Is Turtleback Elementary a good school?

Turtleback Elementary ranks 1288 th of 5862 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Turtleback Elementary?

In the 2022-23 school year, 506 students attended Turtleback Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Turtleback Elementary?

Students at Turtleback Elementary are 38% White, 30% Asian, 17% Hispanic, 12% Two or more races, 2% African American.

What schools do graduates of Turtleback Elementary attend?

Students who attend Turtleback Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Bernardo Heights Middle High : Rancho Bernardo High

Turtleback Elementary

Summary:

Turtleback Elementary is a public elementary school in San Diego, California, serving 506 students in grades K-5 and part of the Poway Unified School District.

While Turtleback Elementary is part of a highly-ranked school district, the school's academic performance, as measured by standardized test scores, is generally lower than the district and state averages across various grade levels and subject areas. For example, in the 2023-2024 school year, the percentage of Turtleback students proficient or better in English Language Arts/Literacy was 56.38%, compared to 73.54% for the Poway Unified School District and 47.04% for California. The school's performance also varies across different student subgroups, with lower rankings for Asian and White students compared to other subgroups. Additionally, Turtleback Elementary has experienced an increase in chronic absenteeism, from 6.0% in 2018-2019 to 18.3% in 2022-2023, which is higher than the district's average.

Interestingly, Turtleback Elementary's academic performance is generally lower than nearby schools within the Poway Unified School District, such as Chaparral Elementary, Shoal Creek Elementary, and Monterey Ridge Elementary, which consistently outperform Turtleback across various subject areas and grade levels. The school's higher percentage of students eligible for free and reduced-price lunch, compared to some of the nearby schools, may contribute to its lower academic performance and higher chronic absenteeism rate.

Detail:

Public K-5

15855 Turtleback Rd.
San Diego, CA 92127-2044

(858) 673-5514

District: Poway Unified

SchoolDigger Rank:
1288^th of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $7,252

Students who attend Turtleback Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Bernardo Heights Middle
High:	Rancho Bernardo High

Student/teacher ratio: 21.3

Number of students: 506

Racial breakdown:

White:

37.7%

Asian:

29.6%

Hispanic:

16.8%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 18.2%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Turtleback Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Turtleback Elementary ranks better than 78% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks 23^rd among 26 ranked elementary schools in the Poway Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 76.99. (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 Student population at Turtleback Elementary is diverse. Racial makeup is: White (37.7%), Asian (29.6%), Hispanic (16.8%). (See more...)

Compare Details 18.2% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Turtleback Elementary is 21.3, which is the 4^th best among 26 elementary schools in the Poway Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Turtleback Elementary employs 23.7 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Turtleback Elementary is $7,252. 15 elementary schools in the Poway Unified School District spend more per student.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Turtleback Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Turtleback Elementary 1288^th of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Turtleback Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Multi-racial students:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

Asian students:

Hispanic students:

White students:

Poway Unified:

SchoolDigger ranks Poway Unified 125^th of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Turtleback Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Turtleback Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	90.83	467^th	4809	90.3%
2005	90.01	483^rd	4822	90.0%
2006	93.69	290^th	4818	94.0%
2007	94.47	260^th	5113	94.9%
2008	93.52	280^th	5113	94.5%
2009	91.60	377^th	5193	92.7%
2010	90.16	431^st	5314	91.9%
2011	88.81	508^th	5377	90.6%
2012	85.82	685^th	5390	87.3%
2013	84.61	785^th	5530	85.8%
2015	87.62	749^th	5611	86.7%
2016	87.28	779^th	5614	86.1%
2017	84.77	925^th	5692	83.7%
2018	86.58	820^th	5662	85.5%
2019	83.16	1007^th	5789	82.6%
2022	83.17	1039^th	5883	82.3%
2023	81.97	1097^th	5874	81.3%
2024	76.99	1288^th	5862	78.0%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Turtleback Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2024	52.36	382^nd	669	42.9%

See the entire list of Best California Elementary Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Turtleback Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	77.54	346^th	2420	85.7%
2024	68.64	517^th	2634	80.4%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Turtleback Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	90.66	259^th	5084	94.9%
2019	86.61	421^st	5173	91.9%
2022	65.81	1374^th	5264	73.9%
2023	72.23	1110^th	5374	79.3%
2024	53.67	2141^st	5511	61.2%

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

Rank History for Female students at Turtleback Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	89.61	588^th	5413	89.1%
2019	82.43	955^th	5492	82.6%
2022	82.29	999^th	5635	82.3%
2023	80.22	1089^th	5617	80.6%
2024	78.31	1156^th	5605	79.4%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at Turtleback Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	62.79	529^th	2128	75.1%
2019	62.61	660^th	2585	74.5%
2022	81.12	284^th	2227	87.2%

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

Rank History for Male students at Turtleback Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	79.59	1079^th	5431	80.1%
2019	81.54	995^th	5510	81.9%
2022	81.97	1015^th	5663	82.1%
2023	80.65	1067^th	5650	81.1%
2024	74.09	1319^th	5636	76.6%

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

Rank History for Asian students at Turtleback Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	57.06	590^th	1071	44.9%
2019	67.64	427^th	1149	62.8%
2022	51.63	714^th	1154	38.1%
2023	51.49	730^th	1190	38.7%
2024	47.28	791^st	1203	34.2%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Turtleback Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	89.72	318^th	4830	93.4%
2019	82.94	596^th	4963	88.0%
2022	67.16	1292^nd	5084	74.6%
2023	53.07	2053^rd	5098	59.7%
2024	58.78	1740^th	5102	65.9%

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

Rank History for White students at Turtleback Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	66.11	961^st	2737	64.9%
2019	55.11	1367^th	2834	51.8%
2022	58.71	1195^th	2726	56.2%
2023	59.16	1146^th	2662	56.9%
2024	45.41	1560^th	2647	41.1%

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 Turtleback Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1991	689	33	107	31	2	n/a	n/a	0	862
1992	777	39	130	42	2	n/a	n/a	0	990
1993	497	35	94	37	3	n/a	n/a	0	666
1994	523	22	109	54	3	n/a	n/a	0	711
1995	588	26	95	60	6	n/a	n/a	0	775
1996	588	26	95	60	6	n/a	n/a	0	775
1997	568	25	111	44	5	n/a	n/a	0	753
1998	518	39	124	61	4	n/a	n/a	0	746
1999	540	36	164	62	3	n/a	n/a	0	805
2000	581	39	166	64	2	n/a	n/a	3	855
2001	525	43	179	72	2	n/a	n/a	5	826
2002	422	42	171	86	4	n/a	n/a	4	729
2003	422	42	171	86	4	n/a	n/a	4	729
2004	382	36	172	71	4	n/a	n/a	16	681
2005	308	26	179	67	3	n/a	n/a	21	604
2006	306	19	185	64	3	n/a	n/a	25	602
2007	291	13	144	69	4	n/a	n/a	28	549
2008	282	31	122	70	1	n/a	n/a	0	506
2009	276	20	119	55	2	6	37	0	515
2010	276	18	105	67	0	7	54	0	527
2011	295	25	127	67	1	6	19	0	540
2012	297	22	127	70	1	6	28	0	551
2013	273	16	117	86	2	7	54	0	555
2014	276	20	129	82	1	2	75	0	585
2015	254	14	128	92	1	2	82	0	573
2016	273	14	136	94	2	4	81	0	604
2017	261	14	144	100	1	0	71	0	591
2018	257	13	151	102	1	0	85	0	609
2019	253	11	148	111	0	1	93	0	617
2020	256	14	153	113	1	1	83	0	621
2021	209	16	148	86	3	3	64	0	529
2022	205	11	136	79	2	2	65	0	500
2023	191	12	150	85	4	1	63	0	506

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 Turtleback Elementary

Compare

Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1991	862	32.0	26.9	n/a
1992	990	32.5	30.4	3.8
1993	666	26.0	25.6	5.4
1994	711	26.0	27.3	5.9
1995	775	28.0	27.7	8.9
1996	775	28.0	27.7	8.9
1997	753	35.4	21.3	7.6
1998	746	37.4	19.9	7.5
1999	805	39.4	20.4	7
2000	855	42.7	20.0	6.7
2001	826	40.4	20.4	6.9
2002	729	34.5	21.1	6.9
2003	729	34.5	21.1	6.9
2004	681	32.0	21.3	7.5
2005	604	27.0	22.4	8.7
2006	602	28.0	21.5	8.7
2007	549	25.5	21.5	10.2
2008	506	27.0	18.7	11.5
2009	515	24.0	19.1	7.4
2010	527	22.6	23.3	9.9
2011	540	n/a	n/a	10.6
2012	551	20.0	27.5	n/a
2013	555	20.5	27.0	14.1
2014	585	23.5	24.8	14.5
2015	573	24.0	23.8	16.6
2016	604	25.0	24.1	15.9
2017	591	25.2	23.4	13
2018	609	25.0	24.3	15.8
2019	617	27.2	22.6	18.3
2020	621	n/a	n/a	17.9
2021	529	27.5	19.2	18.3
2022	500	24.6	20.3	13.8
2023	506	23.7	21.3	18.2

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 Turtleback Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1991	862	32.0	26.9	n/a
1992	990	32.5	30.4	3.8
1993	666	26.0	25.6	5.4
1994	711	26.0	27.3	5.9
1995	775	28.0	27.7	8.9
1996	775	28.0	27.7	8.9
1997	753	35.4	21.3	7.6
1998	746	37.4	19.9	7.5
1999	805	39.4	20.4	7
2000	855	42.7	20.0	6.7
2001	826	40.4	20.4	6.9
2002	729	34.5	21.1	6.9
2003	729	34.5	21.1	6.9
2004	681	32.0	21.3	7.5
2005	604	27.0	22.4	8.7
2006	602	28.0	21.5	8.7
2007	549	25.5	21.5	10.2
2008	506	27.0	18.7	11.5
2009	515	24.0	19.1	7.4
2010	527	22.6	23.3	9.9
2011	540	n/a	n/a	10.6
2012	551	20.0	27.5	n/a
2013	555	20.5	27.0	14.1
2014	585	23.5	24.8	14.5
2015	573	24.0	23.8	16.6
2016	604	25.0	24.1	15.9
2017	591	25.2	23.4	13
2018	609	25.0	24.3	15.8
2019	617	27.2	22.6	18.3
2020	621	n/a	n/a	17.9
2021	529	27.5	19.2	18.3
2022	500	24.6	20.3	13.8
2023	506	23.7	21.3	18.2

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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