Is Fuerte Elementary a good school?

Fuerte Elementary ranks 1118 th of 5862 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Fuerte Elementary?

In the 2023-24 school year, 653 students attended Fuerte Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Fuerte Elementary?

Students at Fuerte Elementary are 65% White, 16% Hispanic, 9% Two or more races, 5% Asian, 3% African American, 1% Pacific Islander.

What schools do graduates of Fuerte Elementary attend?

Students who attend Fuerte Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Hillsdale Middle High : Valhalla High

Fuerte Elementary

Summary:

Fuerte Elementary is a public elementary school located in El Cajon, California, serving grades K-5 with a total enrollment of 675 students. It is part of the Cajon Valley Union School District, which is ranked 1180 out of 1568 districts in California and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Fuerte Elementary consistently outperforms the Cajon Valley Union district and the state of California in standardized test scores across all grade levels and subjects. For example, in the 2023-2024 school year, 61.49% of Fuerte Elementary students were proficient or better in English Language Arts/Literacy, compared to 31.78% for the district and 47.04% for the state. The school's performance is particularly strong in the 5th grade, where 72.83% of students were proficient or better in English Language Arts/Literacy, and 64.13% were proficient or better in Science. Fuerte Elementary's Hispanic and English Language Learner student subgroups also rank in the top 15% and top 20% of California elementary schools, respectively.

However, Fuerte Elementary has seen a significant increase in chronic absenteeism, rising from 6.1% in 2018-2019 to 18.4% in 2022-2023, which is higher than the district average of 16.0%. Additionally, the school's performance for its White and Disabled student subgroups is relatively lower, ranking in the bottom 25% and top 15% of California elementary schools, respectively. While Fuerte Elementary outperforms most nearby schools in the Cajon Valley Union district, Rancho San Diego Elementary, which is less than a mile away, also performs well academically and has a similar student population.

Detail:

Public K-5

11625 Fuerte Dr.
El Cajon, CA 92020-8309

(619) 588-3134

District: Cajon Valley Union

SchoolDigger Rank:
1118^th of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $11,039

Students who attend Fuerte Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Hillsdale Middle
High:	Valhalla High

Student/teacher ratio: 24.9

Number of students: 653

Racial breakdown:

White:

65.1%

Hispanic:

16.1%

Two or more races:

8.6%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 45.2%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Fuerte Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Fuerte Elementary ranks better than 80.9% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks first among 19 ranked elementary schools in the Cajon Valley Union School District! (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 80.9. (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: White (65.1%), Hispanic (16.1%), two or more races (8.6%). (See more...)

Compare Details 45.2% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. This is the lowest percentage in the Cajon Valley Union School District. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Fuerte Elementary is 24.9, which is the 9^th best among 19 elementary schools in the Cajon Valley Union School District. (See more...)

Compare Fuerte Elementary employs 26.2 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Fuerte Elementary is $11,039. 13 elementary schools in the Cajon Valley Union School District spend more per student.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Fuerte Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Fuerte Elementary 1118^th of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Fuerte 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:

Female students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

White students:

Cajon Valley Union:

SchoolDigger ranks Cajon Valley Union 1180^th of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Fuerte Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Fuerte Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	96.58	147^th	4809	96.9%
2005	93.25	311^th	4822	93.6%
2006	95.33	203^rd	4818	95.8%
2007	87.32	657^th	5113	87.2%
2008	91.76	383^rd	5113	92.5%
2009	94.44	192^nd	5193	96.3%
2010	92.98	265^th	5314	95.0%
2011	89.52	461^st	5377	91.4%
2012	88.14	543^rd	5390	89.9%
2013	91.30	379^th	5530	93.1%
2015	87.92	728^th	5611	87.0%
2016	86.87	803^rd	5614	85.7%
2017	85.45	894^th	5692	84.3%
2018	85.51	865^th	5662	84.7%
2019	91.28	578^th	5789	90.0%
2022	78.71	1248^th	5883	78.8%
2023	78.36	1227^th	5874	79.1%
2024	80.90	1118^th	5862	80.9%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Fuerte Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2019	82.17	285^th	3275	91.3%
2022	52.63	1068^th	3311	67.7%
2023	40.76	1753^rd	3250	46.1%
2024	66.55	498^th	3160	84.2%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at Fuerte Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	77.14	350^th	2420	85.5%
2024	79.02	363^rd	2634	86.2%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Fuerte Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	84.17	522^nd	5084	89.7%
2019	87.64	378^th	5173	92.7%
2022	65.97	1361^st	5264	74.1%
2023	71.12	1162^nd	5374	78.4%
2024	79.11	874^th	5511	84.1%

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

Rank History for Female students at Fuerte Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	80.07	1042^nd	5413	80.8%
2019	87.14	709^th	5492	87.1%
2022	78.74	1166^th	5635	79.3%
2023	79.26	1127^th	5617	79.9%
2024	76.47	1228^th	5605	78.1%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at Fuerte Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2019	95.40	81^st	2585	96.9%
2022	66.58	481^st	2227	78.4%

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

Rank History for Male students at Fuerte Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	87.63	707^th	5431	87.0%
2019	92.49	416^th	5510	92.5%
2022	76.03	1282^nd	5663	77.4%
2023	74.91	1298^th	5650	77.0%
2024	81.42	1026^th	5636	81.8%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Fuerte Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	81.42	622^nd	4830	87.1%
2019	91.61	238^th	4963	95.2%
2022	81.07	698^th	5084	86.3%
2023	79.18	780^th	5098	84.7%
2024	91.53	299^th	5102	94.1%

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

Rank History for White students at Fuerte Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	67.17	932^nd	2737	65.9%
2019	74.79	638^th	2834	77.5%
2022	55.91	1292^nd	2726	52.6%
2023	54.51	1307^th	2662	50.9%
2024	55.20	1260^th	2647	52.4%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for White 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 Fuerte Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	591	5	0	44	0	n/a	n/a	0	640
1989	603	5	0	51	0	n/a	n/a	0	659
1990	545	4	7	71	33	n/a	n/a	0	660
1991	630	5	3	36	0	n/a	n/a	0	674
1992	541	1	11	53	40	n/a	n/a	0	646
1993	547	4	14	29	2	n/a	n/a	0	596
1994	534	8	13	34	4	n/a	n/a	0	593
1995	490	7	12	27	5	n/a	n/a	0	541
1996	490	7	12	27	5	n/a	n/a	0	541
1997	512	11	13	32	5	n/a	n/a	0	573
1998	497	7	16	43	5	n/a	n/a	0	568
1999	521	12	16	44	5	n/a	n/a	0	598
2000	435	6	12	35	6	n/a	n/a	0	494
2001	442	11	15	45	3	n/a	n/a	0	516
2002	460	5	11	52	2	n/a	n/a	0	530
2003	460	5	11	52	2	n/a	n/a	0	530
2004	442	4	20	58	5	n/a	n/a	0	529
2005	413	43	26	65	6	n/a	n/a	1	554
2006	471	6	23	65	5	n/a	n/a	9	579
2007	432	7	18	57	3	n/a	n/a	77	594
2008	398	9	20	52	3	n/a	n/a	0	482
2009	393	10	13	51	3	0	105	0	575
2010	373	9	10	127	4	0	49	0	572
2011	378	9	9	133	0	0	45	0	574
2012	394	11	9	128	0	0	43	0	585
2013	388	11	12	121	0	0	53	0	585
2014	410	19	10	123	0	1	54	0	617
2015	396	14	10	130	0	3	48	0	601
2016	431	14	10	136	0	2	44	0	637
2017	451	17	12	132	1	1	49	0	663
2018	458	17	11	120	2	1	53	0	662
2019	448	15	14	132	2	2	57	0	670
2020	434	17	19	122	3	1	61	0	657
2021	425	16	28	128	4	3	57	0	661
2022	419	18	36	125	5	6	61	0	670
2023	425	19	36	115	4	10	66	0	675
2024	425	20	35	105	4	8	56	0	653

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 Fuerte Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	640	23.6	27.1	n/a
1989	659	24.1	27.3	n/a
1990	660	25.6	25.7	n/a
1991	674	25.6	26.3	n/a
1992	646	26.0	24.8	9.3
1993	596	22.6	26.4	8.7
1994	593	20.0	29.6	9.1
1995	541	19.0	28.5	13.1
1996	541	19.0	28.5	13.1
1997	573	25.6	22.4	11.3
1998	568	26.1	21.8	12
1999	598	28.1	21.3	10.9
2000	494	23.1	21.4	8.1
2001	516	24.7	20.9	6.8
2002	530	24.7	21.5	5.5
2003	530	24.7	21.5	5.5
2004	529	23.1	22.9	6.4
2005	554	23.1	24.0	8.1
2006	579	25.1	23.1	7
2007	594	26.5	22.4	8.5
2008	482	30.0	16.1	10
2009	575	26.0	19.8	7.8
2010	572	25.7	22.2	13.5
2011	574	n/a	n/a	16.4
2012	585	23.2	25.2	n/a
2013	585	23.3	25.1	21.7
2014	617	24.3	25.3	21.4
2015	601	24.0	25.0	23.3
2016	637	24.0	26.5	27.9
2017	663	25.4	26.1	27.6
2018	662	26.4	25.0	25.8
2019	670	25.8	25.9	23.3
2020	657	n/a	n/a	26.5
2021	661	25.6	25.8	26
2022	670	25.6	26.1	23.4
2023	675	28.0	24.1	34.4
2024	653	26.2	24.9	45.2

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 Fuerte Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	640	23.6	27.1	n/a
1989	659	24.1	27.3	n/a
1990	660	25.6	25.7	n/a
1991	674	25.6	26.3	n/a
1992	646	26.0	24.8	9.3
1993	596	22.6	26.4	8.7
1994	593	20.0	29.6	9.1
1995	541	19.0	28.5	13.1
1996	541	19.0	28.5	13.1
1997	573	25.6	22.4	11.3
1998	568	26.1	21.8	12
1999	598	28.1	21.3	10.9
2000	494	23.1	21.4	8.1
2001	516	24.7	20.9	6.8
2002	530	24.7	21.5	5.5
2003	530	24.7	21.5	5.5
2004	529	23.1	22.9	6.4
2005	554	23.1	24.0	8.1
2006	579	25.1	23.1	7
2007	594	26.5	22.4	8.5
2008	482	30.0	16.1	10
2009	575	26.0	19.8	7.8
2010	572	25.7	22.2	13.5
2011	574	n/a	n/a	16.4
2012	585	23.2	25.2	n/a
2013	585	23.3	25.1	21.7
2014	617	24.3	25.3	21.4
2015	601	24.0	25.0	23.3
2016	637	24.0	26.5	27.9
2017	663	25.4	26.1	27.6
2018	662	26.4	25.0	25.8
2019	670	25.8	25.9	23.3
2020	657	n/a	n/a	26.5
2021	661	25.6	25.8	26
2022	670	25.6	26.1	23.4
2023	675	28.0	24.1	34.4
2024	653	26.2	24.9	45.2

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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