Is Amesti Elementary a good school?

Amesti Elementary ranks in the bottom 1.7% of California elementary schools.

How many students attend Amesti Elementary?

In the 2023-24 school year, 424 students attended Amesti Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Amesti Elementary?

Students at Amesti Elementary are 95% Hispanic, 2% White, 1% Asian.

What schools do graduates of Amesti Elementary attend?

Students who attend Amesti Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Lakeview Middle High : Pajaro Valley High

Amesti Elementary

Summary:

Amesti Elementary is a public elementary school located in Watsonville, California, serving grades K-5 with a total enrollment of 456 students. The school is part of the Pajaro Valley Unified School District, which is ranked 1237 out of 1568 districts in California and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Amesti Elementary has seen a significant increase in chronic absenteeism rates, rising from 10.1% in 2017-2018 to 46.7% in 2022-2023, much higher than the district and state averages. The school consistently ranks in the bottom 5% of California elementary schools, with 0 out of 5 SchoolDigger stars. Its proficiency rates in Smarter Balanced Assessments for English Language Arts and Mathematics are significantly lower than the district and state averages, often by 20-30 percentage points. For example, in 2023-2024, only 11.42% of Amesti Elementary students were proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to 24.98% in the district and 47.04% statewide. The school's student groups, such as Hispanic students, English Language Learners, and students with disabilities, also consistently rank in the bottom 10-20% of their respective groups statewide.

Nearby schools within the Pajaro Valley Unified School District, such as T.S. MacQuiddy Elementary, Starlight Elementary, and Ann Soldo Elementary, also perform poorly compared to the state, but generally outperform Amesti Elementary. Additionally, the public charter schools within the district, Alianza Charter and Watsonville Charter School of the Arts, significantly outperform Amesti Elementary and the district as a whole in academic proficiency. Amesti Elementary's high percentage of students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds, with over 92% qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, may be a significant factor contributing to its poor performance.

Detail:

Public K-5

25 Amesti Rd.
Watsonville, CA 95076-1121

(831) 728-6250

District: Pajaro Valley Unified

SchoolDigger Rank:
5765^th of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Students who attend Amesti Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Lakeview Middle
High:	Pajaro Valley High

Student/teacher ratio: 17.6

Number of students: 424

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

95.3%

White:

2.4%

Asian:

1.4%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 92.9%

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Compare Amesti Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Amesti Elementary ranks worse than 98.3% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks 16^th among 19 ranked elementary schools in the Pajaro Valley Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 8. (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 (95.3%), White (2.4%), Asian (1.4%). (See more...)

Compare Details 92.9% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Amesti Elementary is 17.6, which is the lowest among 19 elementary schools in the Pajaro Valley Unified School District! (See more...)

Compare Amesti Elementary employs 23.9 full-time teachers.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Amesti Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Amesti Elementary 5765^th of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Amesti 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:

Homeless students:

Female students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

Pajaro Valley Unified:

SchoolDigger ranks Pajaro Valley Unified 1237^th of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Amesti Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Amesti Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	18.23	4099^th	4809	14.8%
2005	13.98	4404^th	4822	8.7%
2006	18.24	4119^th	4818	14.5%
2007	21.61	4163^rd	5113	18.6%
2008	21.06	4269^th	5113	16.5%
2009	18.91	4505^th	5193	13.2%
2010	20.98	4534^th	5314	14.7%
2011	17.10	4850^th	5377	9.8%
2012	9.89	5200^th	5390	3.5%
2013	12.83	5164^th	5530	6.6%
2015	10.68	5440^th	5611	3.0%
2016	9.12	5488^th	5614	2.2%
2017	8.99	5546^th	5692	2.6%
2018	7.79	5543^rd	5662	2.1%
2019	8.45	5648^th	5789	2.4%
2022	7.20	5845^th	5883	0.6%
2023	7.14	5829^th	5874	0.8%
2024	8.00	5765^th	5862	1.7%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Amesti Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	20.53	3014^th	3246	7.1%
2019	25.39	2840^th	3275	13.3%
2022	24.89	2954^th	3311	10.8%
2023	29.66	2561^st	3250	21.2%
2024	33.67	2275^th	3160	28.0%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at Amesti Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	18.00	2261^st	2420	6.6%
2024	25.35	2093^rd	2634	20.5%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Amesti Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	8.32	5010^th	5084	1.5%
2019	10.07	5049^th	5173	2.4%
2022	8.20	5224^th	5264	0.8%
2023	8.81	5310^th	5374	1.2%
2024	8.82	5433^rd	5511	1.4%

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

Rank History for Homeless students at Amesti Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2022	19.69	330^th	356	7.3%
2024	32.26	277^th	364	23.9%

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

Rank History for Female students at Amesti Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	5.31	5385^th	5413	0.5%
2019	7.35	5426^th	5492	1.2%
2022	7.93	5601^st	5635	0.6%
2023	8.69	5543^rd	5617	1.3%
2024	9.57	5483^rd	5605	2.2%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at Amesti Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	22.67	1833^rd	2128	13.9%
2019	20.90	2301^st	2585	11.0%
2022	22.48	1892^nd	2227	15.0%

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

Rank History for Male students at Amesti Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	11.95	5158^th	5431	5.0%
2019	10.90	5315^th	5510	3.5%
2022	7.58	5623^rd	5663	0.7%
2023	6.93	5631^st	5650	0.3%
2024	8.32	5563^rd	5636	1.3%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Amesti Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	9.19	4750^th	4830	1.7%
2019	10.51	4842^nd	4963	2.4%
2022	8.11	5053^rd	5084	0.6%
2023	7.86	5066^th	5098	0.6%
2024	9.67	5001^st	5102	2.0%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Hispanic 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 Amesti Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	185	4	36	226	3	n/a	n/a	0	454
1989	200	4	36	257	4	n/a	n/a	0	501
1990	185	3	38	281	3	n/a	n/a	0	510
1991	176	5	53	302	0	n/a	n/a	0	536
1992	157	4	52	342	0	n/a	n/a	0	555
1993	148	5	48	354	0	n/a	n/a	0	555
1994	131	7	49	386	2	n/a	n/a	0	575
1995	98	2	46	409	3	n/a	n/a	0	558
1996	98	2	46	409	3	n/a	n/a	0	558
1997	88	3	37	451	1	n/a	n/a	0	580
1998	97	4	33	514	0	n/a	n/a	0	648
1999	78	7	29	539	0	n/a	n/a	0	653
2000	47	3	26	530	0	n/a	n/a	0	606
2001	26	2	27	559	0	n/a	n/a	15	629
2002	43	2	20	552	0	n/a	n/a	1	618
2003	43	2	20	552	0	n/a	n/a	1	618
2004	35	0	12	508	1	n/a	n/a	1	557
2005	26	0	14	616	2	n/a	n/a	1	659
2006	16	0	17	587	0	n/a	n/a	0	620
2007	17	1	15	574	0	n/a	n/a	0	607
2008	13	n/a	15	563	1	n/a	n/a	0	592
2009	14	0	9	560	1	0	2	0	586
2010	17	0	8	581	1	1	1	0	609
2011	16	0	7	570	0	1	2	0	596
2012	10	3	8	599	0	0	0	0	620
2013	14	2	9	616	0	0	0	0	641
2014	14	2	6	640	0	0	0	0	662
2015	11	2	7	602	1	0	0	0	623
2016	13	2	9	594	0	0	0	0	618
2017	14	1	9	588	1	0	0	0	613
2018	18	0	5	575	0	0	1	0	599
2019	26	0	7	542	0	0	2	0	577
2020	17	0	6	528	0	0	1	0	552
2021	6	1	6	493	0	0	3	0	509
2022	3	0	7	470	0	0	5	1	486
2023	3	0	7	441	0	0	5	0	456
2024	10	0	6	404	0	0	3	1	424

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 Amesti Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	454	18.6	24.4	n/a
1989	501	20.5	24.4	n/a
1990	510	20.6	24.7	n/a
1991	536	22.2	24.1	n/a
1992	555	22.6	24.5	59.3
1993	555	19.6	28.3	60.7
1994	575	20.0	28.8	69.6
1995	558	21.8	25.6	73.5
1996	558	21.8	25.6	73.5
1997	580	28.4	20.4	74.1
1998	648	31.6	20.5	77.8
1999	653	34.4	19.0	65.1
2000	606	33.8	17.9	66
2001	629	33.3	18.9	70.8
2002	618	37.3	16.6	67.6
2003	618	37.3	16.6	67.6
2004	557	30.5	18.3	75.5
2005	659	31.0	21.3	82.5
2006	620	32.0	19.4	88.9
2007	607	29.0	20.9	86.3
2008	592	29.0	20.4	89.4
2009	586	21.0	24.4	88.9
2010	609	25.0	24.3	92.6
2011	596	n/a	n/a	94.5
2012	620	24.0	25.8	n/a
2013	641	22.0	29.1	94.2
2014	662	25.0	26.4	95.2
2015	623	24.0	25.9	94.4
2016	618	25.0	24.7	93.9
2017	613	26.0	23.5	50.4
2018	599	25.0	23.9	86
2019	577	22.0	26.2	87.7
2020	552	n/a	n/a	87.1
2021	509	24.8	20.5	87.4
2022	486	24.0	20.2	95.3
2023	456	23.8	19.1	93
2024	424	23.9	17.6	92.9

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 Amesti Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	454	18.6	24.4	n/a
1989	501	20.5	24.4	n/a
1990	510	20.6	24.7	n/a
1991	536	22.2	24.1	n/a
1992	555	22.6	24.5	59.3
1993	555	19.6	28.3	60.7
1994	575	20.0	28.8	69.6
1995	558	21.8	25.6	73.5
1996	558	21.8	25.6	73.5
1997	580	28.4	20.4	74.1
1998	648	31.6	20.5	77.8
1999	653	34.4	19.0	65.1
2000	606	33.8	17.9	66
2001	629	33.3	18.9	70.8
2002	618	37.3	16.6	67.6
2003	618	37.3	16.6	67.6
2004	557	30.5	18.3	75.5
2005	659	31.0	21.3	82.5
2006	620	32.0	19.4	88.9
2007	607	29.0	20.9	86.3
2008	592	29.0	20.4	89.4
2009	586	21.0	24.4	88.9
2010	609	25.0	24.3	92.6
2011	596	n/a	n/a	94.5
2012	620	24.0	25.8	n/a
2013	641	22.0	29.1	94.2
2014	662	25.0	26.4	95.2
2015	623	24.0	25.9	94.4
2016	618	25.0	24.7	93.9
2017	613	26.0	23.5	50.4
2018	599	25.0	23.9	86
2019	577	22.0	26.2	87.7
2020	552	n/a	n/a	87.1
2021	509	24.8	20.5	87.4
2022	486	24.0	20.2	95.3
2023	456	23.8	19.1	93
2024	424	23.9	17.6	92.9

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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