Is Descanso Elementary a good school?

Descanso Elementary ranks 1380 th of 5862 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Descanso Elementary?

In the 2023-24 school year, 214 students attended Descanso Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Descanso Elementary?

Students at Descanso Elementary are 55% White, 41% Hispanic, 3% Two or more races.

What schools do graduates of Descanso Elementary attend?

Students who attend Descanso Elementary usually go on to attend: High : Mountain Empire High

Descanso Elementary

Summary:

Descanso Elementary is a public elementary school serving grades K-6 in the Mountain Empire Unified School District, with around 200 students. The school has seen fluctuations in its statewide ranking over the years, but currently ranks 1,380 out of 5,862 California elementary schools and is rated 4 out of 5 stars by SchoolDigger.

Descanso Elementary consistently outperforms the district and state in academic assessments, with 56.78% of students proficient or better in Smarter Balanced Assessments/English Language Arts/Literacy for End of Course, compared to 24.95% for the district and 47.04% for the state. The school also stands out in its performance for Hispanic students, ranking 354 out of 5,102 California elementary schools with a 5-star rating. However, the school's performance for White students is relatively lower, ranking 1,364 out of 2,647 California elementary schools with a 2-star rating. Additionally, Descanso Elementary has seen a significant increase in chronic absenteeism rates, from 8.9% in 2018-2019 to 30.7% in 2021-2022, which is an area of concern.

When compared to nearby schools, Descanso Elementary generally outperforms the other schools in academic assessments. For example, in the 2023-2024 school year, Descanso Elementary had 51.69% of students proficient or better in Smarter Balanced Assessments/Mathematics for End of Course, compared to 16.54% for the Mountain Empire Unified School District and 35.54% for the state. However, the school's student-teacher ratio has increased from 19.9 in 2020-2021 to 24.3 in 2022-2023, which is higher than some of the nearby schools.

Detail:

Public K-6

24842 Viejas Blvd.
Descanso, CA 91916-9757

(619) 445-2126

District: Mountain Empire Unified

SchoolDigger Rank:
1380^th of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Student/teacher ratio: 23.7

Number of students: 214

Racial breakdown:

White:

55.1%

Hispanic:

40.7%

Two or more races:

3.3%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 47.7%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Descanso Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Descanso Elementary ranks better than 76.5% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks first among 4 ranked elementary schools in the Mountain Empire Unified School District! (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 74.61. (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: White (55.1%), Hispanic (40.7%), two or more races (3.3%). (See more...)

Compare Details 47.7% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. This is the lowest percentage in the Mountain Empire Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Details

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Descanso Elementary is 23.7. 2 elementary schools in the Mountain Empire Unified School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)

Compare Descanso Elementary employs 9 full-time teachers.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Descanso Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Descanso Elementary 1380^th of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Descanso Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

White students:

Mountain Empire Unified:

SchoolDigger ranks Mountain Empire Unified 1327^th of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Descanso Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Descanso Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	65.36	1474^th	4809	69.3%
2005	76.86	1058^th	4822	78.1%
2006	81.80	882^nd	4818	81.7%
2007	68.32	1442^nd	5113	71.8%
2008	80.93	931^st	5113	81.8%
2009	73.20	1295^th	5193	75.1%
2010	53.50	2357^th	5314	55.6%
2011	68.74	1538^th	5377	71.4%
2012	54.04	2397^th	5390	55.5%
2013	92.31	302^nd	5530	94.5%
2015	78.20	1185^th	5611	78.9%
2016	85.52	874^th	5614	84.4%
2017	73.35	1417^th	5692	75.1%
2018	79.56	1156^th	5662	79.6%
2019	70.94	1558^th	5789	73.1%
2021	44.43	720^th	1417	49.2%
2022	57.05	2173^rd	5883	63.1%
2023	66.34	1742^nd	5874	70.3%
2024	74.61	1380^th	5862	76.5%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Descanso Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2019	74.62	944^th	5173	81.8%
2021	45.50	561^st	1110	49.5%
2022	51.80	2174^th	5264	58.7%
2023	58.95	1806^th	5374	66.4%
2024	85.01	627^th	5511	88.6%

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

Rank History for Female students at Descanso Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2019	66.22	1684^th	5492	69.3%
2022	61.62	1870^th	5635	66.8%
2023	65.22	1707^th	5617	69.6%
2024	78.71	1145^th	5605	79.6%

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

Rank History for Male students at Descanso Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	83.10	930^th	5431	82.9%
2019	78.91	1137^th	5510	79.4%
2021	46.03	619^th	1272	51.3%
2022	50.04	2449^th	5663	56.8%
2023	64.99	1728^th	5650	69.4%
2024	66.74	1665^th	5636	70.5%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Descanso Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2024	89.80	354^th	5102	93.1%

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

Rank History for White students at Descanso Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	68.86	867^th	2737	68.3%
2019	53.85	1425^th	2834	49.7%
2022	31.98	1959^th	2726	28.1%
2023	42.72	1642^nd	2662	38.3%
2024	51.40	1364^th	2647	48.5%

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

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Enrollment information for Descanso Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Total
1988	240	0	3	12	1	n/a	n/a	256
1989	209	0	3	10	0	n/a	n/a	222
1990	207	0	3	11	1	n/a	n/a	222
1991	200	0	3	19	1	n/a	n/a	223
1992	200	0	3	13	1	n/a	n/a	217
1993	205	0	3	11	5	n/a	n/a	224
1994	191	0	2	13	3	n/a	n/a	209
1995	151	0	1	26	8	n/a	n/a	186
1996	151	0	1	26	8	n/a	n/a	186
1997	141	0	4	20	3	n/a	n/a	168
1998	142	0	1	23	2	n/a	n/a	168
1999	132	0	2	20	7	n/a	n/a	161
2000	122	5	1	33	7	n/a	n/a	168
2001	125	2	1	26	5	n/a	n/a	159
2002	138	2	1	27	4	n/a	n/a	172
2003	138	2	1	27	4	n/a	n/a	172
2004	133	4	2	28	4	n/a	n/a	171
2005	117	3	3	32	5	n/a	n/a	160
2006	110	3	3	31	4	n/a	n/a	151
2007	114	3	5	37	4	n/a	n/a	163
2008	102	2	4	33	2	n/a	n/a	143
2009	96	3	0	26	2	2	0	129
2010	86	3	0	21	2	2	0	114
2011	90	0	0	29	1	1	3	124
2012	74	0	0	33	0	1	3	111
2013	132	1	1	47	4	0	11	196
2014	125	1	1	54	3	0	15	199
2015	129	0	1	49	1	0	6	186
2016	119	0	1	48	0	0	7	175
2017	108	0	1	40	0	0	3	152
2018	112	0	1	48	1	0	4	166
2019	136	2	2	62	2	0	7	211
2020	136	3	2	57	0	0	13	211
2021	131	0	0	57	2	0	10	200
2022	121	3	0	62	2	0	12	200
2023	112	3	0	78	2	0	5	200
2024	118	0	0	87	2	0	7	214

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 Descanso Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	256	11.3	22.6	n/a
1989	222	11.4	19.4	n/a
1990	222	11.4	19.4	n/a
1991	223	11.0	20.2	n/a
1992	217	11.2	19.3	23
1993	224	10.0	22.4	31.3
1994	209	10.0	20.9	21.1
1995	186	8.0	23.3	37.6
1996	186	8.0	23.3	37.6
1997	168	9.0	18.7	37.5
1998	168	8.0	21.0	39.3
1999	161	8.0	20.1	42.2
2000	168	8.0	21.0	48.8
2001	159	7.0	22.7	35.8
2002	172	8.0	21.5	45.3
2003	172	8.0	21.5	45.3
2004	171	8.0	21.4	41.5
2005	160	8.0	20.0	44.4
2006	151	7.0	21.6	43
2007	163	8.0	20.4	38.7
2008	143	9.6	14.9	46.2
2009	129	7.6	17.0	45.7
2010	114	6.0	19.0	42.1
2011	124	n/a	n/a	34.7
2012	111	6.0	18.5	n/a
2013	196	8.0	24.5	42.9
2014	199	9.0	22.1	52.3
2015	186	9.0	20.6	46.2
2016	175	8.0	21.8	53.1
2017	152	7.0	21.7	42.8
2018	166	7.0	23.7	42.8
2019	211	9.0	23.4	43.1
2020	211	n/a	n/a	44.5
2021	200	10.0	19.9	35
2022	200	8.5	23.5	34
2023	200	8.2	24.3	35
2024	214	9.0	23.7	47.7

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 Descanso Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	256	11.3	22.6	n/a
1989	222	11.4	19.4	n/a
1990	222	11.4	19.4	n/a
1991	223	11.0	20.2	n/a
1992	217	11.2	19.3	23
1993	224	10.0	22.4	31.3
1994	209	10.0	20.9	21.1
1995	186	8.0	23.3	37.6
1996	186	8.0	23.3	37.6
1997	168	9.0	18.7	37.5
1998	168	8.0	21.0	39.3
1999	161	8.0	20.1	42.2
2000	168	8.0	21.0	48.8
2001	159	7.0	22.7	35.8
2002	172	8.0	21.5	45.3
2003	172	8.0	21.5	45.3
2004	171	8.0	21.4	41.5
2005	160	8.0	20.0	44.4
2006	151	7.0	21.6	43
2007	163	8.0	20.4	38.7
2008	143	9.6	14.9	46.2
2009	129	7.6	17.0	45.7
2010	114	6.0	19.0	42.1
2011	124	n/a	n/a	34.7
2012	111	6.0	18.5	n/a
2013	196	8.0	24.5	42.9
2014	199	9.0	22.1	52.3
2015	186	9.0	20.6	46.2
2016	175	8.0	21.8	53.1
2017	152	7.0	21.7	42.8
2018	166	7.0	23.7	42.8
2019	211	9.0	23.4	43.1
2020	211	n/a	n/a	44.5
2021	200	10.0	19.9	35
2022	200	8.5	23.5	34
2023	200	8.2	24.3	35
2024	214	9.0	23.7	47.7

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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