Is Murdock Elementary a good school?

Murdock Elementary ranks 1241 st of 5862 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Murdock Elementary?

In the 2022-23 school year, 594 students attended Murdock Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Murdock Elementary?

Students at Murdock Elementary are 40% White, 40% Hispanic, 12% Two or more races, 4% African American, 3% Asian.

What schools do graduates of Murdock Elementary attend?

Students who attend Murdock Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Spring Valley Academy

Murdock Elementary

Summary:

Murdock Elementary is a public elementary school located in La Mesa, California, serving grades K-6 with a total enrollment of 594 students. It is part of the La Mesa-Spring Valley School District, which is ranked 766 out of 1,568 districts in California and has a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Murdock Elementary consistently performs above the district and state averages in Smarter Balanced Assessments for English Language Arts and Mathematics across all grade levels. For the 2023-2024 school year, the school's proficiency rates in ELA and Math are significantly higher than the district and state, with a 62.92% proficiency rate in ELA and 52.24% in Math, compared to 46.51% and 36.79% for the district, and 47.04% and 35.54% for the state. Murdock Elementary's performance in Science (CAST) is also strong, with a 51.61% proficiency rate, compared to 32.45% for the district and 30.7% for the state. The school's Hispanic and Multi-racial student groups consistently perform better than their counterparts at the state level, ranking in the top quartile of California elementary schools.

However, Murdock Elementary has seen a significant increase in chronic absenteeism, from 6.9% in 2017-2018 to 22.8% in 2021-2022, which is higher than the district and state averages. The school also has a relatively high percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, at 41.25% in 2022-2023, which is higher than the district average. While Murdock Elementary outperforms most of the nearby schools in the La Mesa-Spring Valley School District, including Highlands Elementary, Loma Elementary, and Sweetwater Springs Elementary, in both academic achievement and student group performance, Lemon Avenue Elementary performs similarly to Murdock Elementary and is ranked slightly higher in the state.

Detail:

Public K-6

4354 Conrad Dr.
La Mesa, CA 91941-5214

(619) 668-5775

District: La Mesa-Spring Valley

SchoolDigger Rank:
1241^st of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $5,526

Students who attend Murdock Elementary usually attend:

Middle:

Spring Valley Academy

Student/teacher ratio: 27.0

Number of students: 594

Racial breakdown:

White:

40.1%

Hispanic:

40.1%

Two or more races:

12.3%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 41.2%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Murdock Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Murdock Elementary ranks better than 78.8% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks 2^nd among 17 ranked elementary schools in the La Mesa-Spring Valley School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 77.96. (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 Student population at Murdock Elementary is diverse. Racial makeup is: Hispanic (40.1%), White (40.1%), two or more races (12.3%). (See more...)

Compare Details 41.2% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Murdock Elementary is 27. 12 elementary schools in the La Mesa-Spring Valley School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)

Compare Murdock Elementary employs 22 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Murdock Elementary is $5,526. 15 elementary schools in the La Mesa-Spring Valley School District spend more per student.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Murdock Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Murdock Elementary 1241^st of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Murdock Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

White students:

La Mesa-Spring Valley:

SchoolDigger ranks La Mesa-Spring Valley 766^th of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Murdock Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Murdock Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	92.91	339^th	4809	93.0%
2005	91.07	429^th	4822	91.1%
2006	83.43	810^th	4818	83.2%
2007	87.88	632^nd	5113	87.6%
2008	93.16	302^nd	5113	94.1%
2009	86.91	646^th	5193	87.6%
2010	90.39	417^th	5314	92.2%
2011	83.81	801^st	5377	85.1%
2012	79.39	1062^nd	5390	80.3%
2013	75.41	1302^nd	5530	76.5%
2015	78.31	1177^th	5611	79.0%
2016	84.29	948^th	5614	83.1%
2017	89.48	667^th	5692	88.3%
2018	90.28	622^nd	5662	89.0%
2019	88.95	706^th	5789	87.8%
2022	80.25	1178^th	5883	80.0%
2023	74.73	1386^th	5874	76.4%
2024	77.96	1241^st	5862	78.8%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Murdock Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2018	70.89	101^st	339	70.2%
2019	81.73	52^nd	445	88.3%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Murdock Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2024	62.60	658^th	2634	75.0%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Murdock Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	92.01	215^th	5084	95.8%
2019	84.20	526^th	5173	89.8%
2022	71.38	1109^th	5264	78.9%
2023	72.47	1097^th	5374	79.6%
2024	70.67	1232^nd	5511	77.6%

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

Rank History for Female students at Murdock Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	92.19	433^rd	5413	92.0%
2019	85.00	819^th	5492	85.1%
2022	71.78	1451^st	5635	74.3%
2023	69.05	1546^th	5617	72.5%
2024	75.77	1255^th	5605	77.6%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at Murdock Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2019	66.28	574^th	2585	77.8%

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

Rank History for Male students at Murdock Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	86.25	783^rd	5431	85.6%
2019	90.05	576^th	5510	89.5%
2022	83.85	925^th	5663	83.7%
2023	77.41	1203^rd	5650	78.7%
2024	76.43	1215^th	5636	78.4%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Murdock Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	89.05	344^th	4830	92.9%
2019	87.92	391^st	4963	92.1%
2022	82.99	632^nd	5084	87.6%
2023	80.76	703^rd	5098	86.2%
2024	80.40	710^th	5102	86.1%

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

Rank History for White students at Murdock Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	86.60	195^th	2737	92.9%
2019	85.57	251^st	2834	91.1%
2022	74.55	638^th	2726	76.6%
2023	62.46	1034^th	2662	61.2%
2024	68.46	857^th	2647	67.6%

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 Murdock Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	334	5	11	22	0	n/a	n/a	0	372
1989	344	7	16	29	1	n/a	n/a	0	397
1990	325	11	22	28	1	n/a	n/a	0	387
1991	325	10	19	28	0	n/a	n/a	0	382
1992	348	17	15	30	0	n/a	n/a	0	410
1993	381	24	19	45	0	n/a	n/a	0	469
1994	400	25	23	48	0	n/a	n/a	0	496
1995	432	25	30	57	2	n/a	n/a	0	546
1996	432	25	30	57	2	n/a	n/a	0	546
1997	422	31	31	55	1	n/a	n/a	0	540
1998	443	31	30	58	1	n/a	n/a	0	563
1999	483	38	29	54	0	n/a	n/a	20	624
2000	479	30	24	59	1	n/a	n/a	23	616
2001	473	40	23	67	3	n/a	n/a	30	636
2002	428	27	26	74	14	n/a	n/a	48	617
2003	428	27	26	74	14	n/a	n/a	48	617
2004	387	27	33	93	10	n/a	n/a	49	599
2005	393	31	30	85	8	n/a	n/a	62	609
2006	378	39	30	87	5	n/a	n/a	70	609
2007	370	39	24	92	5	n/a	n/a	60	590
2008	352	34	23	80	3	n/a	n/a	0	492
2009	340	39	21	83	0	1	115	0	599
2010	350	31	19	140	3	0	52	0	595
2011	353	29	17	181	1	0	55	0	636
2012	394	27	19	225	1	1	61	0	728
2013	370	33	23	249	1	1	66	0	743
2014	379	42	27	260	2	1	82	0	793
2015	339	38	24	252	2	2	73	0	730
2016	329	42	27	246	1	2	73	0	720
2017	290	33	20	242	1	3	77	0	666
2018	258	25	19	233	1	5	70	0	611
2019	253	26	14	234	1	5	73	0	606
2020	274	38	15	228	2	4	71	0	632
2021	261	31	14	230	3	1	86	0	626
2022	239	24	14	224	0	1	67	0	569
2023	238	24	18	238	1	0	73	2	594

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 Murdock Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	372	16.4	22.6	n/a
1989	397	13.8	28.7	n/a
1990	387	15.1	25.6	n/a
1991	382	15.6	24.4	n/a
1992	410	15.9	25.7	8.5
1993	469	17.6	26.6	0
1994	496	18.6	26.7	14.3
1995	546	20.6	26.5	19.8
1996	546	20.6	26.5	19.8
1997	540	25.6	21.1	19.6
1998	563	26.6	21.2	18.1
1999	624	29.6	21.1	18.7
2000	616	29.1	21.2	18
2001	636	29.0	21.9	15.3
2002	617	28.0	22.0	16.3
2003	617	28.0	22.0	16.3
2004	599	26.9	22.3	15.6
2005	609	27.9	21.8	17.9
2006	609	27.5	22.1	22.1
2007	590	28.0	21.1	23.2
2008	492	29.9	16.5	25.4
2009	599	28.4	19.6	23.5
2010	595	26.0	22.8	20.8
2011	636	n/a	n/a	21.2
2012	728	24.2	30.0	n/a
2013	743	24.2	30.7	24.6
2014	793	26.5	29.9	26.2
2015	730	24.0	30.4	29.3
2016	720	25.0	28.8	31.7
2017	666	24.0	27.7	26.1
2018	611	21.5	28.4	31.4
2019	606	20.0	30.3	35
2020	632	n/a	n/a	36.7
2021	626	21.5	29.1	29.2
2022	569	21.0	27.0	40.2
2023	594	22.0	27.0	41.2

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 Murdock Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	372	16.4	22.6	n/a
1989	397	13.8	28.7	n/a
1990	387	15.1	25.6	n/a
1991	382	15.6	24.4	n/a
1992	410	15.9	25.7	8.5
1993	469	17.6	26.6	0
1994	496	18.6	26.7	14.3
1995	546	20.6	26.5	19.8
1996	546	20.6	26.5	19.8
1997	540	25.6	21.1	19.6
1998	563	26.6	21.2	18.1
1999	624	29.6	21.1	18.7
2000	616	29.1	21.2	18
2001	636	29.0	21.9	15.3
2002	617	28.0	22.0	16.3
2003	617	28.0	22.0	16.3
2004	599	26.9	22.3	15.6
2005	609	27.9	21.8	17.9
2006	609	27.5	22.1	22.1
2007	590	28.0	21.1	23.2
2008	492	29.9	16.5	25.4
2009	599	28.4	19.6	23.5
2010	595	26.0	22.8	20.8
2011	636	n/a	n/a	21.2
2012	728	24.2	30.0	n/a
2013	743	24.2	30.7	24.6
2014	793	26.5	29.9	26.2
2015	730	24.0	30.4	29.3
2016	720	25.0	28.8	31.7
2017	666	24.0	27.7	26.1
2018	611	21.5	28.4	31.4
2019	606	20.0	30.3	35
2020	632	n/a	n/a	36.7
2021	626	21.5	29.1	29.2
2022	569	21.0	27.0	40.2
2023	594	22.0	27.0	41.2

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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