Is Pioneer Elementary a good school?

Pioneer Elementary ranks in the bottom 11.9% of California elementary schools.

How many students attend Pioneer Elementary?

In the 2022-23 school year, 634 students attended Pioneer Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Pioneer Elementary?

Students at Pioneer Elementary are 93% Hispanic, 2% Two or more races, 2% White, 2% Asian.

What schools do graduates of Pioneer Elementary attend?

Students who attend Pioneer Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Mission Middle High : Orange Glen High

Pioneer Elementary

Summary:

Pioneer Elementary is a public elementary school located in Escondido, California, serving 634 students in grades K-5. The school is part of the Escondido Union School District, which is ranked 994 out of 1,568 districts in the state and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Pioneer Elementary faces significant challenges in providing a high-quality education for its students. The school has seen a dramatic increase in chronic absenteeism rates, rising from 12.0% in 2017-2018 to 51.4% in 2021-2022, which is notably higher than the district and state averages. Additionally, Pioneer Elementary consistently underperforms compared to the Escondido Union School District and the state of California on standardized tests, with only 21.75% of students proficient or better in English Language Arts/Literacy in 2023-2024, compared to 35.59% for the district and 47.04% for the state. The school also has a very high percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, ranging from 82.81% to 92.15% over the past few years, indicating a high concentration of students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds.

When comparing Pioneer Elementary to other nearby schools in the Escondido Union School District, it is clear that the school is an outlier in terms of academic performance. Schools like North Broadway Elementary and Conway Elementary consistently outperform Pioneer Elementary on state assessments and have lower chronic absenteeism rates. The high rates of poverty and chronic absenteeism at Pioneer Elementary may be contributing factors to the school's low academic performance, and addressing these underlying issues could be crucial in improving student outcomes.

Detail:

Public K-5

980 North Ash St.
Escondido, CA 92027-1629

(760) 432-2412

District: Escondido Union

SchoolDigger Rank:
5165^th of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $6,878

Students who attend Pioneer Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Mission Middle
High:	Orange Glen High

Student/teacher ratio: 19.3

Number of students: 634

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

93.1%

Two or more races:

2.4%

White:

2.1%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 91.3%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Pioneer Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Pioneer Elementary ranks worse than 88.1% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks 16^th among 17 ranked elementary schools in the Escondido Union School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 16.45. (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 (93.1%), two or more races (2.4%), White (2.1%). (See more...)

Compare Details 91.3% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. This is the highest percentage in the Escondido Union School District. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Pioneer Elementary is 19.3. 15 elementary schools in the Escondido Union School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)

Compare Pioneer Elementary employs 32.7 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Pioneer Elementary is $6,878. 15 elementary schools in the Escondido Union School District spend more per student.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Pioneer Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Pioneer Elementary 5165^th of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Pioneer 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:

Escondido Union:

SchoolDigger ranks Escondido Union 994^th of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Pioneer Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Pioneer Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	16.31	4236^th	4809	11.9%
2005	12.83	4469^th	4822	7.3%
2006	9.62	4652^nd	4818	3.4%
2007	12.13	4816^th	5113	5.8%
2008	8.19	5001^st	5113	2.2%
2009	8.91	5046^th	5193	2.8%
2010	17.36	4753^rd	5314	10.6%
2011	12.99	5077^th	5377	5.6%
2012	18.19	4756^th	5390	11.8%
2013	16.28	4977^th	5530	10.0%
2015	20.25	4598^th	5611	18.1%
2016	20.06	4614^th	5614	17.8%
2017	24.22	4322^nd	5692	24.1%
2018	24.52	4276^th	5662	24.5%
2019	19.77	4823^rd	5789	16.7%
2022	19.45	4909^th	5883	16.6%
2023	15.63	5265^th	5874	10.4%
2024	16.45	5165^th	5862	11.9%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Pioneer Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	31.57	2282^nd	3246	29.7%
2019	35.96	2056^th	3275	37.2%
2022	42.29	1658^th	3311	49.9%
2023	26.28	2797^th	3250	13.9%
2024	37.76	1979^th	3160	37.4%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at Pioneer Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	16.83	2364^th	2420	2.3%
2024	23.48	2201^st	2634	16.4%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Pioneer Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	36.20	3301^st	5084	35.1%
2019	31.39	3761^st	5173	27.3%
2022	28.97	3927^th	5264	25.4%
2023	18.55	4810^th	5374	10.5%
2024	20.13	4770^th	5511	13.4%

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

Rank History for Homeless students at Pioneer Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	35.26	228^th	336	32.1%

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

Rank History for Female students at Pioneer Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	19.86	4551^st	5413	15.9%
2019	16.76	4892^nd	5492	10.9%
2022	22.19	4490^th	5635	20.3%
2023	18.74	4821^st	5617	14.2%
2024	16.51	5003^rd	5605	10.7%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at Pioneer Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2019	23.33	2161^st	2585	16.4%
2022	27.04	1629^th	2227	26.9%

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

Rank History for Male students at Pioneer Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	31.09	3620^th	5431	33.3%
2019	23.91	4297^th	5510	22.0%
2022	18.31	4897^th	5663	13.5%
2023	14.06	5243^rd	5650	7.2%
2024	17.73	4921^st	5636	12.7%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Pioneer Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	34.28	3258^th	4830	32.5%
2019	28.64	3791^st	4963	23.6%
2022	25.58	4072^nd	5084	19.9%
2023	19.52	4532^nd	5098	11.1%
2024	21.41	4379^th	5102	14.2%

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 Pioneer Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1993	287	25	35	493	2	n/a	n/a	0	842
1994	264	22	47	561	2	n/a	n/a	0	896
1995	173	16	27	672	5	n/a	n/a	0	893
1996	173	16	27	672	5	n/a	n/a	0	893
1997	132	23	32	768	6	n/a	n/a	0	961
1998	116	24	26	792	9	n/a	n/a	0	967
1999	117	23	35	870	8	n/a	n/a	0	1053
2000	98	23	28	878	6	n/a	n/a	0	1033
2001	85	30	22	926	3	n/a	n/a	1	1067
2002	49	25	23	990	1	n/a	n/a	1	1089
2003	49	25	23	990	1	n/a	n/a	1	1089
2004	32	13	92	899	1	n/a	n/a	2	1039
2005	36	14	21	756	3	n/a	n/a	3	833
2006	38	15	14	786	2	n/a	n/a	2	857
2007	42	15	9	771	0	n/a	n/a	2	839
2008	28	18	12	743	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	801
2009	34	12	12	699	3	1	19	0	780
2010	12	15	8	572	0	0	176	0	783
2011	12	9	13	616	0	0	136	0	786
2012	17	8	12	661	0	0	85	0	783
2013	22	6	14	674	0	0	63	0	779
2014	16	14	17	722	3	1	11	0	784
2015	29	17	12	736	4	2	0	0	800
2016	20	11	19	696	0	1	14	0	761
2017	19	12	13	680	1	1	13	0	739
2018	17	7	12	655	1	1	10	0	703
2019	25	10	9	641	1	0	9	0	695
2020	20	5	13	655	1	0	13	0	707
2021	12	7	12	632	1	0	11	0	675
2022	10	7	9	596	1	0	17	0	640
2023	13	3	12	590	0	1	15	0	634

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 Pioneer Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1993	842	31.0	27.2	69.2
1994	896	34.0	26.4	77
1995	893	35.0	25.5	84.7
1996	893	35.0	25.5	84.7
1997	961	43.0	22.3	87.6
1998	967	44.0	22.0	88.5
1999	1053	48.0	21.9	87.4
2000	1033	50.5	20.5	89.3
2001	1067	55.0	19.4	90.7
2002	1089	55.0	19.8	90.6
2003	1089	55.0	19.8	90.6
2004	1039	52.0	20.0	91.1
2005	833	44.0	18.9	86.1
2006	857	46.8	18.3	84.2
2007	839	42.8	19.6	91.5
2008	801	45.8	17.5	92.6
2009	780	45.5	16.5	83.5
2010	783	49.0	15.9	97.2
2011	786	n/a	n/a	97.2
2012	783	38.5	20.3	n/a
2013	779	38.0	20.5	91.4
2014	784	39.0	20.1	92.1
2015	800	40.0	20.0	92.6
2016	761	31.0	24.5	90.9
2017	739	30.0	24.6	92.8
2018	703	27.0	26.0	94.9
2019	695	29.0	23.9	91.9
2020	707	n/a	n/a	88.8
2021	675	33.0	20.4	92.1
2022	640	29.2	21.8	82.8
2023	634	32.7	19.3	91.3

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 Pioneer Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1993	842	31.0	27.2	69.2
1994	896	34.0	26.4	77
1995	893	35.0	25.5	84.7
1996	893	35.0	25.5	84.7
1997	961	43.0	22.3	87.6
1998	967	44.0	22.0	88.5
1999	1053	48.0	21.9	87.4
2000	1033	50.5	20.5	89.3
2001	1067	55.0	19.4	90.7
2002	1089	55.0	19.8	90.6
2003	1089	55.0	19.8	90.6
2004	1039	52.0	20.0	91.1
2005	833	44.0	18.9	86.1
2006	857	46.8	18.3	84.2
2007	839	42.8	19.6	91.5
2008	801	45.8	17.5	92.6
2009	780	45.5	16.5	83.5
2010	783	49.0	15.9	97.2
2011	786	n/a	n/a	97.2
2012	783	38.5	20.3	n/a
2013	779	38.0	20.5	91.4
2014	784	39.0	20.1	92.1
2015	800	40.0	20.0	92.6
2016	761	31.0	24.5	90.9
2017	739	30.0	24.6	92.8
2018	703	27.0	26.0	94.9
2019	695	29.0	23.9	91.9
2020	707	n/a	n/a	88.8
2021	675	33.0	20.4	92.1
2022	640	29.2	21.8	82.8
2023	634	32.7	19.3	91.3

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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