Is Bruce (Robert) Elementary a good school?

Bruce (Robert) Elementary ranks in the bottom 3.7% of California elementary schools.

How many students attend Bruce (Robert) Elementary?

In the 2023-24 school year, 998 students attended Bruce (Robert) Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Bruce (Robert) Elementary?

Students at Bruce (Robert) Elementary are 98% Hispanic.

What schools do graduates of Bruce (Robert) Elementary attend?

Students who attend Bruce (Robert) Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : El Camino Junior High High : Pioneer Valley High

Bruce (Robert) Elementary

Summary:

Bruce (Robert) Elementary is a public elementary school located in Santa Maria, California, serving grades K-6 with a total enrollment of 951 students. Unfortunately, this school has consistently ranked in the bottom 5% of California elementary schools over the past decade, with a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger, indicating very poor performance compared to other schools in the state.

The school's academic struggles are evident in its low proficiency rates on Smarter Balanced Assessments. In 2023-2024, only 15.68% of students at Bruce (Robert) Elementary were proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to 24.89% in the Santa Maria-Bonita District and 47.04% statewide. In Mathematics, the proficiency rate was even lower at 12.57%, compared to 16.47% in the district and 35.54% statewide. Additionally, the school has experienced a significant increase in chronic absenteeism, rising from 5.6% in 2017-2018 to 18.9% in 2022-2023.

Interestingly, the nearby schools in the Santa Maria-Bonita District, such as Miller (Isaac) Elementary, Tunnell (Martin Luther) Elementary, and Fairlawn Elementary, generally perform better than Bruce (Robert) Elementary on key metrics like test scores and statewide rankings. For example, Ontiveros (Juan Pacifico) Elementary, located about 1.13 miles away, has significantly higher proficiency rates in both English Language Arts and Mathematics, as well as a higher statewide ranking (3 stars out of 5).

Detail:

Public K-6

601 West Alvin Ave.
Santa Maria, CA 93458-3012

(805) 361-6940

District: Santa Maria-Bonita

SchoolDigger Rank:
5644^th of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $7,811

Students who attend Bruce (Robert) Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	El Camino Junior High
High:	Pioneer Valley High

Student/teacher ratio: 20.2

Number of students: 998

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

97.8%

White:

0.9%

Asian:

0.4%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 89%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Bruce (Robert) Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Bruce (Robert) Elementary ranks worse than 96.3% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks last among 16 ranked elementary schools in the Santa Maria-Bonita School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 10.68. (See more...)

Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.

Student Body

Compare Details Racial makeup is: Hispanic (97.8%), White (0.9%), American Indian (0.4%). (See more...)

Compare Details 89% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Bruce (Robert) Elementary is 20.2, which is the 5^th best among 16 elementary schools in the Santa Maria-Bonita School District. (See more...)

Compare Bruce (Robert) Elementary employs 49.3 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Bruce (Robert) Elementary is $7,811, which is the 4^th highest among 16 elementary schools in the Santa Maria-Bonita School District.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Bruce (Robert) Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Bruce (Robert) Elementary 5644^th of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Bruce (Robert) Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

English Language Learner students:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Migrant students:

Homeless students:

Female students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

Santa Maria-Bonita:

SchoolDigger ranks Santa Maria-Bonita 1401^st of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Bruce (Robert) Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Bruce (Robert) Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	15.27	4328^th	4809	10.0%
2005	16.26	4235^th	4822	12.2%
2006	15.58	4319^th	4818	10.4%
2007	23.97	4009^th	5113	21.6%
2008	15.44	4634^th	5113	9.4%
2009	10.07	4996^th	5193	3.8%
2010	9.77	5162^nd	5314	2.9%
2011	11.53	5148^th	5377	4.3%
2012	13.49	5046^th	5390	6.4%
2013	10.81	5259^th	5530	4.9%
2015	10.62	5442^nd	5611	3.0%
2016	9.21	5481^st	5614	2.4%
2017	8.64	5562^nd	5692	2.3%
2018	8.34	5516^th	5662	2.6%
2019	9.74	5581^st	5789	3.6%
2022	12.25	5585^th	5883	5.1%
2023	11.07	5650^th	5874	3.8%
2024	10.68	5644^th	5862	3.7%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Bruce (Robert) Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	20.37	3022^nd	3246	6.9%
2019	23.00	3009^th	3275	8.1%
2022	30.76	2547^th	3311	23.1%
2023	30.06	2528^th	3250	22.2%
2024	35.08	2175^th	3160	31.2%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Bruce (Robert) Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	24.86	1912^th	2420	21.0%
2024	20.41	2373^rd	2634	9.9%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Bruce (Robert) Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	11.14	4906^th	5084	3.5%
2019	12.72	4962^nd	5173	4.1%
2022	16.29	4892^nd	5264	7.1%
2023	13.94	5113^th	5374	4.9%
2024	12.87	5275^th	5511	4.3%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Migrant students at Bruce (Robert) Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	31.21	48^th	68	29.4%
2024	18.63	67^th	74	9.5%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Migrant Students!

Rank History for Homeless students at Bruce (Robert) Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2022	32.06	267^th	356	25.0%
2023	30.47	264^th	336	21.4%
2024	23.67	316^th	364	13.2%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Homeless Students!

Rank History for Female students at Bruce (Robert) Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	8.43	5301^st	5413	2.1%
2019	12.76	5160^th	5492	6.0%
2022	10.88	5490^th	5635	2.6%
2023	10.31	5490^th	5617	2.3%
2024	10.68	5436^th	5605	3.0%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Disabled students at Bruce (Robert) Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	25.67	1664^th	2128	21.8%
2019	18.96	2403^rd	2585	7.0%
2022	17.90	2166^th	2227	2.7%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for Male students at Bruce (Robert) Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	9.78	5285^th	5431	2.7%
2019	8.02	5419^th	5510	1.7%
2022	14.88	5222^nd	5663	7.8%
2023	13.37	5287^th	5650	6.4%
2024	12.02	5368^th	5636	4.8%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Bruce (Robert) Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	10.36	4717^th	4830	2.3%
2019	12.71	4760^th	4963	4.1%
2022	15.52	4770^th	5084	6.2%
2023	14.06	4845^th	5098	5.0%
2024	13.84	4824^th	5102	5.4%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Hispanic Students!

Data source: test scores: California Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Data source: California Department of Education

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Enrollment information for Bruce (Robert) Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1989	76	8	15	499	5	n/a	n/a	0	603
1990	70	11	20	595	5	n/a	n/a	0	701
1991	59	6	22	645	3	n/a	n/a	0	735
1992	62	7	25	708	4	n/a	n/a	0	806
1993	46	10	13	664	6	n/a	n/a	0	739
1994	48	13	12	678	4	n/a	n/a	0	755
1995	30	12	5	791	3	n/a	n/a	0	841
1996	30	12	5	791	3	n/a	n/a	0	841
1997	36	9	8	834	5	n/a	n/a	0	892
1998	43	10	11	824	3	n/a	n/a	0	891
1999	52	9	15	775	7	n/a	n/a	0	858
2000	46	13	19	841	5	n/a	n/a	0	924
2001	27	12	14	819	2	n/a	n/a	2	876
2002	15	11	17	831	5	n/a	n/a	0	879
2003	15	11	17	831	5	n/a	n/a	0	879
2004	19	5	16	862	6	n/a	n/a	0	908
2005	12	1	12	728	4	n/a	n/a	0	757
2006	18	4	14	727	5	n/a	n/a	0	768
2007	19	5	12	735	2	n/a	n/a	0	773
2008	13	4	3	765	2	n/a	n/a	0	787
2009	9	3	8	832	1	0	0	0	853
2010	3	0	0	830	0	0	0	0	833
2011	7	3	3	837	1	0	0	0	851
2012	4	6	2	810	1	0	0	0	823
2013	7	4	2	842	2	0	0	0	857
2014	0	2	4	867	2	0	0	0	875
2015	0	3	4	875	2	0	0	0	884
2016	1	2	3	968	1	0	0	0	975
2017	8	2	4	956	1	0	1	0	972
2018	9	3	5	940	1	0	1	0	959
2019	9	3	4	968	2	0	0	0	986
2020	12	3	4	955	2	0	0	0	976
2021	14	3	3	916	3	0	1	0	940
2022	12	2	3	887	2	0	2	0	908
2023	15	1	3	921	4	0	7	0	951
2024	9	1	4	976	4	0	4	0	998

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Bruce (Robert) Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1989	603	22.0	27.4	n/a
1990	701	26.0	26.9	n/a
1991	735	29.0	25.3	n/a
1992	806	29.5	27.3	77.5
1993	739	30.0	24.6	85.8
1994	755	28.0	27.0	89.8
1995	841	32.0	26.3	91.3
1996	841	32.0	26.3	91.3
1997	892	37.0	24.1	91
1998	891	41.0	21.7	94.2
1999	858	42.0	20.4	93.4
2000	924	43.0	21.5	89.5
2001	876	43.0	20.4	93
2002	879	43.5	20.2	85.6
2003	879	43.5	20.2	85.6
2004	908	40.4	22.5	88.5
2005	757	35.0	21.6	92.3
2006	768	33.0	23.3	85.2
2007	773	35.0	22.1	86.7
2008	787	35.0	22.5	92.6
2009	853	34.0	23.1	89.6
2010	833	30.0	27.7	91.1
2011	851	n/a	n/a	89
2012	823	30.5	26.9	n/a
2013	857	30.5	28.0	94.3
2014	875	33.5	26.1	76.7
2015	884	32.0	27.6	93.2
2016	975	39.0	25.0	91.8
2017	972	40.5	24.0	83.4
2018	959	42.0	22.8	92.9
2019	986	38.5	25.6	93.7
2020	976	n/a	n/a	91
2021	940	41.3	22.7	91.1
2022	908	40.3	22.5	89.8
2023	951	43.7	21.7	83
2024	998	49.3	20.2	89

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Bruce (Robert) Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1989	603	22.0	27.4	n/a
1990	701	26.0	26.9	n/a
1991	735	29.0	25.3	n/a
1992	806	29.5	27.3	77.5
1993	739	30.0	24.6	85.8
1994	755	28.0	27.0	89.8
1995	841	32.0	26.3	91.3
1996	841	32.0	26.3	91.3
1997	892	37.0	24.1	91
1998	891	41.0	21.7	94.2
1999	858	42.0	20.4	93.4
2000	924	43.0	21.5	89.5
2001	876	43.0	20.4	93
2002	879	43.5	20.2	85.6
2003	879	43.5	20.2	85.6
2004	908	40.4	22.5	88.5
2005	757	35.0	21.6	92.3
2006	768	33.0	23.3	85.2
2007	773	35.0	22.1	86.7
2008	787	35.0	22.5	92.6
2009	853	34.0	23.1	89.6
2010	833	30.0	27.7	91.1
2011	851	n/a	n/a	89
2012	823	30.5	26.9	n/a
2013	857	30.5	28.0	94.3
2014	875	33.5	26.1	76.7
2015	884	32.0	27.6	93.2
2016	975	39.0	25.0	91.8
2017	972	40.5	24.0	83.4
2018	959	42.0	22.8	92.9
2019	986	38.5	25.6	93.7
2020	976	n/a	n/a	91
2021	940	41.3	22.7	91.1
2022	908	40.3	22.5	89.8
2023	951	43.7	21.7	83
2024	998	49.3	20.2	89

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.

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