Is Jefferson Elementary a good school?

Jefferson Elementary ranks 1977 th of 5862 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Jefferson Elementary?

In the 2023-24 school year, 478 students attended Jefferson Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Jefferson Elementary?

Students at Jefferson Elementary are 49% Hispanic, 41% White, 7% Two or more races, 1% Asian.

What schools do graduates of Jefferson Elementary attend?

Students who attend Jefferson Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Valley Middle High : Carlsbad High

Jefferson Elementary

Summary:

Jefferson Elementary is a public elementary school located in Carlsbad, California, serving 462 students in grades K-5. It is part of the Carlsbad Unified School District, which is ranked 160 out of 1,568 districts in the state.

While Jefferson Elementary is part of a well-regarded school district, the school faces several challenges. Its test scores are generally lower than the district and state averages across various subjects and grade levels. For example, in the 2023-2024 school year, only 51.83% of students were proficient or better in English Language Arts/Literacy, compared to 71.56% for the Carlsbad Unified School District and 47.04% for California. The school also has a higher rate of chronic absenteeism, at 36.3% in 2021-2022, compared to 26.5% for the district and 36.1% for the state. Additionally, Jefferson Elementary has a relatively high percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 44.51% to 50.67% in recent years.

Interestingly, the nearby Calavera Hills Elementary, Pacific Rim Elementary, and Magnolia Elementary schools within the Carlsbad Unified School District generally outperform Jefferson Elementary in terms of test scores, chronic absenteeism, and free and reduced lunch rates. For example, Pacific Rim Elementary ranked 60th out of 5,862 California elementary schools in 2023-2024, with significantly higher test scores across all subjects and grade levels compared to Jefferson Elementary. Addressing these challenges and identifying strategies to improve student outcomes should be a priority for the school and the district.

Detail:

Public K-5

3743 Jefferson St.
Carlsbad, CA 92008-3336

(760) 331-5500

District: Carlsbad Unified

SchoolDigger Rank:
1977^th of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $8,656

Students who attend Jefferson Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Valley Middle
High:	Carlsbad High

Student/teacher ratio: 22.3

Number of students: 478

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

49.2%

White:

40.8%

Two or more races:

7.1%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 43.9%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Jefferson Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Jefferson Elementary ranks better than 66.3% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks last among 9 ranked elementary schools in the Carlsbad Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 61.98. (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 (49.2%), White (40.8%), two or more races (7.1%). (See more...)

Compare Details 43.9% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. This is the highest percentage in the Carlsbad Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Jefferson Elementary is 22.3. 4 elementary schools in the Carlsbad Unified School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)

Compare Jefferson Elementary employs 21.4 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Jefferson Elementary is $8,656, which is the 2^nd highest among 9 elementary schools in the Carlsbad Unified School District.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Jefferson Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Jefferson Elementary 1977^th of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Jefferson 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:

Carlsbad Unified:

SchoolDigger ranks Carlsbad Unified 160^th of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Jefferson Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Jefferson Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	55.82	1884^th	4809	60.8%
2005	54.66	1970^th	4822	59.1%
2006	60.83	1706^th	4818	64.6%
2007	69.90	1378^th	5113	73.0%
2008	67.60	1514^th	5113	70.4%
2009	67.05	1585^th	5193	69.5%
2010	70.66	1428^th	5314	73.1%
2011	63.29	1829^th	5377	66.0%
2012	63.48	1863^rd	5390	65.4%
2013	67.97	1679^th	5530	69.6%
2015	76.15	1273^rd	5611	77.3%
2016	71.44	1468^th	5614	73.9%
2017	78.94	1169^th	5692	79.5%
2018	68.54	1643^rd	5662	71.0%
2019	67.40	1724^th	5789	70.2%
2022	62.40	1923^rd	5883	67.3%
2023	59.33	2087^th	5874	64.5%
2024	61.98	1977^th	5862	66.3%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Jefferson Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	78.15	380^th	3246	88.3%
2019	77.84	352^nd	3275	89.3%
2022	59.57	775^th	3311	76.6%
2023	28.38	2645^th	3250	18.6%
2024	43.05	1611^th	3160	49.0%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at Jefferson Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	54.69	784^th	2420	67.6%
2024	38.58	1398^th	2634	46.9%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Jefferson Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	68.35	1276^th	5084	74.9%
2019	57.58	1924^th	5173	62.8%
2022	52.41	2132^nd	5264	59.5%
2023	52.30	2213^th	5374	58.8%
2024	62.42	1652^nd	5511	70.0%

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

Rank History for Female students at Jefferson Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	64.38	1784^th	5413	67.0%
2019	66.10	1690^th	5492	69.2%
2022	65.00	1735^th	5635	69.2%
2023	67.84	1605^th	5617	71.4%
2024	71.12	1441^st	5605	74.3%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at Jefferson Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	81.53	262^nd	2128	87.7%
2019	37.38	1411^th	2585	45.4%
2022	60.38	592^nd	2227	73.4%

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

Rank History for Male students at Jefferson Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	69.81	1492^nd	5431	72.5%
2019	66.67	1657^th	5510	69.9%
2022	58.02	2051^st	5663	63.8%
2023	51.10	2390^th	5650	57.7%
2024	53.12	2301^st	5636	59.2%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Jefferson Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	61.33	1560^th	4830	67.7%
2019	58.46	1777^th	4963	64.2%
2022	60.09	1639^th	5084	67.8%
2023	64.95	1403^rd	5098	72.5%
2024	68.16	1266^th	5102	75.2%

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

Rank History for White students at Jefferson Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	69.97	828^th	2737	69.7%
2019	63.85	1067^th	2834	62.4%
2022	58.01	1220^th	2726	55.2%
2023	46.37	1532^nd	2662	42.4%
2024	55.21	1259^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 Jefferson Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	323	27	13	285	0	n/a	n/a	0	648
1989	263	23	19	291	0	n/a	n/a	0	596
1990	256	17	12	311	0	n/a	n/a	0	596
1991	213	11	6	309	2	n/a	n/a	0	541
1992	162	15	3	325	0	n/a	n/a	0	505
1993	178	4	8	416	0	n/a	n/a	0	606
1994	169	4	6	449	0	n/a	n/a	0	628
1995	161	7	4	420	0	n/a	n/a	0	592
1996	161	7	4	420	0	n/a	n/a	0	592
1997	158	6	4	422	0	n/a	n/a	0	590
1998	163	8	6	440	0	n/a	n/a	0	617
1999	98	2	5	265	2	n/a	n/a	0	372
2000	213	12	13	594	2	n/a	n/a	0	834
2001	195	8	15	595	2	n/a	n/a	5	820
2002	163	9	12	516	5	n/a	n/a	19	724
2003	163	9	12	516	5	n/a	n/a	19	724
2004	145	6	6	468	3	n/a	n/a	20	648
2005	137	4	6	462	4	n/a	n/a	20	633
2006	110	6	6	350	2	n/a	n/a	25	499
2007	176	10	5	334	3	n/a	n/a	34	562
2008	233	5	11	331	2	n/a	n/a	0	582
2009	253	5	13	322	4	5	37	0	639
2010	264	6	16	376	2	4	25	0	693
2011	273	7	20	399	1	2	27	0	729
2012	249	8	18	403	0	2	27	0	707
2013	186	1	20	349	1	5	23	0	585
2014	156	4	12	329	0	4	20	0	525
2015	163	4	8	304	1	2	23	0	505
2016	158	6	5	292	1	2	23	0	487
2017	142	1	4	274	1	1	27	0	450
2018	156	2	9	274	2	1	35	0	479
2019	166	2	11	247	2	0	34	0	462
2020	156	1	4	231	2	0	27	0	421
2021	122	0	2	206	3	0	22	0	355
2022	175	0	0	247	2	0	24	0	448
2023	178	3	4	248	2	0	27	0	462
2024	195	4	7	235	3	0	34	0	478

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 Jefferson Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	648	24.0	27.0	n/a
1989	596	23.7	25.1	n/a
1990	596	23.2	25.6	n/a
1991	541	20.5	26.3	n/a
1992	505	20.8	24.2	65.5
1993	606	20.6	29.4	65.5
1994	628	22.5	27.9	71.5
1995	592	23.5	25.2	73.3
1996	592	23.5	25.2	73.3
1997	590	28.5	20.7	74.2
1998	617	36.6	16.9	79.4
1999	372	23.1	16.1	76.6
2000	834	44.4	18.8	72.8
2001	820	47.7	17.2	71.5
2002	724	45.0	16.1	68.2
2003	724	45.0	16.1	68.2
2004	648	34.4	18.8	58.3
2005	633	31.3	20.2	69
2006	499	28.1	17.8	56.5
2007	562	32.1	17.5	63.1
2008	582	38.3	15.2	38.3
2009	639	30.5	18.0	46.6
2010	693	34.7	19.9	48.8
2011	729	n/a	n/a	51.7
2012	707	24.0	29.4	n/a
2013	585	20.2	28.9	57.8
2014	525	17.0	30.8	50.1
2015	505	18.0	28.0	59
2016	487	19.0	25.6	50.9
2017	450	17.5	25.7	52.4
2018	479	18.9	25.3	57.2
2019	462	18.9	24.4	50.6
2020	421	n/a	n/a	53.9
2021	355	17.4	20.4	44.5
2022	448	21.0	21.3	50.7
2023	462	22.3	20.6	48.3
2024	478	21.4	22.3	43.9

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 Jefferson Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	648	24.0	27.0	n/a
1989	596	23.7	25.1	n/a
1990	596	23.2	25.6	n/a
1991	541	20.5	26.3	n/a
1992	505	20.8	24.2	65.5
1993	606	20.6	29.4	65.5
1994	628	22.5	27.9	71.5
1995	592	23.5	25.2	73.3
1996	592	23.5	25.2	73.3
1997	590	28.5	20.7	74.2
1998	617	36.6	16.9	79.4
1999	372	23.1	16.1	76.6
2000	834	44.4	18.8	72.8
2001	820	47.7	17.2	71.5
2002	724	45.0	16.1	68.2
2003	724	45.0	16.1	68.2
2004	648	34.4	18.8	58.3
2005	633	31.3	20.2	69
2006	499	28.1	17.8	56.5
2007	562	32.1	17.5	63.1
2008	582	38.3	15.2	38.3
2009	639	30.5	18.0	46.6
2010	693	34.7	19.9	48.8
2011	729	n/a	n/a	51.7
2012	707	24.0	29.4	n/a
2013	585	20.2	28.9	57.8
2014	525	17.0	30.8	50.1
2015	505	18.0	28.0	59
2016	487	19.0	25.6	50.9
2017	450	17.5	25.7	52.4
2018	479	18.9	25.3	57.2
2019	462	18.9	24.4	50.6
2020	421	n/a	n/a	53.9
2021	355	17.4	20.4	44.5
2022	448	21.0	21.3	50.7
2023	462	22.3	20.6	48.3
2024	478	21.4	22.3	43.9

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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