Is Empire Elementary a good school?

Empire Elementary ranks in the bottom 3.8% of California elementary schools.

How many students attend Empire Elementary?

In the 2022-23 school year, 375 students attended Empire Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Empire Elementary?

Students at Empire Elementary are 85% Hispanic, 12% White, 2% Two or more races.

What schools do graduates of Empire Elementary attend?

Students who attend Empire Elementary usually go on to attend: High : Peter Johansen High

Empire Elementary

Summary:

Empire Elementary is a public elementary school located in Empire, CA, serving grades K-6 with a total enrollment of 375 students. The school is part of the Empire Union Elementary District, which is ranked 1285 out of 1568 districts in California and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Empire Elementary faces significant challenges compared to nearby schools. The school has seen a dramatic increase in chronic absenteeism rates, rising from 14.8% in 2018-2019 to 52.8% in 2022-2023, much higher than nearby schools like Bernard L. Hughes Elementary (36.3%), Capistrano Elementary (39.6%), and Alice N. Stroud Elementary (39.1%). Academically, Empire Elementary consistently performs below the district and state averages in Smarter Balanced Assessments for English Language Arts and Mathematics, with only 16.81% of students proficient or better in ELA and 9.09% in Mathematics, compared to the district and state averages of 30.71% and 47.04% in ELA, and 18.78% and 35.54% in Mathematics, respectively.

Additionally, Empire Elementary has a very high percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 82.13% to 86.67% over the past few years, significantly higher than nearby schools. The school also has a relatively high student-teacher ratio, ranging from 23.1 to 25, higher than some nearby schools. These factors suggest that Empire Elementary faces unique challenges and may require additional resources and support to improve student outcomes and address the needs of its predominantly low-income community.

Detail:

Public K-6

5201 First St
Empire, CA 95319

(209) 521-2970

District: Empire Union Elementary

SchoolDigger Rank:
5639^th of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $10,936

Students who attend Empire Elementary usually attend:

High:

Peter Johansen High

Student/teacher ratio: 23.1

Number of students: 375

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

84.8%

White:

12.3%

Two or more races:

1.9%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 86.7%

See top rated California elementary schools

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Performance Trends

Compare Details Empire Elementary ranks worse than 96.2% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks last among 5 ranked elementary schools in the Empire Union Elementary School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 10.75. (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 Empire Elementary has the smallest elementary school student body size in the Empire Union Elementary School District. Racial makeup is: Hispanic (84.8%), White (12.3%), two or more races (1.9%). (See more...)

Compare Details 86.7% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Empire Elementary is 23.1, which is the 2^nd best among 5 elementary schools in the Empire Union Elementary School District. (See more...)

Compare Empire Elementary employs 16.2 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Empire Elementary is $10,936, which is the highest among 5 elementary schools in the Empire Union Elementary School District!

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Empire Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Empire Elementary 5639^th of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Empire 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:

Empire Union Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Empire Union Elementary 1285^th of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Empire Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Empire Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	27.69	3385^th	4809	29.6%
2005	31.77	3175^th	4822	34.2%
2006	29.41	3349^th	4818	30.5%
2007	24.22	3989^th	5113	22.0%
2008	31.66	3474^th	5113	32.1%
2009	15.70	4694^th	5193	9.6%
2010	16.01	4850^th	5314	8.7%
2011	10.18	5200^th	5377	3.3%
2012	12.30	5115^th	5390	5.1%
2013	15.63	5010^th	5530	9.4%
2015	9.44	5499^th	5611	2.0%
2016	13.90	5142^nd	5614	8.4%
2017	21.46	4562^nd	5692	19.9%
2018	20.09	4672^nd	5662	17.5%
2019	19.28	4872^nd	5789	15.8%
2022	11.36	5648^th	5883	4.0%
2023	11.21	5638^th	5874	4.0%
2024	10.75	5639^th	5862	3.8%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Empire Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	36.17	1989^th	3246	38.7%
2019	41.22	1707^th	3275	47.9%
2022	35.51	2165^th	3311	34.6%
2023	32.03	2393^rd	3250	26.4%
2024	26.48	2768^th	3160	12.4%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Empire Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	29.26	3834^th	5084	24.6%
2019	28.99	3927^th	5173	24.1%
2022	13.24	5067^th	5264	3.7%
2023	12.73	5178^th	5374	3.6%
2024	13.70	5220^th	5511	5.3%

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

Rank History for Female students at Empire Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	18.71	4634^th	5413	14.4%
2019	19.83	4641^st	5492	15.5%
2022	13.60	5309^th	5635	5.8%
2023	12.52	5355^th	5617	4.7%
2024	15.08	5110^th	5605	8.8%

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

Rank History for Male students at Empire Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	22.72	4311^th	5431	20.6%
2019	20.88	4583^rd	5510	16.8%
2022	11.12	5495^th	5663	3.0%
2023	11.83	5385^th	5650	4.7%
2024	9.33	5526^th	5636	2.0%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Empire Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	28.10	3677^th	4830	23.9%
2019	28.06	3828^th	4963	22.9%
2022	11.85	4957^th	5084	2.5%
2023	14.58	4815^th	5098	5.6%
2024	12.89	4880^th	5102	4.4%

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

Rank History for White students at Empire Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2018	15.35	2441^st	2737	10.8%
2019	10.54	2610^th	2834	7.9%

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 Empire Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	410	15	12	249	3	n/a	n/a	0	689
1989	388	6	7	301	3	n/a	n/a	0	705
1990	384	8	11	290	1	n/a	n/a	0	694
1991	382	10	11	288	2	n/a	n/a	0	693
1992	371	9	16	293	5	n/a	n/a	0	694
1993	363	10	10	285	3	n/a	n/a	0	671
1994	274	12	15	300	3	n/a	n/a	0	604
1995	273	4	8	324	4	n/a	n/a	0	613
1996	273	4	8	324	4	n/a	n/a	0	613
1997	274	12	12	326	2	n/a	n/a	0	626
1998	246	12	5	311	1	n/a	n/a	0	575
1999	215	7	8	351	2	n/a	n/a	1	584
2000	227	8	13	353	1	n/a	n/a	0	602
2001	200	7	6	319	1	n/a	n/a	9	542
2002	198	7	7	354	4	n/a	n/a	1	571
2003	198	7	7	354	4	n/a	n/a	1	571
2004	171	7	10	353	5	n/a	n/a	16	562
2005	150	4	11	331	6	n/a	n/a	16	518
2006	127	5	11	361	5	n/a	n/a	30	539
2007	115	7	5	358	5	n/a	n/a	17	507
2008	111	1	6	291	5	n/a	n/a	0	414
2009	108	5	7	321	3	0	20	0	464
2010	172	17	9	470	5	0	5	0	678
2011	157	9	9	457	3	1	2	0	638
2012	144	7	5	440	3	1	2	0	602
2013	125	7	2	405	3	2	1	0	545
2014	80	6	0	314	2	1	1	0	404
2015	82	4	0	296	1	1	5	0	389
2016	73	6	2	305	1	1	16	0	404
2017	66	4	1	273	3	1	13	0	361
2018	65	4	1	274	1	0	17	0	362
2019	65	2	2	300	0	0	8	0	377
2020	65	3	3	306	0	0	3	0	380
2021	59	4	3	303	0	0	6	0	375
2022	56	7	2	288	0	0	10	0	363
2023	46	2	2	318	0	0	7	0	375

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 Empire Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	689	29.9	23.0	n/a
1989	705	28.5	24.7	n/a
1990	694	29.3	23.6	n/a
1991	693	28.2	24.5	n/a
1992	694	28.7	24.1	67.1
1993	671	29.2	23.0	69.4
1994	604	30.0	20.1	87.4
1995	613	26.4	23.2	0
1996	613	26.4	23.2	0
1997	626	31.6	19.8	79.2
1998	575	32.6	17.6	81.9
1999	584	32.0	18.3	83.9
2000	602	30.6	19.7	91.7
2001	542	27.0	20.1	88.6
2002	571	28.0	20.4	74.6
2003	571	28.0	20.4	74.6
2004	562	29.6	19.0	79.5
2005	518	25.0	20.7	87.1
2006	539	25.0	21.6	94.9
2007	507	25.0	20.3	82.4
2008	414	27.6	15.0	93
2009	464	23.0	19.3	97.4
2010	678	31.5	21.5	79.4
2011	638	n/a	n/a	92.3
2012	602	27.0	22.2	n/a
2013	545	24.5	22.2	99.4
2014	404	16.0	25.2	77.7
2015	389	16.0	24.3	93.6
2016	404	17.0	23.7	85.9
2017	361	14.0	25.7	86.7
2018	362	14.0	25.8	93.9
2019	377	14.0	26.9	96
2020	380	n/a	n/a	93.7
2021	375	15.0	25.0	82.1
2022	363	15.5	23.3	83.2
2023	375	16.2	23.1	86.7

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 Empire Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	689	29.9	23.0	n/a
1989	705	28.5	24.7	n/a
1990	694	29.3	23.6	n/a
1991	693	28.2	24.5	n/a
1992	694	28.7	24.1	67.1
1993	671	29.2	23.0	69.4
1994	604	30.0	20.1	87.4
1995	613	26.4	23.2	0
1996	613	26.4	23.2	0
1997	626	31.6	19.8	79.2
1998	575	32.6	17.6	81.9
1999	584	32.0	18.3	83.9
2000	602	30.6	19.7	91.7
2001	542	27.0	20.1	88.6
2002	571	28.0	20.4	74.6
2003	571	28.0	20.4	74.6
2004	562	29.6	19.0	79.5
2005	518	25.0	20.7	87.1
2006	539	25.0	21.6	94.9
2007	507	25.0	20.3	82.4
2008	414	27.6	15.0	93
2009	464	23.0	19.3	97.4
2010	678	31.5	21.5	79.4
2011	638	n/a	n/a	92.3
2012	602	27.0	22.2	n/a
2013	545	24.5	22.2	99.4
2014	404	16.0	25.2	77.7
2015	389	16.0	24.3	93.6
2016	404	17.0	23.7	85.9
2017	361	14.0	25.7	86.7
2018	362	14.0	25.8	93.9
2019	377	14.0	26.9	96
2020	380	n/a	n/a	93.7
2021	375	15.0	25.0	82.1
2022	363	15.5	23.3	83.2
2023	375	16.2	23.1	86.7

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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