Is William Saroyan Elementary a good school?

William Saroyan Elementary ranks 3000 th of 5862 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

How many students attend William Saroyan Elementary?

In the 2023-24 school year, 706 students attended William Saroyan Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of William Saroyan Elementary?

Students at William Saroyan Elementary are 64% Hispanic, 15% White, 9% African American, 7% Asian, 5% Two or more races.

What schools do graduates of William Saroyan Elementary attend?

Students who attend William Saroyan Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Rio Vista Middle High : Central East High

William Saroyan Elementary

Summary:

William Saroyan Elementary is a public elementary school in Fresno, California, serving 699 students in grades K-6 and part of the Central Unified School District. The school faces significant challenges, including a low statewide ranking, uneven performance across student subgroups, high chronic absenteeism, and below-average academic achievement compared to the district and state.

Over the past 10 years, William Saroyan Elementary's statewide ranking has fluctuated between 1510 and 3924 out of around 5,600-5,900 California elementary schools, currently ranking 3000 out of 5,862 schools. While African American and Hispanic students perform relatively better, the school struggles with its White and male student populations. Chronic absenteeism has also been a major issue, rising from 7.4% in 2017-2018 to 28.4% in 2022-2023. Academically, the school's proficiency rates in English Language Arts and Mathematics are 40% and 34.88%, respectively, lagging behind the Central Unified District and the state of California.

When compared to nearby schools within the Central Unified District, William Saroyan Elementary generally performs better than John Steinbeck Elementary and Teague Elementary, but lags behind the higher-performing River Bluff Elementary and Norman Liddell Elementary. However, the school does outperform many schools in the neighboring Fresno Unified School District in terms of academic proficiency.

Detail:

Public K-6

5650 West Escalon Ave.
Fresno, CA 93722-3154

(559) 276-3131

District: Central Unified

SchoolDigger Rank:
3000^th of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $5,573

Students who attend William Saroyan Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Rio Vista Middle
High:	Central East High

Student/teacher ratio: 25.2

Number of students: 706

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

63.9%

White:

14.7%

African American:

8.6%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 79.7%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare William Saroyan Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details William Saroyan Elementary ranks worse than 51.2% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks 7^th among 14 ranked elementary schools in the Central Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 42.89. (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 (63.9%), White (14.7%), African American (8.6%). (See more...)

Compare Details 79.7% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at William Saroyan Elementary is 25.2, which is the 5^th best among 14 elementary schools in the Central Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare William Saroyan Elementary employs 28 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at William Saroyan Elementary is $5,573, which is the 6^th highest among 14 elementary schools in the Central Unified School District.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

William Saroyan Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks William Saroyan Elementary 3000^th of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See William Saroyan Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Military Connected students:

Male students:

African American students:

Hispanic students:

White students:

Central Unified:

SchoolDigger ranks Central Unified 896^th of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for William Saroyan Elementary

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Rank History for all students at William Saroyan Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	71.61	1249^th	4809	74.0%
2005	72.80	1210^th	4822	74.9%
2006	71.06	1290^th	4818	73.2%
2007	67.03	1512^th	5113	70.4%
2008	71.11	1352^nd	5113	73.6%
2009	73.26	1291^st	5193	75.1%
2010	64.42	1760^th	5314	66.9%
2011	71.03	1451^st	5377	73.0%
2012	70.33	1510^th	5390	72.0%
2013	65.99	1778^th	5530	67.8%
2015	45.87	2689^th	5611	52.1%
2016	53.58	2319^th	5614	58.7%
2017	68.56	1639^th	5692	71.2%
2018	68.71	1634^th	5662	71.1%
2019	58.97	2130^th	5789	63.2%
2022	48.72	2595^th	5883	55.9%
2023	45.68	2776^th	5874	52.7%
2024	42.89	3000^th	5862	48.8%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at William Saroyan Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	77.25	809^th	5084	84.1%
2019	70.12	1177^th	5173	77.2%
2022	53.08	2086^th	5264	60.4%
2023	58.46	1842^nd	5374	65.7%
2024	47.48	2565^th	5511	53.5%

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

Rank History for Female students at William Saroyan Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	67.21	1646^th	5413	69.6%
2019	61.78	1902^nd	5492	65.4%
2022	46.99	2574^th	5635	54.3%
2023	48.25	2508^th	5617	55.3%
2024	46.96	2592^nd	5605	53.8%

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

Rank History for Military Connected students at William Saroyan Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2024	6.80	118^th	118	0.0%

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

Rank History for Male students at William Saroyan Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	67.53	1585^th	5431	70.8%
2019	54.17	2246^th	5510	59.2%
2022	49.71	2464^th	5663	56.5%
2023	43.16	2859^th	5650	49.4%
2024	40.15	3052^nd	5636	45.8%

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

Rank History for African American students at William Saroyan Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2022	60.61	182^nd	663	72.5%
2023	42.49	328^th	662	50.5%
2024	44.15	286^th	593	51.8%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at William Saroyan Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	78.74	739^th	4830	84.7%
2019	70.12	1170^th	4963	76.4%
2022	60.66	1605^th	5084	68.4%
2023	56.47	1863^rd	5098	63.5%
2024	49.84	2272^nd	5102	55.5%

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

Rank History for White students at William Saroyan Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	63.03	1074^th	2737	60.8%
2019	59.21	1239^th	2834	56.3%
2022	34.50	1885^th	2726	30.9%
2023	45.54	1556^th	2662	41.5%
2024	53.35	1319^th	2647	50.2%

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 William Saroyan Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1995	270	36	38	200	5	n/a	n/a	0	549
1996	270	36	38	200	5	n/a	n/a	0	549
1997	401	40	55	206	4	n/a	n/a	0	706
1998	501	48	76	249	1	n/a	n/a	0	875
1999	362	32	50	183	3	n/a	n/a	0	630
2000	368	46	52	216	3	n/a	n/a	1	686
2001	375	58	65	247	2	n/a	n/a	0	747
2002	334	41	91	258	5	n/a	n/a	35	764
2003	334	41	91	258	5	n/a	n/a	35	764
2004	314	45	97	279	6	n/a	n/a	15	756
2005	305	54	102	290	13	n/a	n/a	22	786
2006	297	68	96	308	12	n/a	n/a	12	793
2007	271	75	87	327	13	n/a	n/a	20	793
2008	241	85	73	302	10	n/a	n/a	0	711
2009	233	75	63	269	7	1	42	0	690
2010	237	71	57	319	6	1	15	0	706
2011	228	75	58	352	5	1	21	0	740
2012	188	78	62	358	4	1	23	0	714
2013	215	87	68	416	4	1	23	0	814
2014	199	62	47	397	2	1	22	0	730
2015	179	63	46	398	3	1	25	0	715
2016	175	49	44	412	4	1	24	0	709
2017	173	45	40	425	1	5	19	0	708
2018	161	69	47	450	1	4	13	0	745
2019	146	66	41	449	2	1	15	0	720
2020	138	72	46	449	1	0	13	0	719
2021	150	66	38	449	0	0	11	0	714
2022	122	60	45	477	1	1	20	1	727
2023	119	56	45	453	1	1	23	1	699
2024	104	61	46	451	5	1	38	0	706

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 William Saroyan Elementary

Compare

Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1995	549	19.0	28.9	19.1
1996	549	19.0	28.9	19.1
1997	706	33.4	21.1	21.5
1998	875	42.0	20.8	31.4
1999	630	35.5	17.7	26.8
2000	686	36.5	18.8	26.7
2001	747	36.5	20.5	28.5
2002	764	38.5	19.8	26.2
2003	764	38.5	19.8	26.2
2004	756	34.3	22.0	29.4
2005	786	35.3	22.3	33.6
2006	793	36.0	22.0	34.3
2007	793	36.6	21.7	35.2
2008	711	32.0	22.2	42.2
2009	690	29.0	23.0	41.3
2010	706	29.0	24.3	50.1
2011	740	n/a	n/a	51.9
2012	714	25.8	27.6	n/a
2013	814	27.7	29.3	60.7
2014	730	24.0	30.4	58.5
2015	715	25.0	28.6	45.2
2016	709	25.0	28.3	59.7
2017	708	28.0	25.2	59.3
2018	745	29.0	25.6	68.9
2019	720	29.0	24.8	79.3
2020	719	n/a	n/a	73.4
2021	714	30.0	23.8	72.4
2022	727	27.0	26.9	58.3
2023	699	28.0	24.9	78
2024	706	28.0	25.2	79.7

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 William Saroyan Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1995	549	19.0	28.9	19.1
1996	549	19.0	28.9	19.1
1997	706	33.4	21.1	21.5
1998	875	42.0	20.8	31.4
1999	630	35.5	17.7	26.8
2000	686	36.5	18.8	26.7
2001	747	36.5	20.5	28.5
2002	764	38.5	19.8	26.2
2003	764	38.5	19.8	26.2
2004	756	34.3	22.0	29.4
2005	786	35.3	22.3	33.6
2006	793	36.0	22.0	34.3
2007	793	36.6	21.7	35.2
2008	711	32.0	22.2	42.2
2009	690	29.0	23.0	41.3
2010	706	29.0	24.3	50.1
2011	740	n/a	n/a	51.9
2012	714	25.8	27.6	n/a
2013	814	27.7	29.3	60.7
2014	730	24.0	30.4	58.5
2015	715	25.0	28.6	45.2
2016	709	25.0	28.3	59.7
2017	708	28.0	25.2	59.3
2018	745	29.0	25.6	68.9
2019	720	29.0	24.8	79.3
2020	719	n/a	n/a	73.4
2021	714	30.0	23.8	72.4
2022	727	27.0	26.9	58.3
2023	699	28.0	24.9	78
2024	706	28.0	25.2	79.7

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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