Is Santa Rita Elementary a good school?

Yes. Santa Rita Elementary ranks in the top 7.7% of California elementary schools.

How many students attend Santa Rita Elementary?

In the 2022-23 school year, 385 students attended Santa Rita Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Santa Rita Elementary?

Students at Santa Rita Elementary are 34% White, 31% Asian, 21% Hispanic, 13% Two or more races.

What schools do graduates of Santa Rita Elementary attend?

Students who attend Santa Rita Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Ardis G. Egan Junior High High : Los Altos High

Santa Rita Elementary

Summary:

Santa Rita Elementary is a public elementary school located in Los Altos, California, serving 385 students in grades K-6 and part of the highly-ranked Los Altos Elementary School District.

Santa Rita Elementary is a consistently high-performing school, ranking among the top elementary schools in California over the past decade and maintaining a 5-star rating from SchoolDigger. Its students demonstrate strong academic achievement, with proficiency rates in English Language Arts and Mathematics significantly exceeding state averages. The school serves a diverse student population, with notable subgroups of Asian, Hispanic, and White students, and its performance across these subgroups is generally strong. While Santa Rita Elementary has seen an increase in chronic absenteeism, its current rate is still lower than the state average and significantly lower than some nearby schools. The school's socioeconomic status is relatively moderate, with a free and reduced-price lunch rate around 16-17%.

When compared to other top-performing elementary schools in the area, such as Covington Elementary and Gardner Bullis Elementary, Santa Rita Elementary generally performs well but falls slightly behind in some academic metrics. The school's performance for its low-socioeconomic status students is not as strong as its overall performance, ranking in the 1,100-2,400 range among California elementary schools in this subgroup. However, the school has demonstrated exceptional performance for its students with disabilities, ranking in the top 21-40 among California elementary schools in this subgroup.

Detail:

Public K-6

700 Los Altos Ave.
Los Altos, CA 94022-1631

(650) 559-1600

District: Los Altos Elementary

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

Per Pupil Expenditures: $15,105

Students who attend Santa Rita Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Ardis G. Egan Junior High
High:	Los Altos High

Student/teacher ratio: 19.1

Number of students: 385

Racial breakdown:

White:

34.3%

Asian:

31.2%

Hispanic:

20.5%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 16.4%

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Compare Santa Rita Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Santa Rita Elementary ranks better than 92.3% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks last among 7 ranked elementary schools in the Los Altos Elementary School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 93.72. (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 Santa Rita Elementary has the largest elementary school student body size in the Los Altos Elementary School District. (See more...)

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Teachers

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Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Santa Rita Elementary is $15,105. 3 elementary schools in the Los Altos Elementary School District spend more per student.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Santa Rita Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Santa Rita Elementary 450^th of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Santa Rita Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

Asian students:

Hispanic students:

White students:

Los Altos Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Los Altos Elementary 17^th of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Parent Rating:

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Rank History for Santa Rita Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Santa Rita Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	98.79	28^th	4809	99.4%
2005	97.71	72^nd	4822	98.5%
2006	98.14	49^th	4818	99.0%
2007	97.82	62^nd	5113	98.8%
2008	97.09	73^rd	5113	98.6%
2009	96.42	79^th	5193	98.5%
2010	96.01	78^th	5314	98.5%
2011	93.44	225^th	5377	95.8%
2012	94.63	112^th	5390	97.9%
2013	92.40	290^th	5530	94.8%
2015	97.81	121^st	5611	97.8%
2016	95.20	301^st	5614	94.6%
2017	96.18	243^rd	5692	95.7%
2018	95.59	239^th	5662	95.8%
2019	92.12	511^th	5789	91.2%
2022	93.70	467^th	5883	92.1%
2023	91.88	582^nd	5874	90.1%
2024	93.72	450^th	5862	92.3%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Santa Rita Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	89.49	188^th	3246	94.2%
2019	64.60	692^nd	3275	78.9%
2022	82.37	263^rd	3311	92.1%
2023	91.14	124^th	3250	96.2%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Santa Rita Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	74.19	973^rd	5084	80.9%
2019	25.36	4204^th	5173	18.7%
2022	63.68	1485^th	5264	71.8%
2023	49.64	2395^th	5374	55.4%
2024	72.99	1134^th	5511	79.4%

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

Rank History for Female students at Santa Rita Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	95.18	212^th	5413	96.1%
2019	91.82	451^st	5492	91.8%
2022	91.69	538^th	5635	90.5%
2023	89.09	688^th	5617	87.8%
2024	93.77	380^th	5605	93.2%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at Santa Rita Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2018	98.32	40^th	2128	98.1%
2019	99.30	21^st	2585	99.2%

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

Rank History for Male students at Santa Rita Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	94.31	298^th	5431	94.5%
2019	90.62	537^th	5510	90.3%
2022	92.99	448^th	5663	92.1%
2023	91.81	515^th	5650	90.9%
2024	91.55	518^th	5636	90.8%

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

Rank History for Asian students at Santa Rita Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	78.00	180^th	1071	83.2%
2019	71.66	335^th	1149	70.8%
2022	76.67	235^th	1154	79.6%
2023	81.76	114^th	1190	90.4%
2024	76.22	260^th	1203	78.4%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Santa Rita Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2019	22.76	4197^th	4963	15.4%
2022	71.07	1101^st	5084	78.3%
2023	68.45	1257^th	5098	75.3%
2024	85.98	509^th	5102	90.0%

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

Rank History for White students at Santa Rita Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	87.88	157^th	2737	94.3%
2019	76.89	570^th	2834	79.9%
2022	81.82	378^th	2726	86.1%
2023	79.04	470^th	2662	82.3%
2024	81.03	384^th	2647	85.5%

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

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 2)

100%

Reviews:

by a parent
Friday, December 2, 2016

This school is all about fund-raising. If you are not one of the major players in the school, the staff are not very keen about who you are. There're countless fund-raising events at the school-level. At the class level, there are at least 3 gifting seasons. I'd love to be a teacher at this school. Here's what is going on: In addition to gifting during the Christmas season and the end of the academic year, the school has begun a trend where parents are asked to contribute towards birthday gifts for the teachers. It did not use to be the case, but in recent years, this is happening, and parents are informed (unsolicited/without asking) about the teachers' birthdays and given suggestions about gift cards to buy via semi-official channels, i.e. other members of the staff from within the school.

My second major peeve and concern is about a few of the teachers (not all) based on observations as a parent who cares to go through my kids' school work/assignments and do cross-checking with other parents and students: 1) They had 2 long-term subs this Fall for 2 teachers on maternity leave - 3rd and 4th grade. Hiring decision for the 3rd grade sub was questionable, and I can only speak for this one since I don't know about the 4th grade sub. One of the 2 long-term subs have problems with spelling and actual academic teaching. For instance, she can't spell many basic words right, and the students learned it wrong from her, e.g. "boundaries" spelled as "boundries" and "allowed" spelled as "aloud." Parents have found mistakes in assignments and confirmed it as the teacher's mistakes when we cross-checked with other students/parents. (Thankfully, the teacher she subbed for is now back! However, we parents still see her a lot subbing in other classes.) 2) One of the Kindergarten classes has a teacher whom MANY students have reported as not doing anything except always sipping on her drink and eating snacks. Thankfully there is an aide who is good with the students and do a good job of guiding them. However, other signs of lack of interest on the part of the teacher include: messy classroom with dirty floors all year long, students getting much less activities compared to their twin siblings in another K class ... Close Quote

Enrollment information for Santa Rita Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	305	13	46	15	0	n/a	n/a	0	379
1989	295	14	57	19	0	n/a	n/a	0	385
1990	313	22	73	21	0	n/a	n/a	0	429
1991	311	17	85	22	0	n/a	n/a	0	435
1992	333	31	72	18	0	n/a	n/a	0	454
1993	332	23	77	21	0	n/a	n/a	0	453
1994	334	12	100	23	1	n/a	n/a	0	470
1995	378	18	93	39	0	n/a	n/a	0	528
1996	378	18	93	39	0	n/a	n/a	0	528
1997	392	17	89	30	0	n/a	n/a	0	528
1998	379	12	82	43	0	n/a	n/a	0	516
1999	396	15	82	34	0	n/a	n/a	0	527
2000	343	4	126	42	0	n/a	n/a	0	515
2001	313	17	143	44	1	n/a	n/a	0	518
2002	296	9	184	29	1	n/a	n/a	0	519
2003	296	9	184	29	1	n/a	n/a	0	519
2004	284	6	198	49	4	n/a	n/a	0	541
2005	280	9	203	44	0	n/a	n/a	0	536
2006	286	7	195	45	0	n/a	n/a	19	552
2007	269	3	191	44	0	n/a	n/a	71	578
2008	245	3	191	42	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	481
2009	213	2	194	36	0	2	66	0	513
2010	210	2	193	61	0	5	52	0	523
2011	210	3	201	67	1	7	53	0	542
2012	210	3	199	66	1	6	52	0	537
2013	233	1	205	60	1	5	61	0	566
2014	229	2	192	72	0	1	63	0	559
2015	258	3	195	49	3	1	59	0	568
2016	249	3	185	66	4	0	51	0	558
2017	241	2	174	68	4	0	52	0	541
2018	245	2	176	64	4	0	55	0	546
2019	223	1	169	78	4	0	49	0	524
2020	209	1	151	82	2	2	44	0	491
2021	134	2	81	66	1	3	32	0	319
2022	142	1	113	82	1	3	35	0	377
2023	132	1	120	79	1	3	49	0	385

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 Santa Rita Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	379	15.5	24.4	n/a
1989	385	14.0	27.5	n/a
1990	429	16.0	26.8	n/a
1991	435	18.0	24.1	n/a
1992	454	18.3	24.8	2.9
1993	453	19.1	23.7	2.4
1994	470	20.7	22.7	4.5
1995	528	22.5	23.5	6.6
1996	528	22.5	23.5	6.6
1997	528	27.5	19.2	2.8
1998	516	27.0	19.1	5.8
1999	527	28.1	18.8	4
2000	515	26.0	19.8	5.4
2001	518	27.0	19.2	5
2002	519	25.8	20.1	3.5
2003	519	25.8	20.1	3.5
2004	541	26.8	20.2	6.5
2005	536	26.8	20.0	5.4
2006	552	26.8	20.6	5.6
2007	578	27.8	20.8	9.3
2008	481	28.8	16.7	7.1
2009	513	25.8	19.1	7.6
2010	523	23.8	21.9	8.4
2011	542	n/a	n/a	7.7
2012	537	24.6	21.7	9.3
2013	566	25.0	22.6	11
2014	559	25.1	22.2	12.9
2015	568	24.0	23.6	12.5
2016	558	25.0	22.3	13.3
2017	541	22.8	23.6	14.2
2018	546	24.0	22.7	14.8
2019	524	25.4	20.5	15.8
2020	491	n/a	n/a	13.8
2021	319	17.4	18.2	17.2
2022	377	20.0	18.8	17.8
2023	385	20.0	19.1	16.4

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 Santa Rita Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	379	15.5	24.4	n/a
1989	385	14.0	27.5	n/a
1990	429	16.0	26.8	n/a
1991	435	18.0	24.1	n/a
1992	454	18.3	24.8	2.9
1993	453	19.1	23.7	2.4
1994	470	20.7	22.7	4.5
1995	528	22.5	23.5	6.6
1996	528	22.5	23.5	6.6
1997	528	27.5	19.2	2.8
1998	516	27.0	19.1	5.8
1999	527	28.1	18.8	4
2000	515	26.0	19.8	5.4
2001	518	27.0	19.2	5
2002	519	25.8	20.1	3.5
2003	519	25.8	20.1	3.5
2004	541	26.8	20.2	6.5
2005	536	26.8	20.0	5.4
2006	552	26.8	20.6	5.6
2007	578	27.8	20.8	9.3
2008	481	28.8	16.7	7.1
2009	513	25.8	19.1	7.6
2010	523	23.8	21.9	8.4
2011	542	n/a	n/a	7.7
2012	537	24.6	21.7	9.3
2013	566	25.0	22.6	11
2014	559	25.1	22.2	12.9
2015	568	24.0	23.6	12.5
2016	558	25.0	22.3	13.3
2017	541	22.8	23.6	14.2
2018	546	24.0	22.7	14.8
2019	524	25.4	20.5	15.8
2020	491	n/a	n/a	13.8
2021	319	17.4	18.2	17.2
2022	377	20.0	18.8	17.8
2023	385	20.0	19.1	16.4

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