Is Onaga Elementary a good school?

Onaga Elementary ranks in the bottom 21.6% of California elementary schools.

How many students attend Onaga Elementary?

In the 2023-24 school year, 622 students attended Onaga Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Onaga Elementary?

Students at Onaga Elementary are 45% White, 44% Hispanic, 6% Two or more races, 3% Asian, 2% African American.

What schools do graduates of Onaga Elementary attend?

Students who attend Onaga Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : La Contenta Middle High : Yucca Valley High

Onaga Elementary

Summary:

Onaga Elementary is a public elementary school in Yucca Valley, California, serving 580 students in grades K-6. It is part of the Morongo Unified School District, which is ranked 1036 out of 1568 districts in the state and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Onaga Elementary consistently underperforms the district and state averages in academic assessments. In the 2023-2024 school year, only 29.08% of Onaga students were proficient in English Language Arts, compared to 35.78% for the district and 47.04% for the state. In Mathematics, the proficiency rate was just 20.43%, while the district and state had rates of 21.77% and 35.54%, respectively. The school also lags behind in Science proficiency, with only 16.05% of students meeting or exceeding standards, compared to 21.71% for the district and 30.7% for the state. Onaga Elementary's academic performance has been declining over the years, with its statewide ranking dropping from 2038 out of 5,611 California elementary schools in 2014-2015 to 4,594 out of 5,862 in 2023-2024.

Onaga Elementary faces additional challenges, including a high chronic absenteeism rate of 30% in 2022-2023, compared to the district's rate of 24.9%. The school also has a high percentage of students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds, with 58.45% qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. Compared to nearby schools, such as Landers Elementary and Morongo Valley Elementary, Onaga Elementary's academic performance is generally lower. The school's disparities in subgroup performance, particularly for Hispanic students and students with disabilities, suggest the need for targeted interventions and support to improve student outcomes.

Detail:

Public K-6

58001 Onaga
Yucca Valley, CA 92284-6199

(760) 369-6333

District: Morongo Unified

SchoolDigger Rank:
4594^th of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $6,546

Students who attend Onaga Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	La Contenta Middle
High:	Yucca Valley High

Student/teacher ratio: 24.1

Number of students: 622

Racial breakdown:

White:

44.7%

Hispanic:

43.9%

Two or more races:

6.1%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 59.8%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Onaga Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Onaga Elementary ranks worse than 78.4% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks 8^th among 11 ranked elementary schools in the Morongo Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 22.78. (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 Onaga Elementary has the largest elementary school student body size in the Morongo Unified School District. Racial makeup is: White (44.7%), Hispanic (43.9%), two or more races (6.1%). (See more...)

Compare Details 59.8% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Onaga Elementary is 24.1. 9 elementary schools in the Morongo Unified School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)

Compare Onaga Elementary employs 25.8 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Onaga Elementary is $6,546. 7 elementary schools in the Morongo Unified School District spend more per student.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Onaga Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Onaga Elementary 4594^th of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Onaga 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:

Morongo Unified:

SchoolDigger ranks Morongo Unified 1036^th of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Parent Rating:

Read all reviews and ratings detail for Onaga Elementary.

What do you think?

Your rating for Onaga Elementary?

(Ranking FAQ)

Rank History for Onaga Elementary

Compare

Rank History for all students at Onaga Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	57.53	1814^th	4809	62.3%
2005	54.53	1978^th	4822	59.0%
2006	48.85	2244^th	4818	53.4%
2007	59.91	1834^th	5113	64.1%
2008	56.01	2055^th	5113	59.8%
2009	45.02	2753^rd	5193	47.0%
2010	43.33	2959^th	5314	44.3%
2011	39.23	3309^th	5377	38.5%
2012	43.19	3059^th	5390	43.2%
2013	50.69	2643^rd	5530	52.2%
2015	57.83	2038^th	5611	63.7%
2016	52.06	2389^th	5614	57.4%
2017	33.74	3534^th	5692	37.9%
2018	32.68	3620^th	5662	36.1%
2019	35.00	3530^th	5789	39.0%
2022	31.12	3783^rd	5883	35.7%
2023	25.73	4296^th	5874	26.9%
2024	22.78	4594^th	5862	21.6%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Special Education students at Onaga Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	24.86	1911^th	2420	21.0%
2024	19.31	2429^th	2634	7.8%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Onaga Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	31.62	3654^th	5084	28.1%
2019	46.14	2674^th	5173	48.3%
2022	37.72	3198^th	5264	39.2%
2023	30.20	3887^th	5374	27.7%
2024	28.77	4059^th	5511	26.3%

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

Rank History for Female students at Onaga Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	34.88	3418^th	5413	36.9%
2019	38.57	3199^th	5492	41.8%
2022	30.43	3693^rd	5635	34.5%
2023	22.13	4519^th	5617	19.5%
2024	18.49	4835^th	5605	13.7%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at Onaga Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2018	22.72	1831^st	2128	14.0%
2019	17.90	2505^th	2585	3.1%

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

Rank History for Male students at Onaga Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	31.40	3594^th	5431	33.8%
2019	30.60	3754^th	5510	31.9%
2022	32.58	3570^th	5663	37.0%
2023	31.13	3671^st	5650	35.0%
2024	29.71	3836^th	5636	31.9%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Onaga Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	28.63	3648^th	4830	24.5%
2019	30.02	3693^rd	4963	25.6%
2022	34.29	3345^th	5084	34.2%
2023	29.46	3754^th	5098	26.4%
2024	24.86	4114^th	5102	19.4%

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

Rank History for White students at Onaga Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	16.28	2417^th	2737	11.7%
2019	19.75	2387^th	2834	15.8%
2022	14.40	2411^th	2726	11.6%
2023	9.69	2478^th	2662	6.9%
2024	8.87	2479^th	2647	6.3%

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

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 1)

100%

Reviews:

by a parent
Thursday, April 9, 2015

The sad thing about Onaga is that there are many wonderful teachers there but the leadership is weak. The school has become a joke. They have regular cheer Fridays with absolutely no academic focus whatsoever. The parent group is run by a tattooed woman who openly talks with students on the playground about her breast enhancement procedure and dresses to show it. My son is bothered by her behavior and the way she speaks ill of teachers and staff, in front of students no less! The teachers seem stressed and unhappy and a few I've talked with say they have no support from their principal as he plays favorites. We bought a house in the area 7 years ago because we heard Onaga was the top elementary in the whole school district and wanted our then 3 year old to attend there when he turned 5. When the principalship changed hands, the school sunk to an all time low. If you have an in with the principal and his pet teachers, you will love it there. Otherwise, you are better off homeschooling or making the drive to another school in the area - any school. Close Quote

Enrollment information for Onaga Elementary

Compare

Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1995	573	31	10	98	7	n/a	n/a	0	719
1996	573	31	10	98	7	n/a	n/a	0	719
1997	585	34	9	105	3	n/a	n/a	0	736
1998	604	50	6	101	2	n/a	n/a	0	763
1999	505	39	9	95	3	n/a	n/a	0	651
2000	491	83	12	94	7	n/a	n/a	0	687
2001	500	34	11	107	9	n/a	n/a	1	662
2002	466	34	21	101	8	n/a	n/a	7	637
2003	466	34	21	101	8	n/a	n/a	7	637
2004	447	26	13	105	10	n/a	n/a	44	645
2005	459	25	10	113	11	n/a	n/a	62	680
2006	482	19	7	134	12	n/a	n/a	67	721
2007	479	24	11	140	7	n/a	n/a	70	731
2008	455	26	11	137	8	n/a	n/a	0	637
2009	450	31	12	159	8	1	95	0	756
2010	498	27	8	227	7	4	38	0	809
2011	462	33	10	213	3	1	31	0	753
2012	456	33	16	188	4	2	40	0	739
2013	447	30	16	190	1	3	30	0	717
2014	422	32	14	197	4	4	40	0	713
2015	412	30	15	185	3	1	33	0	679
2016	396	26	14	181	2	2	25	0	646
2017	382	30	18	187	3	2	24	0	646
2018	426	43	24	204	5	3	3	0	708
2019	424	39	27	224	4	1	1	0	720
2020	387	29	13	247	5	3	4	0	688
2021	348	27	15	245	5	3	2	0	645
2022	299	18	15	245	5	0	13	0	595
2023	288	17	13	231	6	1	24	0	580
2024	278	13	16	273	1	2	38	1	622

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 Onaga Elementary

Compare

Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1995	719	26.0	27.7	45.3
1996	719	26.0	27.7	45.3
1997	736	28.0	26.3	55.4
1998	763	32.0	23.8	58.8
1999	651	30.5	21.3	54.2
2000	687	32.0	21.5	56.9
2001	662	33.0	20.1	49.8
2002	637	31.0	20.5	27.9
2003	637	31.0	20.5	27.9
2004	645	32.0	20.2	36.1
2005	680	32.0	21.3	57.4
2006	721	34.0	21.2	52.8
2007	731	36.0	20.3	50.7
2008	637	41.4	15.4	59.2
2009	756	38.4	17.8	60.1
2010	809	35.0	23.1	62.7
2011	753	n/a	n/a	62
2012	739	31.2	23.6	n/a
2013	717	28.1	25.5	65.4
2014	713	30.6	23.3	66.5
2015	679	29.0	23.4	67.3
2016	646	26.0	24.8	66.4
2017	646	27.0	23.8	66.6
2018	708	27.7	25.5	69.6
2019	720	28.3	25.3	70.1
2020	688	n/a	n/a	65.6
2021	645	27.9	23.0	76.4
2022	595	27.5	21.5	65.9
2023	580	23.4	24.7	58.4
2024	622	25.8	24.1	59.8

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 Onaga Elementary

Compare

Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1995	719	26.0	27.7	45.3
1996	719	26.0	27.7	45.3
1997	736	28.0	26.3	55.4
1998	763	32.0	23.8	58.8
1999	651	30.5	21.3	54.2
2000	687	32.0	21.5	56.9
2001	662	33.0	20.1	49.8
2002	637	31.0	20.5	27.9
2003	637	31.0	20.5	27.9
2004	645	32.0	20.2	36.1
2005	680	32.0	21.3	57.4
2006	721	34.0	21.2	52.8
2007	731	36.0	20.3	50.7
2008	637	41.4	15.4	59.2
2009	756	38.4	17.8	60.1
2010	809	35.0	23.1	62.7
2011	753	n/a	n/a	62
2012	739	31.2	23.6	n/a
2013	717	28.1	25.5	65.4
2014	713	30.6	23.3	66.5
2015	679	29.0	23.4	67.3
2016	646	26.0	24.8	66.4
2017	646	27.0	23.8	66.6
2018	708	27.7	25.5	69.6
2019	720	28.3	25.3	70.1
2020	688	n/a	n/a	65.6
2021	645	27.9	23.0	76.4
2022	595	27.5	21.5	65.9
2023	580	23.4	24.7	58.4
2024	622	25.8	24.1	59.8

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