Is Avenal Elementary a good school?

Avenal Elementary ranks in the bottom 8.1% of California elementary schools.

How many students attend Avenal Elementary?

In the 2023-24 school year, 646 students attended Avenal Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Avenal Elementary?

Students at Avenal Elementary are 96% Hispanic, 2% Asian, 2% White.

What schools do graduates of Avenal Elementary attend?

Students who attend Avenal Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Reef Sunset Middle High : Avenal High

Avenal Elementary

Summary:

Avenal Elementary is a public elementary school serving 667 students in grades K-5 in Avenal, California. The school is part of the Reef-Sunset Unified School District, which is ranked 1467 out of 1568 districts in the state and has a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Avenal Elementary consistently ranks in the bottom 10% of California elementary schools, with a statewide rank between 5100-5400 out of around 5800-5900 schools. Its performance on standardized tests is significantly below the state and district averages across all grade levels and subject areas. The school also has very high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 16.3% to 22.1% in recent years, which is much higher than the state average. Additionally, over 89% of Avenal Elementary's students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a very low-income student population.

The two other elementary schools in the Reef-Sunset Unified District, Kettleman City Elementary and Tamarack Elementary, also perform poorly on standardized tests and have high rates of poverty and chronic absenteeism, suggesting systemic challenges facing the district. While Avenal Elementary's overall performance is very low, its English Language Learner and Hispanic student subgroups perform slightly better than the school average, ranking in the bottom 25-30% of California schools for those subgroups. This indicates that targeted support for these students may be more effective than the overall school approach.

Detail:

Public K-5

500 South First Ave.
Avenal, CA 93204-1501

(559) 386-5173

District: Reef-Sunset Unified

SchoolDigger Rank:
5389^th of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $7,844

Students who attend Avenal Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Reef Sunset Middle
High:	Avenal High

Student/teacher ratio: 22.2

Number of students: 646

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

96.3%

Asian:

1.9%

White:

1.7%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 96.7%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Avenal Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Avenal Elementary ranks worse than 91.9% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks 2^nd among 3 ranked elementary schools in the Reef-Sunset Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 13.94. (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 Avenal Elementary has the largest elementary school student body size in the Reef-Sunset Unified School District. Racial makeup is: Hispanic (96.3%), Asian (1.9%), White (1.7%). (See more...)

Compare Details 96.7% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Avenal Elementary is 22.2. 2 elementary schools in the Reef-Sunset Unified School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)

Compare Avenal Elementary employs 29 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Avenal Elementary is $7,844, which is the 2^nd highest among 3 elementary schools in the Reef-Sunset Unified School District.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Avenal Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Avenal Elementary 5389^th of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Avenal Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

English Language Learner students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

Reef-Sunset Unified:

SchoolDigger ranks Reef-Sunset Unified 1467^th of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Avenal Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Avenal Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	9.15	4711^th	4809	2.0%
2005	14.11	4392^nd	4822	8.9%
2006	9.46	4657^th	4818	3.3%
2007	9.46	4939^th	5113	3.4%
2008	6.80	5047^th	5113	1.3%
2009	5.14	5152^nd	5193	0.8%
2010	6.37	5247^th	5314	1.3%
2011	5.80	5329^th	5377	0.9%
2012	7.74	5275^th	5390	2.1%
2013	8.62	5355^th	5530	3.2%
2015	19.58	4672^nd	5611	16.7%
2016	17.39	4842^nd	5614	13.8%
2017	14.03	5195^th	5692	8.7%
2018	16.93	4935^th	5662	12.8%
2019	14.68	5265^th	5789	9.1%
2021	10.55	1379^th	1417	2.7%
2022	15.68	5299^th	5883	9.9%
2023	17.56	5104^th	5874	13.1%
2024	13.94	5389^th	5862	8.1%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Avenal Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	21.02	2990^th	3246	7.9%
2019	19.89	3185^th	3275	2.7%
2021	20.39	597^th	602	0.8%
2022	44.42	1507^th	3311	54.5%
2023	40.36	1784^th	3250	45.1%
2024	25.31	2822^nd	3160	10.7%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at Avenal Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	35.59	1402^nd	2420	42.1%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Avenal Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	25.35	4093^rd	5084	19.5%
2019	22.42	4395^th	5173	15.0%
2021	14.92	1063^rd	1110	4.2%
2022	21.23	4557^th	5264	13.4%
2023	22.36	4514^th	5374	16.0%
2024	17.51	4969^th	5511	9.8%

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

Rank History for Female students at Avenal Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	17.34	4753^rd	5413	12.2%
2019	14.74	5042^nd	5492	8.2%
2021	11.73	1227^th	1267	3.2%
2022	16.33	5059^th	5635	10.2%
2023	19.24	4769^th	5617	15.1%
2024	14.26	5179^th	5605	7.6%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at Avenal Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2019	28.86	1857^th	2585	28.2%
2022	18.67	2063^rd	2227	7.4%

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

Rank History for Male students at Avenal Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	17.81	4756^th	5431	12.4%
2019	16.38	4944^th	5510	10.3%
2021	10.69	1240^th	1272	2.5%
2022	16.48	5077^th	5663	10.3%
2023	17.74	4937^th	5650	12.6%
2024	14.53	5185^th	5636	8.0%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Avenal Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	24.19	3959^th	4830	18.0%
2019	19.50	4407^th	4963	11.2%
2022	21.93	4364^th	5084	14.2%
2023	25.58	4060^th	5098	20.4%
2024	20.40	4428^th	5102	13.2%

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 Avenal Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	258	6	0	744	0	n/a	n/a	0	1008
1989	303	20	10	746	2	n/a	n/a	0	1081
1990	284	18	1	817	0	n/a	n/a	0	1120
1991	264	22	5	885	1	n/a	n/a	0	1177
1992	198	7	2	672	1	n/a	n/a	0	880
1993	188	14	1	733	1	n/a	n/a	0	937
1994	163	18	5	783	0	n/a	n/a	0	969
1995	104	15	0	817	0	n/a	n/a	0	936
1996	104	15	0	817	0	n/a	n/a	0	936
1997	116	15	0	880	0	n/a	n/a	0	1011
1998	104	11	0	940	0	n/a	n/a	0	1055
1999	96	4	0	956	0	n/a	n/a	0	1056
2000	66	5	0	957	0	n/a	n/a	0	1028
2001	55	5	0	997	0	n/a	n/a	5	1062
2002	40	0	0	604	2	n/a	n/a	0	646
2003	40	0	0	604	2	n/a	n/a	0	646
2004	33	3	1	622	0	n/a	n/a	0	659
2005	31	5	0	599	0	n/a	n/a	0	635
2006	28	3	1	604	0	n/a	n/a	0	636
2007	30	5	2	712	0	n/a	n/a	0	749
2008	28	5	1	734	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	768
2009	20	3	6	728	0	0	0	0	757
2010	23	3	15	754	1	0	0	0	796
2011	21	0	13	687	1	0	0	0	722
2012	14	1	12	754	1	0	0	0	782
2013	13	1	7	735	1	0	0	0	757
2014	11	0	16	720	1	0	1	0	749
2015	9	0	12	801	1	0	1	0	824
2016	18	0	3	778	1	0	1	0	801
2017	17	0	1	758	1	0	5	0	782
2018	19	0	4	718	1	0	0	0	742
2019	16	2	8	714	1	0	0	0	741
2020	16	0	9	706	0	0	0	0	731
2021	15	0	8	667	0	0	0	0	690
2022	14	0	11	629	0	0	1	0	655
2023	12	0	11	643	0	0	1	0	667
2024	11	0	12	622	0	0	1	0	646

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 Avenal Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	1008	44.0	22.9	n/a
1989	1081	49.0	22.0	n/a
1990	1120	50.9	22.0	n/a
1991	1177	52.1	22.5	n/a
1992	880	52.9	16.6	81.9
1993	937	37.0	25.3	84.7
1994	969	36.0	26.9	89.4
1995	936	40.0	23.4	95
1996	936	40.0	23.4	95
1997	1011	45.0	22.5	92.4
1998	1055	53.0	19.9	94.3
1999	1056	61.0	17.3	95
2000	1028	57.0	18.0	93.3
2001	1062	56.0	19.0	100.2
2002	646	33.0	19.6	99.5
2003	646	33.0	19.6	99.5
2004	659	33.0	20.0	99.4
2005	635	33.3	19.1	99.5
2006	636	32.0	19.9	99.5
2007	749	37.0	20.2	n/a
2008	768	40.0	19.2	81
2009	757	37.0	19.4	92.7
2010	796	33.0	24.1	98
2011	722	n/a	n/a	97.9
2012	782	32.0	24.4	n/a
2013	757	28.0	27.0	88.2
2014	749	29.0	25.8	85
2015	824	32.0	25.7	88.6
2016	801	32.0	25.0	92
2017	782	30.0	26.0	88.4
2018	742	30.0	24.7	89.8
2019	741	30.0	24.7	91.6
2020	731	n/a	n/a	93.7
2021	690	30.7	22.4	93.3
2022	655	30.0	21.8	92.2
2023	667	30.0	22.2	89.1
2024	646	29.0	22.2	96.7

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 Avenal Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	1008	44.0	22.9	n/a
1989	1081	49.0	22.0	n/a
1990	1120	50.9	22.0	n/a
1991	1177	52.1	22.5	n/a
1992	880	52.9	16.6	81.9
1993	937	37.0	25.3	84.7
1994	969	36.0	26.9	89.4
1995	936	40.0	23.4	95
1996	936	40.0	23.4	95
1997	1011	45.0	22.5	92.4
1998	1055	53.0	19.9	94.3
1999	1056	61.0	17.3	95
2000	1028	57.0	18.0	93.3
2001	1062	56.0	19.0	100.2
2002	646	33.0	19.6	99.5
2003	646	33.0	19.6	99.5
2004	659	33.0	20.0	99.4
2005	635	33.3	19.1	99.5
2006	636	32.0	19.9	99.5
2007	749	37.0	20.2	n/a
2008	768	40.0	19.2	81
2009	757	37.0	19.4	92.7
2010	796	33.0	24.1	98
2011	722	n/a	n/a	97.9
2012	782	32.0	24.4	n/a
2013	757	28.0	27.0	88.2
2014	749	29.0	25.8	85
2015	824	32.0	25.7	88.6
2016	801	32.0	25.0	92
2017	782	30.0	26.0	88.4
2018	742	30.0	24.7	89.8
2019	741	30.0	24.7	91.6
2020	731	n/a	n/a	93.7
2021	690	30.7	22.4	93.3
2022	655	30.0	21.8	92.2
2023	667	30.0	22.2	89.1
2024	646	29.0	22.2	96.7

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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