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What's one thing California Area El Sch gets right about preparing students for what comes next?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
485
Elementary
DISTRICT 311 · STATE 443
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CALIFORNIA AREA SD·NCES 420471000813
California Area Elementary School
40 Trojan Way, Coal Center, PA 15423 · (724) 785-5800 · Washington County
GRADES KG–06ELEMENTARY41-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL485 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 27% of Pennsylvania 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.
- 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.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Pennsylvania public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
15.0:1
32 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.2:1 · STATE 13.1:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
99%
482 students
DISTRICT 97% · STATE 75%
Community
1
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 | 70 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 57 | 12% |
| Grade 2 | 65 | 13% |
| Grade 3 | 80 | 16% |
| Grade 4 | 72 | 15% |
| Grade 5 | 73 | 15% |
| Grade 6 | 68 | 14% |
This year's kindergarten class (70) is about the same size as its 6th grade class (68).
Student demographics
35%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 32% · STATE 59% · 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
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Based on grade levels within California Area SD. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
PSSA + Keystone 2024-25 . % Proficient or AdvancedEnglish Language Arts
34.5%
PA avg 51.1% . -11.1pp since 2023
Math
14.9%
PA avg 43.0% . -14.1pp since 2023
What this means: On the PSSA + Keystone, Pennsylvania's statewide test, about 35 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 15 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Pennsylvania schools, those numbers are about 51 and 43. Reading and writing scores are down about 11 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 14 points.
PSSA + Keystone results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 34.5% | 14.9% |
| 2023-24 | 45.6% | 29.0% |
% Proficient or Advanced, all students and all tested grades.
Source: PSSA + Keystone. 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
35.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
35.0%
based on PA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+0.1pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 35% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 35% typical for Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania'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 California Area Elementary School
California Area Elementary School's state test result (35.1% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| California Area Elementary School this school | 485 | 99.4% | 35.1% |
| Juniata Gap Elementary School Altoona | 490 | 99.4% | 55.8% |
| West Crawford Elementary School Connellsville | 487 | 99.4% | 30.0% |
| Williams Valley Elementary School Tower City | 497 | 98.2% | 29.5% |
| Logan Elementary School Altoona | 428 | 99.3% | 42.9% |
| Lewistown Intrmd School Lewistown | 516 | 98.3% | 43.0% |
Matched among Pennsylvania 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 California Area Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Pennsylvania | In Washington County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 35.1% | #1,122 of 1,396 | #24 of 25 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 14.9% | #1,350 of 1,511 ▼ 211 | #25 of 25 ▼ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 34.5% | #1,127 of 1,511 ▼ 107 | #24 of 25 ▼ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 485 | #570 of 1,638 | #10 of 26 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.0:1 | #1,265 of 1,528 | #18 of 24 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 34.7% | #890 of 1,531 | #7 of 24 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 99.4% | #345 of 1,600 | #2 of 25 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +43.1% | #17 of 450 | #1 of 8 |
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
485
+162 (+50%) vs 2020
+52% since 2010-11, when it was 319
Student : Teacher
15.0:1
was 16.1:1
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 | 485 | 32.3 | 15.0:1 | 99% (482) |
| 2023-24 | 483 | 34.4 | 14.0:1 | 99% (480) |
| 2022-23 | 490 | 31.9 | 15.4:1 | 60% (296) |
| 2020-21 | 323 | 20 | 16.1:1 | 50% (163) |
| 2017-18 | 339 | 23.3 | 14.5:1 | 44% (148) |
| 2015-16 | 308 | 23 | 13.4:1 | 45% (140) |
| 2010-11 | 319 | 27 | 11.8:1 | 42% (133) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for California Area Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students up 43% (339 to 485); teachers up 38% (23.3 to 32.3).
About California Area Elementary School
California Area Elementary School is a medium-sized elementary school. Its address is in Coal Center, Pennsylvania. The school enrolls 485 students, from kindergarten through 6.
California Area Elementary School is one school in a 3-school district, California Area SD, which enrolls 933 students.
At 80%, White students outnumber all other groups at California Area Elementary School combined. It is also 11% multiracial, 4% Black, and 4% Hispanic. Washington County's residents are about 90% White, 10 points above the school's share. The chance that two students picked at random at California Area Elementary School belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 35%.
Staffing totals 32.3 full-time-equivalent teachers, and the student-to-teacher ratio is 15.0:1. That ratio is over the 13.1:1 average for elementary schools in Pennsylvania. The free or reduced-price lunch rate at California Area Elementary School is 99%. That is 50 points above the 49% average for public schools in Washington County.
allk12 grades California Area Elementary School a C. The grade compares the school only with Pennsylvania public elementary schools, because each state gives its own test.
After adjusting for student poverty, California Area Elementary School lands between the top and bottom 10% of Pennsylvania schools. Its average proficiency rate on state tests is 35.1%; the prediction is 35.0%.
Washington County census figures show that median household income is about $78,958, roughly 33% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 6%. California Area Elementary School is among the 56 public schools in Washington County.
The nearest other public school, California Academy of Learning CS, is less than a tenth of a mile away. The count of other public schools within five miles is 6. The average proficiency across nearby scored schools is 34.2%; California Area Elementary School's is 35.1%, ranking 3rd of 6.
Its location is classified as Rural: Fringe by the National Center for Education Statistics.
California Area Elementary School had 323 students in 2020-21 and 485 in 2024-25, according to federal records. Those counts may cover different grade spans. The student-to-teacher ratio went down from 16.1:1 to 15.0:1.
Topics for discussion here include sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Washington County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
210,042
Census ACS
Median income
$78,958
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
33%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
56
26,079 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in California Area SD
- California Area SHSHigh · 290 students
- California Area Middle SchoolMiddle · 158 students
- California Area Intermediate Middle SchoolElementary
Other schools in Coal Center
- California Area SHSHigh · 290 students
- California Area Middle SchoolMiddle · 158 students
- California Academy of Learning CSCombined · 153 students
- California Area Intermediate Middle SchoolElementary
Nearby schools
- California Academy of Learning CS0.0 mi · 153
- California Area Middle School0.2 mi · 158
- California Area SHS0.2 mi · 290
- Brownsville Area Elementary School3.2 mi · 617
- Brownsville Area Middle School3.3 mi · 329
- Brownsville Area High School3.3 mi · 457
Frequently asked questions
About California Area Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at California Area Elementary School?
California Area Elementary School enrolls approximately 485 students in grades KG-06.
What age range does California Area Elementary School serve?
California Area Elementary School serves students from grade KG through grade 06.
How many students per teacher at California Area Elementary School?
Approximately 15.0:1 students per teacher at California Area Elementary School.
What is the racial breakdown of students at California Area Elementary School?
At California Area Elementary School, the student body is approximately 80% White, 4% Hispanic, 4% Black, 11% Two or more.
Is California Area Elementary School public or private?
California Area Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by California Area SD.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.