Is Cortez Elementary a good school?

Cortez Elementary ranks 2795 th of 5862 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Cortez Elementary?

In the 2023-24 school year, 619 students attended Cortez Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Cortez Elementary?

Students at Cortez Elementary are 93% Hispanic, 2% African American, 2% White, 2% Asian.

Cortez Elementary

Summary:

Cortez Elementary is a public K-8 school in Pomona, California, serving 608 students as part of the Pomona Unified School District. Despite serving a high percentage of students from low-income backgrounds, Cortez Elementary consistently outperforms the district and state in academic assessments, particularly among Hispanic and English Language Learner students.

Cortez Elementary's academic performance is impressive, with proficiency rates that exceed the district and state averages. For example, in 6th grade English Language Arts/Literacy, Cortez Elementary had a 57.97% proficiency rate, compared to 37.67% for the district and 45.82% for the state. In 6th grade Mathematics, Cortez Elementary's proficiency rate was 40.58%, compared to 22.37% for the district and 34.31% for the state. The school's Hispanic and English Language Learner students also perform exceptionally well, ranking among the top California elementary schools in their respective subgroups.

While Cortez Elementary's academic achievements are impressive, the school has experienced a significant increase in chronic absenteeism, rising from 4.5% in the 2017-2018 school year to 26.2% in the 2022-2023 school year. This trend is concerning and may impact student learning if not addressed. Nonetheless, Cortez Elementary outperforms most of the nearby schools in the Pomona Unified School District, including Lopez Elementary and San Jose Elementary, making it a standout option for families in the area.

Detail:

Public K-8

1300 North Dudley
Pomona, CA 91768-2200

(909) 397-4750

District: Pomona Unified

SchoolDigger Rank:
2795^th of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $4,938

Student/teacher ratio: 24.7

Number of students: 619

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

92.7%

African American:

2.4%

White:

2.3%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 91.6%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Cortez Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Cortez Elementary ranks better than 52.3% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks 5^th among 24 ranked elementary schools in the Pomona Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 45.89. (See more...)

Compare Details Cortez Elementary ranks better than 61.6% of middle schools in California. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 52.96. (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 (92.7%), African American (2.4%), White (2.3%). (See more...)

Compare Details 91.6% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Cortez Elementary is 24.7. 22 elementary schools in the Pomona Unified School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)

Compare Cortez Elementary employs 25 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Cortez Elementary is $4,938. 18 elementary schools in the Pomona Unified School District spend more per student.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Cortez Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Cortez Elementary 2795^th of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Cortez Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

English Language Learner students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Homeless students:

Female students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

SchoolDigger ranks Cortez Elementary 1067^th of 2777 California public middle schools. (See Cortez Elementary in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

Pomona Unified:

SchoolDigger ranks Pomona Unified 1056^th of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Cortez Elementary

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Rank History for all elementary school students at Cortez Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2008	63.19	1723^rd	5113	66.3%
2009	75.96	1164^th	5193	77.6%
2010	68.98	1511^th	5314	71.6%
2011	72.83	1353^rd	5377	74.8%
2012	58.47	2126^th	5390	60.6%
2013	54.89	2408^th	5530	56.5%
2015	54.94	2182^nd	5611	61.1%
2016	50.73	2459^th	5614	56.2%
2017	56.01	2221^st	5692	61.0%
2018	55.41	2266^th	5662	60.0%
2019	51.04	2540^th	5789	56.1%
2022	60.94	1981^st	5883	66.3%
2023	52.00	2435^th	5874	58.5%
2024	45.89	2795^th	5862	52.3%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for elementary school English Language Learner students at Cortez Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	24.90	2731^st	3246	15.9%
2019	46.21	1430^th	3275	56.3%
2022	58.75	805^th	3311	75.7%
2023	79.82	274^th	3250	91.6%
2024	35.70	2127^th	3160	32.7%

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

Rank History for elementary school Low Socio Economic Status students at Cortez Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	68.77	1250^th	5084	75.4%
2019	60.65	1745^th	5173	66.3%
2022	77.71	836^th	5264	84.1%
2023	68.01	1330^th	5374	75.3%
2024	56.55	1988^th	5511	63.9%

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

Rank History for elementary school Homeless students at Cortez Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2022	66.84	71^st	356	80.1%
2023	77.91	45^th	336	86.6%
2024	84.59	31^st	364	91.5%

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

Rank History for elementary school Female students at Cortez Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	52.68	2337^th	5413	56.8%
2019	49.57	2524^th	5492	54.0%
2022	65.31	1719^th	5635	69.5%
2023	55.76	2138^th	5617	61.9%
2024	43.67	2812^th	5605	49.8%

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

Rank History for elementary school Male students at Cortez Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	55.73	2134^th	5431	60.7%
2019	50.16	2450^th	5510	55.5%
2022	53.49	2262^nd	5663	60.1%
2023	46.59	2648^th	5650	53.1%
2024	48.39	2547^th	5636	54.8%

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

Rank History for elementary school Hispanic students at Cortez Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	70.34	1129^th	4830	76.6%
2019	64.77	1422^nd	4963	71.3%
2022	78.27	806^th	5084	84.1%
2023	71.71	1091^st	5098	78.6%
2024	63.90	1480^th	5102	71.0%

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

Data source: test scores: California Department of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

Rank History for Cortez Elementary

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Rank History for all middle school students at Cortez Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	CA State Percentile
2009	66.04	598^th	2063	71.0%
2010	59.58	801^st	2179	63.2%
2011	57.90	881^st	2236	60.6%
2012	39.33	1378^th	2259	39.0%
2013	38.73	1468^th	2379	38.3%
2015	51.72	1058^th	2477	57.3%
2016	59.22	889^th	2497	64.4%
2017	53.53	1020^th	2508	59.3%
2018	43.57	1270^th	2480	48.8%
2019	45.34	1290^th	2715	52.5%
2022	47.20	1248^th	2740	54.5%
2023	48.21	1218^th	2802	56.5%
2024	52.96	1067^th	2777	61.6%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for middle school English Language Learner students at Cortez Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2018	28.81	1057^th	1364	22.5%
2022	27.09	1379^th	1540	10.5%

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

Rank History for middle school Low Socio Economic Status students at Cortez Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	50.21	958^th	2230	57.0%
2019	57.75	796^th	2369	66.4%
2022	58.12	781^st	2458	68.2%
2023	62.36	695^th	2549	72.7%
2024	66.98	596^th	2575	76.9%

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

Rank History for middle school Homeless students at Cortez Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2022	74.37	57^th	336	83.0%

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

Rank History for middle school Female students at Cortez Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	44.93	1150^th	2262	49.2%
2019	39.77	1324^th	2380	44.4%
2022	45.79	1180^th	2509	53.0%
2023	45.26	1182^nd	2547	53.6%
2024	53.93	960^th	2546	62.3%

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

Rank History for middle school Male students at Cortez Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	39.63	1265^th	2273	44.3%
2019	48.73	1053^rd	2407	56.3%
2022	48.84	1093^rd	2527	56.7%
2023	50.17	1060^th	2558	58.6%
2024	50.54	1056^th	2547	58.5%

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

Rank History for middle school Hispanic students at Cortez Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	55.72	768^th	2072	62.9%
2019	59.51	698^th	2213	68.5%
2022	59.58	732^nd	2359	69.0%
2023	62.79	673^rd	2391	71.9%
2024	69.77	518^th	2383	78.3%

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 Cortez Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Total
2008	22	43	17	409	n/a	n/a	n/a	491
2009	26	32	14	510	0	5	2	589
2010	19	38	16	604	0	3	10	690
2011	18	32	12	654	4	3	9	732
2012	12	31	24	689	6	2	11	775
2013	8	21	28	704	5	1	10	777
2014	8	22	20	713	4	4	7	778
2015	4	18	23	684	5	4	9	747
2016	4	10	26	643	4	4	5	696
2017	5	6	22	646	4	4	6	693
2018	4	8	20	669	2	2	5	710
2019	11	11	18	646	2	2	4	694
2020	10	8	18	603	1	2	2	644
2021	17	8	13	600	3	0	3	644
2022	14	16	9	556	1	0	4	600
2023	13	15	6	569	1	0	4	608
2024	14	15	11	574	1	0	4	619

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 Cortez Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2008	491	21.0	23.4	85.1
2009	589	24.0	21.8	85.4
2010	690	27.0	25.5	85.8
2011	732	n/a	n/a	81.4
2012	775	30.0	25.8	n/a
2013	777	27.0	28.7	81.2
2014	778	26.5	29.3	80.8
2015	747	27.0	27.6	83.5
2016	696	27.0	25.7	83.6
2017	693	26.0	26.6	83.5
2018	710	26.5	26.7	85.4
2019	694	26.0	26.6	88.8
2020	644	n/a	n/a	86.8
2021	644	27.9	23.0	91
2022	600	25.0	24.0	91.5
2023	608	27.0	22.5	92.4
2024	619	25.0	24.7	91.6

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 Cortez Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2008	491	21.0	23.4	85.1
2009	589	24.0	21.8	85.4
2010	690	27.0	25.5	85.8
2011	732	n/a	n/a	81.4
2012	775	30.0	25.8	n/a
2013	777	27.0	28.7	81.2
2014	778	26.5	29.3	80.8
2015	747	27.0	27.6	83.5
2016	696	27.0	25.7	83.6
2017	693	26.0	26.6	83.5
2018	710	26.5	26.7	85.4
2019	694	26.0	26.6	88.8
2020	644	n/a	n/a	86.8
2021	644	27.9	23.0	91
2022	600	25.0	24.0	91.5
2023	608	27.0	22.5	92.4
2024	619	25.0	24.7	91.6

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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