Is Rucker Elementary a good school?

Rucker Elementary ranks 3567 th of 5862 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Rucker Elementary?

In the 2022-23 school year, 538 students attended Rucker Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Rucker Elementary?

Students at Rucker Elementary are 72% Hispanic, 14% White, 8% Two or more races, 4% Asian.

What schools do graduates of Rucker Elementary attend?

Students who attend Rucker Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Solorsano Middle High : Gilroy High

Rucker Elementary

Summary:

Rucker Elementary is a public elementary school in Gilroy, California, serving 538 students in grades K-5. The school faces several challenges, including high chronic absenteeism rates, lower test scores compared to the district and state averages, and underperformance of specific student subgroups.

Rucker Elementary's chronic absenteeism rates have significantly increased from 8.4% in 2018-2019 to 34.4% in 2021-2022, which is notably higher than the Gilroy Unified district and California state averages. The school's test scores in English Language Arts and Mathematics are consistently lower than the district and state averages across all grade levels. For example, in 2023-2024, only 31.72% of Rucker Elementary students were proficient or better in ELA End of Course, compared to 42.46% for the district and 47.04% for the state. Additionally, Rucker Elementary's subgroup performance, particularly for Hispanic students and students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, is significantly lower than the state averages.

Interestingly, Rucker Elementary's performance is generally lower than the nearby schools within the Gilroy Unified School District, such as Eliot Elementary, Glen View Elementary, and Las Animas Elementary, which have higher test scores, lower chronic absenteeism rates, and serve a lower percentage of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Addressing the challenges faced by Rucker Elementary, such as high chronic absenteeism and the needs of specific student subgroups, could be crucial in improving the school's overall performance and providing a better educational experience for its students.

Detail:

Public K-5

325 Santa Clara Ave.
Gilroy, CA 95020-9286

(669) 205-4800

District: Gilroy Unified

SchoolDigger Rank:
3567^th of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Students who attend Rucker Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Solorsano Middle
High:	Gilroy High

Student/teacher ratio: 23.3

Number of students: 538

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

72.1%

White:

14.1%

Two or more races:

7.8%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 59.9%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Rucker Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Rucker Elementary ranks worse than 60.8% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks 4^th among 7 ranked elementary schools in the Gilroy Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 34.34. (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 (72.1%), White (14.1%), two or more races (7.8%). (See more...)

Compare Details 59.9% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Rucker Elementary is 23.3, which is the lowest among 7 elementary schools in the Gilroy Unified School District! (See more...)

Compare Rucker Elementary employs 23 full-time teachers.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Rucker Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Rucker Elementary 3567^th of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Rucker 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:

Gilroy Unified:

SchoolDigger ranks Gilroy Unified 772^nd of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Rucker Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Rucker Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	43.57	2479^th	4809	48.5%
2005	41.83	2610^th	4822	45.9%
2006	42.67	2578^th	4818	46.5%
2007	45.04	2619^th	5113	48.8%
2008	44.25	2705^th	5113	47.1%
2009	44.50	2789^th	5193	46.3%
2010	51.83	2461^st	5314	53.7%
2011	55.67	2260^th	5377	58.0%
2012	49.10	2670^th	5390	50.5%
2013	45.74	2945^th	5530	46.7%
2015	56.22	2115^th	5611	62.3%
2016	50.27	2475^th	5614	55.9%
2017	41.68	2997^th	5692	47.3%
2018	57.26	2175^th	5662	61.6%
2019	54.47	2353^rd	5789	59.4%
2022	42.15	2952^nd	5883	49.8%
2023	28.83	3994^th	5874	32.0%
2024	34.34	3567^th	5862	39.2%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Rucker Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	31.77	2269^th	3246	30.1%
2019	35.84	2064^th	3275	37.0%
2022	49.87	1207^th	3311	63.5%
2023	27.11	2739^th	3250	15.7%
2024	42.51	1643^rd	3160	48.0%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at Rucker Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	23.58	1991^st	2420	17.7%
2024	32.70	1668^th	2634	36.7%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Rucker Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	41.75	2903^rd	5084	42.9%
2019	28.66	3968^th	5173	23.3%
2022	39.50	3050^th	5264	42.1%
2023	23.21	4443^rd	5374	17.3%
2024	29.95	3957^th	5511	28.2%

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

Rank History for Female students at Rucker Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	58.13	2074^th	5413	61.7%
2019	59.89	1973^rd	5492	64.1%
2022	50.14	2408^th	5635	57.3%
2023	30.79	3689^th	5617	34.3%
2024	32.41	3609^th	5605	35.6%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at Rucker Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	55.34	676^th	2128	68.2%
2019	51.43	941^st	2585	63.6%
2022	42.78	992^nd	2227	55.5%

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

Rank History for Male students at Rucker Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	55.48	2143^rd	5431	60.5%
2019	47.82	2568^th	5510	53.4%
2022	35.07	3365^th	5663	40.6%
2023	28.38	3936^th	5650	30.3%
2024	37.44	3251^st	5636	42.3%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Rucker Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	49.38	2262^nd	4830	53.2%
2019	43.35	2724^th	4963	45.1%
2022	35.24	3271^st	5084	35.7%
2023	20.57	4453^rd	5098	12.7%
2024	28.27	3847^th	5102	24.6%

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

Rank History for White students at Rucker Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	74.69	656^th	2737	76.0%
2019	56.27	1329^th	2834	53.1%
2022	47.99	1524^th	2726	44.1%
2023	43.39	1623^rd	2662	39.0%
2024	60.86	1104^th	2647	58.3%

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 Rucker Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	233	2	10	248	2	n/a	n/a	0	495
1989	205	3	11	269	4	n/a	n/a	0	492
1990	199	2	13	259	6	n/a	n/a	0	479
1991	215	4	12	261	6	n/a	n/a	0	498
1992	201	1	19	256	5	n/a	n/a	0	482
1993	185	6	18	278	4	n/a	n/a	0	491
1994	157	5	20	307	5	n/a	n/a	0	494
1995	184	9	28	324	1	n/a	n/a	0	546
1996	184	9	28	324	1	n/a	n/a	0	546
1997	175	2	27	315	3	n/a	n/a	0	522
1998	169	4	25	312	3	n/a	n/a	0	513
1999	190	3	17	315	1	n/a	n/a	0	526
2000	168	4	14	325	0	n/a	n/a	0	511
2001	167	4	21	312	1	n/a	n/a	0	505
2002	183	0	25	300	2	n/a	n/a	8	518
2003	183	0	25	300	2	n/a	n/a	8	518
2004	136	1	19	302	4	n/a	n/a	12	474
2005	130	1	25	318	2	n/a	n/a	26	502
2006	115	3	36	335	2	n/a	n/a	40	531
2007	118	3	37	342	1	n/a	n/a	43	544
2008	130	3	25	366	2	n/a	n/a	0	526
2009	142	3	28	385	2	1	75	0	636
2010	124	2	24	397	2	1	69	0	619
2011	116	7	32	381	7	4	20	0	567
2012	109	10	30	323	3	1	23	0	499
2013	107	12	33	326	3	2	19	0	502
2014	112	8	27	350	4	3	16	0	520
2015	104	6	35	350	5	3	23	0	526
2016	114	3	36	373	5	1	22	0	554
2017	120	2	40	394	5	1	23	0	585
2018	121	3	31	385	4	0	32	0	576
2019	122	4	31	383	3	0	34	0	577
2020	123	6	37	356	3	0	39	0	564
2021	104	6	47	416	1	2	43	0	619
2022	100	7	28	385	1	2	38	2	563
2023	76	2	24	388	2	2	42	2	538

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 Rucker Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	495	20.6	24.0	n/a
1989	492	20.6	23.8	n/a
1990	479	21.0	22.8	n/a
1991	498	21.0	23.7	n/a
1992	482	21.3	22.6	50
1993	491	18.0	27.3	56
1994	494	18.3	27.0	50
1995	546	22.0	24.8	51.6
1996	546	22.0	24.8	51.6
1997	522	19.6	26.6	48.1
1998	513	24.2	21.2	36.8
1999	526	24.2	21.7	54.9
2000	511	23.4	21.8	53
2001	505	23.6	21.4	51.5
2002	518	25.0	20.7	44.9
2003	518	25.0	20.7	44.9
2004	474	25.3	18.7	31.4
2005	502	25.0	20.1	51.1
2006	531	26.0	20.4	54.6
2007	544	27.0	20.1	58.1
2008	526	31.0	17.0	62.9
2009	636	30.6	18.9	53.3
2010	619	27.5	22.5	66.1
2011	567	n/a	n/a	64.7
2012	499	19.0	26.2	n/a
2013	502	18.0	27.8	54
2014	520	18.0	28.8	52.5
2015	526	22.0	23.9	60.3
2016	554	22.0	25.1	60.6
2017	585	21.5	27.2	60
2018	576	21.2	27.1	59.2
2019	577	22.2	25.9	58.6
2020	564	n/a	n/a	54.8
2021	619	25.2	24.5	61.1
2022	563	24.4	23.0	59
2023	538	23.0	23.3	59.9

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 Rucker Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	495	20.6	24.0	n/a
1989	492	20.6	23.8	n/a
1990	479	21.0	22.8	n/a
1991	498	21.0	23.7	n/a
1992	482	21.3	22.6	50
1993	491	18.0	27.3	56
1994	494	18.3	27.0	50
1995	546	22.0	24.8	51.6
1996	546	22.0	24.8	51.6
1997	522	19.6	26.6	48.1
1998	513	24.2	21.2	36.8
1999	526	24.2	21.7	54.9
2000	511	23.4	21.8	53
2001	505	23.6	21.4	51.5
2002	518	25.0	20.7	44.9
2003	518	25.0	20.7	44.9
2004	474	25.3	18.7	31.4
2005	502	25.0	20.1	51.1
2006	531	26.0	20.4	54.6
2007	544	27.0	20.1	58.1
2008	526	31.0	17.0	62.9
2009	636	30.6	18.9	53.3
2010	619	27.5	22.5	66.1
2011	567	n/a	n/a	64.7
2012	499	19.0	26.2	n/a
2013	502	18.0	27.8	54
2014	520	18.0	28.8	52.5
2015	526	22.0	23.9	60.3
2016	554	22.0	25.1	60.6
2017	585	21.5	27.2	60
2018	576	21.2	27.1	59.2
2019	577	22.2	25.9	58.6
2020	564	n/a	n/a	54.8
2021	619	25.2	24.5	61.1
2022	563	24.4	23.0	59
2023	538	23.0	23.3	59.9

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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