Turtleback Rd., San Diego, CA 92127
Phone
(858) 673-5514
County
San Diego County
Level
Elementary
Grade range
KG–05
Total enrollment
458
Teachers (FTE)
23
Student–teacher ratio
19.7:1
Free and reduced lunch
99 (22%)
Locale
11-City: Large
NCES ID
063153010007
Charter school
No
Virtual school
No

Related schools

Other schools in Poway Unified
Other schools in San Diego
Nearby schools

Frequently asked questions

About Turtleback Elementary
How large is Turtleback Elementary?
Turtleback Elementary enrolls approximately 458 students in grades KG-05.
Is Turtleback Elementary an elementary, middle, or high school?
Turtleback Elementary is an elementary school covering grades KG-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Turtleback Elementary?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Turtleback Elementary is approximately 19.7:1 (23 FTE teachers).
How diverse is Turtleback Elementary?
Turtleback Elementary reports a student body of 35% White, 23% Hispanic, 2% Black, 27% Asian, 14% Two or more.
Is Turtleback Elementary public or private?
Turtleback Elementary is a public K-12 school, overseen by Poway Unified.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.
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