Is Lucas Elementary a good school?

Lucas Elementary ranks 4357 th of 5862 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

How many students attend Lucas Elementary?

In the 2022-23 school year, 653 students attended Lucas Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Lucas Elementary?

Students at Lucas Elementary are 96% Hispanic, 3% White.

Lucas Elementary

Summary:

Lucas Elementary is a public elementary school located in Ceres, California, serving grades K-6 with a total enrollment of 653 students. It is part of the Ceres Unified School District, which is ranked 1110 out of 1568 districts in California and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Lucas Elementary has seen a significant increase in chronic absenteeism rates, rising from 1.7% in 2017-2018 to 30.3% in 2021-2022, which is notably higher than the nearby Patricia Kay Beaver Elementary at 14.0% and Walter White Elementary at 25.5%. Additionally, Lucas Elementary's test scores are consistently lower than the Ceres Unified School District and the state of California across various subjects and grade levels, with only 27.2% of students proficient or better in Smarter Balanced Assessments/English Language Arts/Literacy, compared to 35.09% for Ceres Unified and 47.04% for California.

The school also has a high percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 74.92% to 76.42% in recent years, which is significantly higher than the nearby Patricia Kay Beaver Elementary (62.67%) and Whitmore Charter School of Art & Technology (51.34%). Additionally, Lucas Elementary has a relatively high student-teacher ratio, ranging from 26.0 to 26.4 in recent years, which is higher than the nearby schools mentioned.

Detail:

Public K-6

3500 Rose Ave.
Ceres, CA 95307-3865

(209) 556-1500

District: Ceres Unified

SchoolDigger Rank:
4357^th of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $7,118

Student/teacher ratio: 26.1

Number of students: 653

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

95.7%

White:

2.6%

Asian:

0.8%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 76.4%

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Performance Trends

Compare Details Lucas Elementary ranks worse than 74.3% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks 7^th among 14 ranked elementary schools in the Ceres Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 25.02. (See more...)

Chronic absenteeism in a high 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 Lucas Elementary has the largest elementary school student body size in the Ceres Unified School District. Racial makeup is: Hispanic (95.7%), White (2.6%), Asian (0.8%). (See more...)

Compare Details 76.4% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Lucas Elementary is 26.1, which is the highest among 14 elementary schools in the Ceres Unified School District! (See more...)

Compare Lucas Elementary employs 25 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Lucas Elementary is $7,118, which is the lowest among 14 elementary schools in the Ceres Unified School District!

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Lucas Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Lucas Elementary 4357^th of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Lucas Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

English Language Learner students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

Ceres Unified:

SchoolDigger ranks Ceres Unified 1110^th of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Lucas Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Lucas Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2017	17.83	4878^th	5692	14.3%
2018	39.76	3165^th	5662	44.1%
2019	34.78	3551^st	5789	38.7%
2022	31.07	3786^th	5883	35.6%
2023	28.84	3993^rd	5874	32.0%
2024	25.02	4357^th	5862	25.7%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Lucas Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	64.38	718^th	3246	77.9%
2019	58.91	869^th	3275	73.5%
2022	41.48	1708^th	3311	48.4%
2023	39.60	1853^rd	3250	43.0%
2024	34.01	2250^th	3160	28.8%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Lucas Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	49.72	2377^th	5084	53.2%
2019	43.63	2850^th	5173	44.9%
2022	42.90	2767^th	5264	47.4%
2023	38.14	3217^th	5374	40.1%
2024	30.00	3946^th	5511	28.4%

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

Rank History for Female students at Lucas Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	36.92	3281^st	5413	39.4%
2019	34.01	3497^th	5492	36.3%
2022	29.24	3806^th	5635	32.5%
2023	28.62	3900^th	5617	30.6%
2024	23.55	4381^st	5605	21.8%

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

Rank History for Male students at Lucas Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	41.94	2920^th	5431	46.2%
2019	35.33	3376^th	5510	38.7%
2022	33.60	3495^th	5663	38.3%
2023	29.73	3805^th	5650	32.7%
2024	27.57	4039^th	5636	28.3%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Lucas Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	48.34	2333^rd	4830	51.7%
2019	42.81	2768^th	4963	44.2%
2022	41.00	2826^th	5084	44.4%
2023	39.25	2966^th	5098	41.8%
2024	33.49	3450^th	5102	32.4%

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 Lucas Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Total
2014	19	1	3	155	1	1	2	182
2015	31	2	5	246	1	1	1	287
2016	39	2	4	335	2	1	1	384
2017	37	3	7	423	2	1	1	474
2018	37	4	6	519	2	0	1	569
2019	41	5	8	593	2	0	1	650
2020	41	4	7	604	1	0	1	658
2021	34	4	7	615	1	0	1	662
2022	27	3	6	612	1	1	1	651
2023	17	3	5	625	0	0	3	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 Lucas Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2014	182	8.0	22.7	78.6
2015	287	12.0	23.9	69.7
2016	384	16.0	24.0	70.3
2017	474	19.0	24.9	74.3
2018	569	22.0	25.8	74.9
2019	650	25.0	26.0	73.2
2020	658	n/a	n/a	74.3
2021	662	25.0	26.4	74.9
2022	651	25.0	26.0	76.3
2023	653	25.0	26.1	76.4

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 Lucas Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2014	182	8.0	22.7	78.6
2015	287	12.0	23.9	69.7
2016	384	16.0	24.0	70.3
2017	474	19.0	24.9	74.3
2018	569	22.0	25.8	74.9
2019	650	25.0	26.0	73.2
2020	658	n/a	n/a	74.3
2021	662	25.0	26.4	74.9
2022	651	25.0	26.0	76.3
2023	653	25.0	26.1	76.4

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.

Kindergarten Immunization Rates