Is Pony Express Elementary a good school?

Pony Express Elementary ranks 2115 th of 5862 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Pony Express Elementary?

In the 2022-23 school year, 359 students attended Pony Express Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Pony Express Elementary?

Students at Pony Express Elementary are 41% Hispanic, 27% Asian, 11% Two or more races, 9% African American, 8% White, 4% Pacific Islander.

What schools do graduates of Pony Express Elementary attend?

Students who attend Pony Express Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Sam Brannan Middle High : John F. Kennedy High

Pony Express Elementary

Summary:

Pony Express Elementary is a public elementary school in Sacramento, California, serving 359 students in grades K-6. The school is part of the Sacramento City Unified School District, which has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Pony Express Elementary consistently outperforms the district and state in academic performance, with 46.51% of students proficient or better in English Language Arts and 43.84% in Mathematics, compared to 38.95% and 29.38% for the district, respectively. However, the school has seen a significant increase in chronic absenteeism, from 5.1% in 2020-2021 to 24.4% in 2022-2023, which is higher than the state average of 14.3%. Despite having a relatively high percentage of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, the school's performance on standardized tests is still strong compared to the district and state.

Pony Express Elementary outperforms nearby Rosa Parks Elementary and Caroline Wenzel Elementary in both English Language Arts and Mathematics proficiency. However, the school's performance for its Asian student subgroup has declined, ranking 910 out of 1203 California elementary schools, while its male student subgroup performs better, ranking 1850 out of 5636. Nearby Capitol Collegiate Academy and Sol Aureus College Preparatory charter schools also outperform Pony Express Elementary in both subject areas.

Detail:

Public K-6

1250 56th Ave.
Sacramento, CA 95831-3149

(916) 395-4690

District: Sacramento City Unified

SchoolDigger Rank:
2115^th of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $7,700

Students who attend Pony Express Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Sam Brannan Middle
High:	John F. Kennedy High

Student/teacher ratio: 25.6

Number of students: 359

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

40.7%

Asian:

27.0%

Two or more races:

11.1%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 61.3%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Pony Express Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Pony Express Elementary ranks better than 63.9% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks 12^th among 49 ranked elementary schools in the Sacramento City Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 58.68. (See more...)

Chronic absenteeism in a high 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 (40.7%), Asian (27%), two or more races (11.1%). (See more...)

Compare Details 61.3% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Pony Express Elementary is 25.6. 43 elementary schools in the Sacramento City Unified School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)

Compare Pony Express Elementary employs 14 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Pony Express Elementary is $7,700, which is the 18^th highest among 49 elementary schools in the Sacramento City Unified School District.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Pony Express Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Pony Express Elementary 2115^th of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Pony Express Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

Asian students:

Hispanic students:

Sacramento City Unified:

SchoolDigger ranks Sacramento City Unified 1000^th of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Pony Express Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Pony Express Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	81.54	839^th	4809	82.6%
2005	86.89	647^th	4822	86.6%
2006	83.83	792^nd	4818	83.6%
2007	80.81	952^nd	5113	81.4%
2008	78.58	1039^th	5113	79.7%
2009	76.54	1147^th	5193	77.9%
2010	76.18	1176^th	5314	77.9%
2011	68.43	1553^rd	5377	71.1%
2012	70.10	1526^th	5390	71.7%
2013	74.40	1352^nd	5530	75.6%
2015	63.76	1760^th	5611	68.6%
2016	55.47	2208^th	5614	60.7%
2017	59.68	2027^th	5692	64.4%
2018	60.04	2037^th	5662	64.0%
2019	63.65	1894^th	5789	67.3%
2022	61.20	1974^th	5883	66.4%
2023	60.37	2042^nd	5874	65.2%
2024	58.68	2115^th	5862	63.9%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Pony Express Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	10.55	318^th	339	6.2%
2019	10.17	414^th	445	7.0%
2022	7.53	579^th	610	5.1%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Pony Express Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	59.83	1752^nd	5084	65.5%
2019	65.17	1442^nd	5173	72.1%
2022	64.95	1423^rd	5264	73.0%
2023	62.56	1592^nd	5374	70.4%
2024	67.06	1403^rd	5511	74.5%

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

Rank History for Female students at Pony Express Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	60.16	1972^nd	5413	63.6%
2019	57.72	2070^th	5492	62.3%
2022	53.65	2235^th	5635	60.3%
2023	57.83	2041^st	5617	63.7%
2024	51.05	2364^th	5605	57.8%

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

Rank History for Male students at Pony Express Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	58.70	1996^th	5431	63.2%
2019	67.07	1640^th	5510	70.2%
2022	66.57	1657^th	5663	70.7%
2023	60.72	1915^th	5650	66.1%
2024	62.85	1850^th	5636	67.2%

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

Rank History for Asian students at Pony Express Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	42.38	749^th	1071	30.1%
2019	58.79	575^th	1149	50.0%
2022	45.46	770^th	1154	33.3%
2023	35.57	870^th	1190	26.9%
2024	32.96	910^th	1203	24.4%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Pony Express Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	65.42	1360^th	4830	71.8%
2019	68.34	1244^th	4963	74.9%
2022	58.92	1693^rd	5084	66.7%
2023	59.14	1723^rd	5098	66.2%
2024	50.32	2242^nd	5102	56.1%

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 Pony Express Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	98	92	83	36	2	n/a	n/a	0	311
1989	109	87	79	27	1	n/a	n/a	0	303
1990	107	97	79	30	2	n/a	n/a	0	315
1991	100	110	81	43	5	n/a	n/a	0	339
1992	92	90	81	36	2	n/a	n/a	0	301
1993	86	107	86	53	2	n/a	n/a	0	334
1994	68	65	79	39	1	n/a	n/a	0	252
1995	111	87	129	68	3	n/a	n/a	0	398
1996	111	87	129	68	3	n/a	n/a	0	398
1997	112	78	121	67	3	n/a	n/a	0	381
1998	86	96	118	56	4	n/a	n/a	0	360
1999	88	107	110	53	5	n/a	n/a	0	363
2000	100	91	129	53	5	n/a	n/a	1	379
2001	95	97	121	57	5	n/a	n/a	3	378
2002	93	92	133	64	2	n/a	n/a	4	388
2003	93	92	133	64	2	n/a	n/a	4	388
2004	89	97	129	79	3	n/a	n/a	3	400
2005	76	84	149	78	0	n/a	n/a	3	390
2006	82	86	137	78	2	n/a	n/a	5	390
2007	75	89	144	77	1	n/a	n/a	4	390
2008	72	87	134	88	4	n/a	n/a	0	385
2009	81	80	128	106	5	8	0	0	408
2010	69	75	126	91	3	8	37	0	409
2011	76	64	145	104	3	12	39	0	443
2012	77	70	145	109	4	10	44	0	459
2013	78	66	133	118	6	10	39	0	450
2014	77	63	136	111	6	9	45	0	447
2015	69	64	135	130	3	10	50	0	461
2016	61	63	103	143	1	3	55	0	429
2017	53	55	88	136	1	3	59	0	395
2018	54	46	88	153	2	5	51	0	399
2019	51	45	81	175	2	4	50	0	408
2020	36	44	78	180	2	5	54	0	399
2021	46	34	86	167	1	5	49	0	388
2022	32	29	82	163	1	10	40	0	357
2023	28	33	97	146	1	14	40	0	359

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 Pony Express Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	311	13.0	23.9	n/a
1989	303	12.0	25.2	n/a
1990	315	14.0	22.5	n/a
1991	339	14.0	24.2	n/a
1992	301	14.2	21.1	40.2
1993	334	16.1	20.7	26.6
1994	252	10.6	23.8	40.9
1995	398	15.0	26.5	45
1996	398	15.0	26.5	45
1997	381	13.8	27.6	51.2
1998	360	17.0	21.2	40
1999	363	17.5	20.7	36.1
2000	379	18.0	21.1	35.4
2001	378	18.0	21.0	37.1
2002	388	20.6	18.8	52.9
2003	388	20.6	18.8	52.9
2004	400	22.1	18.1	50.4
2005	390	21.6	18.1	61.2
2006	390	21.6	18.1	61.6
2007	390	21.1	18.5	49
2008	385	21.1	18.2	51.7
2009	408	19.6	18.9	46.6
2010	409	20.0	20.4	46
2011	443	n/a	n/a	49
2012	459	18.0	25.5	n/a
2013	450	15.0	30.0	53.3
2014	447	17.0	26.2	59.3
2015	461	18.0	25.6	52.5
2016	429	16.0	26.8	58.5
2017	395	18.0	21.9	55.7
2018	399	18.0	22.1	66.9
2019	408	18.0	22.6	63.5
2020	399	n/a	n/a	66.9
2021	388	16.0	24.2	58
2022	357	16.0	22.3	64.7
2023	359	14.0	25.6	61.3

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 Pony Express Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	311	13.0	23.9	n/a
1989	303	12.0	25.2	n/a
1990	315	14.0	22.5	n/a
1991	339	14.0	24.2	n/a
1992	301	14.2	21.1	40.2
1993	334	16.1	20.7	26.6
1994	252	10.6	23.8	40.9
1995	398	15.0	26.5	45
1996	398	15.0	26.5	45
1997	381	13.8	27.6	51.2
1998	360	17.0	21.2	40
1999	363	17.5	20.7	36.1
2000	379	18.0	21.1	35.4
2001	378	18.0	21.0	37.1
2002	388	20.6	18.8	52.9
2003	388	20.6	18.8	52.9
2004	400	22.1	18.1	50.4
2005	390	21.6	18.1	61.2
2006	390	21.6	18.1	61.6
2007	390	21.1	18.5	49
2008	385	21.1	18.2	51.7
2009	408	19.6	18.9	46.6
2010	409	20.0	20.4	46
2011	443	n/a	n/a	49
2012	459	18.0	25.5	n/a
2013	450	15.0	30.0	53.3
2014	447	17.0	26.2	59.3
2015	461	18.0	25.6	52.5
2016	429	16.0	26.8	58.5
2017	395	18.0	21.9	55.7
2018	399	18.0	22.1	66.9
2019	408	18.0	22.6	63.5
2020	399	n/a	n/a	66.9
2021	388	16.0	24.2	58
2022	357	16.0	22.3	64.7
2023	359	14.0	25.6	61.3

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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