Is Merritt Trace Elementary a good school?

Merritt Trace Elementary ranks 3529 th of 5862 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Merritt Trace Elementary?

In the 2022-23 school year, 831 students attended Merritt Trace Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Merritt Trace Elementary?

Students at Merritt Trace Elementary are 71% Hispanic, 17% White, 5% Two or more races, 4% Asian, 2% African American.

What schools do graduates of Merritt Trace Elementary attend?

Students who attend Merritt Trace Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Herbert Hoover Middle High : Abraham Lincoln High

Merritt Trace Elementary

Summary:

Merritt Trace Elementary is a public elementary school in San Jose, California, serving 831 students in grades K-5. It is part of the San Jose Unified School District, which has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Merritt Trace Elementary faces significant challenges, including a sharp increase in chronic absenteeism rates, from 10.4% in 2017-2018 to 35.1% in 2022-2023, which is notably higher than the district and state averages. The school also consistently underperforms compared to the district and state in standardized test scores, with proficiency rates of 34.73% in ELA and 29.64% in Math in 2023-2024, compared to the district's 49.53% and 40.86%, respectively. Performance varies greatly across student subgroups, with Hispanic, English Language Learner, and low-income students struggling the most, often with proficiency rates below 20%.

When compared to nearby schools, such as Westwood Elementary and C.W. Haman Elementary in the Santa Clara Unified School District, Merritt Trace Elementary generally performs worse, with lower test scores and higher chronic absenteeism rates. The school's high percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch (54.39%) and relatively high student-teacher ratio (22.6 to 25.1) may be contributing factors to its academic challenges, suggesting the need for targeted interventions and resource allocation to improve student outcomes.

Detail:

Public K-5

651 Dana Ave.
San Jose, CA 95126-2003

(408) 535-6257

District: San Jose Unified

SchoolDigger Rank:
3529^th of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $10,941

Students who attend Merritt Trace Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Herbert Hoover Middle
High:	Abraham Lincoln High

Student/teacher ratio: 22.6

Number of students: 831

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

71.2%

White:

17.2%

Two or more races:

5.2%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 54.4%

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Compare Merritt Trace Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Merritt Trace Elementary ranks worse than 60.2% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks 14^th among 27 ranked elementary schools in the San Jose Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 34.85. (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 Merritt Trace Elementary has the largest elementary school student body size in the San Jose Unified School District. Racial makeup is: Hispanic (71.2%), White (17.2%), two or more races (5.2%). (See more...)

Compare Details 54.4% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Merritt Trace Elementary is 22.6. 15 elementary schools in the San Jose Unified School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)

Compare Merritt Trace Elementary employs 36.6 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Merritt Trace Elementary is $10,941. 18 elementary schools in the San Jose Unified School District spend more per student.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Merritt Trace Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Merritt Trace Elementary 3529^th of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Merritt Trace Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Multi-racial students:

English Language Learner students:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

White students:

San Jose Unified:

SchoolDigger ranks San Jose Unified 796^th of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Merritt Trace Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Merritt Trace Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	30.99	3183^rd	4809	33.8%
2005	41.76	2615^th	4822	45.8%
2006	45.04	2439^th	4818	49.4%
2007	40.65	2869^th	5113	43.9%
2008	39.91	2949^th	5113	42.3%
2009	43.71	2833^rd	5193	45.4%
2010	43.75	2937^th	5314	44.7%
2011	45.64	2853^rd	5377	46.9%
2012	40.76	3218^th	5390	40.3%
2013	37.96	3458^th	5530	37.5%
2015	42.93	2860^th	5611	49.0%
2016	38.28	3193^rd	5614	43.1%
2017	37.96	3243^rd	5692	43.0%
2018	35.82	3417^th	5662	39.7%
2019	36.25	3441^st	5789	40.6%
2021	33.78	884^th	1417	37.6%
2022	37.23	3281^st	5883	44.2%
2023	36.37	3405^th	5874	42.0%
2024	34.85	3529^th	5862	39.8%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Merritt Trace Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2022	72.19	173^rd	610	71.6%
2024	30.20	518^th	669	22.6%

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

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Merritt Trace Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	40.69	1730^th	3246	46.7%
2019	51.12	1189^th	3275	63.7%
2021	41.69	278^th	602	53.8%
2022	35.50	2167^th	3311	34.6%
2023	27.40	2715^th	3250	16.5%
2024	22.92	2952^nd	3160	6.6%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at Merritt Trace Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	36.32	1371^st	2420	43.3%
2024	58.20	753^rd	2634	71.4%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Merritt Trace Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	25.89	4064^th	5084	20.1%
2019	31.06	3788^th	5173	26.8%
2021	28.02	851^st	1110	23.3%
2022	30.40	3805^th	5264	27.7%
2023	25.46	4271^st	5374	20.5%
2024	14.31	5186^th	5511	5.9%

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

Rank History for Female students at Merritt Trace Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	28.43	3882^nd	5413	28.3%
2019	33.53	3536^th	5492	35.6%
2021	37.36	733^rd	1267	42.1%
2022	37.51	3158^th	5635	44.0%
2023	36.57	3258^th	5617	42.0%
2024	32.73	3584^th	5605	36.1%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at Merritt Trace Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	53.57	702^nd	2128	67.0%
2019	59.87	731^st	2585	71.7%
2021	41.81	129^th	293	56.0%
2022	41.45	1022^nd	2227	54.1%

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

Rank History for Male students at Merritt Trace Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	43.67	2810^th	5431	48.3%
2019	39.73	3057^th	5510	44.5%
2021	30.51	828^th	1272	34.9%
2022	37.00	3202^nd	5663	43.5%
2023	36.37	3313^th	5650	41.4%
2024	37.52	3242^nd	5636	42.5%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Merritt Trace Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	32.52	3387^th	4830	29.9%
2019	35.78	3258^th	4963	34.4%
2022	33.76	3394^th	5084	33.2%
2023	34.18	3377^th	5098	33.8%
2024	29.66	3762^nd	5102	26.3%

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

Rank History for White students at Merritt Trace Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	53.81	1392^nd	2737	49.1%
2019	49.08	1579^th	2834	44.3%
2022	47.98	1525^th	2726	44.1%
2023	56.75	1241^st	2662	53.4%
2024	58.34	1183^rd	2647	55.3%

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 Merritt Trace Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	187	22	29	137	3	n/a	n/a	0	378
1989	165	29	39	182	4	n/a	n/a	0	419
1990	158	22	29	202	3	n/a	n/a	0	414
1991	151	21	24	240	5	n/a	n/a	0	441
1992	157	18	25	251	7	n/a	n/a	0	458
1993	151	17	29	261	10	n/a	n/a	0	468
1994	131	18	23	271	5	n/a	n/a	0	448
1995	142	17	37	308	5	n/a	n/a	0	509
1996	142	17	37	308	5	n/a	n/a	0	509
1997	138	27	38	310	10	n/a	n/a	0	523
1998	153	21	28	267	7	n/a	n/a	0	476
1999	149	23	31	286	8	n/a	n/a	0	497
2000	131	21	30	298	8	n/a	n/a	0	488
2001	132	9	22	302	5	n/a	n/a	0	470
2002	118	15	26	300	4	n/a	n/a	0	463
2003	118	15	26	300	4	n/a	n/a	0	463
2004	103	18	25	328	5	n/a	n/a	0	479
2005	85	17	27	330	10	n/a	n/a	4	473
2006	156	29	51	559	34	n/a	n/a	25	854
2007	153	19	52	522	8	n/a	n/a	27	781
2008	147	25	60	523	7	n/a	n/a	0	762
2009	167	26	53	514	9	5	34	0	808
2010	205	30	68	605	5	6	38	0	957
2011	196	25	73	624	5	5	57	0	985
2012	181	33	58	636	4	4	49	0	965
2013	166	35	54	688	3	3	53	0	1002
2014	161	34	49	695	3	3	57	0	1002
2015	157	36	45	684	3	2	52	0	979
2016	158	38	39	675	1	3	52	0	966
2017	153	36	41	664	0	3	44	0	941
2018	150	37	34	647	0	3	42	0	913
2019	151	37	44	637	0	4	53	0	926
2020	140	24	46	616	2	0	45	0	873
2021	139	22	46	585	1	0	54	0	847
2022	131	19	40	565	2	0	51	0	808
2023	143	17	34	592	1	1	43	0	831

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 Merritt Trace Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	378	23.4	16.1	n/a
1989	419	25.8	16.2	n/a
1990	414	25.0	16.5	n/a
1991	441	25.0	17.6	n/a
1992	458	25.4	18.0	53.1
1993	468	22.0	21.3	47.6
1994	448	24.0	18.7	50.2
1995	509	23.0	22.1	51.7
1996	509	23.0	22.1	51.7
1997	523	19.0	27.5	55.8
1998	476	18.0	26.4	49.4
1999	497	20.0	24.9	48.5
2000	488	18.0	27.1	49
2001	470	22.0	21.4	47
2002	463	20.5	22.6	53.6
2003	463	20.5	22.6	53.6
2004	479	20.9	22.9	70.6
2005	473	22.6	20.9	61.6
2006	854	44.5	19.2	59.6
2007	781	41.4	18.9	65.5
2008	762	46.1	16.5	62.2
2009	808	38.0	18.2	57.5
2010	957	45.2	21.1	55.1
2011	985	n/a	n/a	51.7
2012	965	39.0	24.7	n/a
2013	1002	37.3	26.8	55
2014	1002	35.3	28.3	57.2
2015	979	35.0	27.9	55.1
2016	966	35.0	27.6	56.4
2017	941	36.0	26.0	54.6
2018	913	33.0	27.6	58.3
2019	926	35.8	25.8	51.1
2020	873	n/a	n/a	50.5
2021	847	33.6	25.1	47.1
2022	808	34.3	23.5	49.4
2023	831	36.6	22.6	54.4

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 Merritt Trace Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	378	23.4	16.1	n/a
1989	419	25.8	16.2	n/a
1990	414	25.0	16.5	n/a
1991	441	25.0	17.6	n/a
1992	458	25.4	18.0	53.1
1993	468	22.0	21.3	47.6
1994	448	24.0	18.7	50.2
1995	509	23.0	22.1	51.7
1996	509	23.0	22.1	51.7
1997	523	19.0	27.5	55.8
1998	476	18.0	26.4	49.4
1999	497	20.0	24.9	48.5
2000	488	18.0	27.1	49
2001	470	22.0	21.4	47
2002	463	20.5	22.6	53.6
2003	463	20.5	22.6	53.6
2004	479	20.9	22.9	70.6
2005	473	22.6	20.9	61.6
2006	854	44.5	19.2	59.6
2007	781	41.4	18.9	65.5
2008	762	46.1	16.5	62.2
2009	808	38.0	18.2	57.5
2010	957	45.2	21.1	55.1
2011	985	n/a	n/a	51.7
2012	965	39.0	24.7	n/a
2013	1002	37.3	26.8	55
2014	1002	35.3	28.3	57.2
2015	979	35.0	27.9	55.1
2016	966	35.0	27.6	56.4
2017	941	36.0	26.0	54.6
2018	913	33.0	27.6	58.3
2019	926	35.8	25.8	51.1
2020	873	n/a	n/a	50.5
2021	847	33.6	25.1	47.1
2022	808	34.3	23.5	49.4
2023	831	36.6	22.6	54.4

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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