Is James R. Cowan Fundamental Elementary a good school?

James R. Cowan Fundamental Elementary ranks 1980 th of 5862 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

How many students attend James R. Cowan Fundamental Elementary?

In the 2023-24 school year, 406 students attended James R. Cowan Fundamental Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of James R. Cowan Fundamental Elementary?

Students at James R. Cowan Fundamental Elementary are 52% White, 20% Hispanic, 10% Two or more races, 8% Asian, 7% African American, 1% Pacific Islander.

James R. Cowan Fundamental Elementary

Summary:

James R. Cowan Fundamental Elementary is a public elementary school in Sacramento, California, serving 387 students in grades K-6 and part of the San Juan Unified School District.

James R. Cowan Fundamental Elementary consistently outperforms the district and state in academic achievement, with 51.36% of students proficient or better in English Language Arts/Literacy, compared to 38.98% for the district and 47.04% for the state. In mathematics, the school had 44.02% of students proficient or better, compared to 29.08% for the district and 35.54% for the state. The school's performance is particularly strong for its Hispanic student population, ranking 1,094 out of 5,102 California elementary schools. However, the school's performance for English Language Learner students is significantly lower, ranking 3,109 out of 3,160 California elementary schools.

Compared to nearby schools, Cottage Elementary, Starr King K-8, Dyer-Kelly Elementary, and Pasadena Avenue Elementary all perform lower than James R. Cowan Fundamental Elementary. However, the California Montessori Project-San Juan Campuses, a public charter school in the area, consistently outperforms the state in academic achievement. The correlation between socioeconomic factors, such as free and reduced-price lunch eligibility and chronic absenteeism, and academic performance is an important consideration in understanding the overall performance of these schools.

Detail:

Public K-6

3350 Becerra Way
Sacramento, CA 95821-3706

(916) 979-8240

District: San Juan Unified

SchoolDigger Rank:
1980^th of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $5,681

Student/teacher ratio: 25.3

Number of students: 406

Racial breakdown:

White:

52.5%

Hispanic:

20.2%

Two or more races:

10.1%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 40.9%

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Compare James R. Cowan Fundamental Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details James R. Cowan Fundamental Elementary ranks better than 66.2% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks 11^th among 41 ranked elementary schools in the San Juan Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 61.95. (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: White (52.5%), Hispanic (20.2%), two or more races (10.1%). (See more...)

Compare Details 40.9% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at James R. Cowan Fundamental Elementary is 25.3. 28 elementary schools in the San Juan Unified School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)

Compare James R. Cowan Fundamental Elementary employs 16 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at James R. Cowan Fundamental Elementary is $5,681. 40 elementary schools in the San Juan Unified School District spend more per student.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

James R. Cowan Fundamental Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks James R. Cowan Fundamental Elementary 1980^th of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See James R. Cowan Fundamental 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:

White students:

San Juan Unified:

SchoolDigger ranks San Juan Unified 923^rd of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Parent Rating:

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Rank History for James R. Cowan Fundamental Elementary

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Rank History for all students at James R. Cowan Fundamental Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	94.53	257^th	4809	94.7%
2005	92.56	353^rd	4822	92.7%
2006	92.97	329^th	4818	93.2%
2007	93.98	290^th	5113	94.3%
2008	90.19	467^th	5113	90.9%
2009	95.67	119^th	5193	97.7%
2010	91.98	329^th	5314	93.8%
2011	91.34	360^th	5377	93.3%
2012	88.73	506^th	5390	90.6%
2013	87.40	621^st	5530	88.8%
2015	82.15	1026^th	5611	81.7%
2016	85.10	894^th	5614	84.1%
2017	78.46	1188^th	5692	79.1%
2018	71.19	1513^th	5662	73.3%
2019	78.03	1253^rd	5789	78.4%
2022	68.21	1682^nd	5883	71.4%
2023	63.03	1897^th	5874	67.7%
2024	61.95	1980^th	5862	66.2%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at James R. Cowan Fundamental Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2024	18.79	3109^th	3160	1.6%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at James R. Cowan Fundamental Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	70.77	1140^th	5084	77.6%
2019	83.30	574^th	5173	88.9%
2022	71.48	1103^rd	5264	79.0%
2023	60.87	1697^th	5374	68.4%
2024	50.99	2320^th	5511	57.9%

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

Rank History for Female students at James R. Cowan Fundamental Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	74.43	1316^th	5413	75.7%
2019	78.75	1139^th	5492	79.3%
2022	75.40	1304^th	5635	76.9%
2023	63.63	1782^nd	5617	68.3%
2024	63.71	1772^nd	5605	68.4%

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

Rank History for Male students at James R. Cowan Fundamental Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	65.69	1682^nd	5431	69.0%
2019	76.33	1242^nd	5510	77.5%
2022	59.42	1988^th	5663	64.9%
2023	58.95	1997^th	5650	64.7%
2024	58.39	2052^nd	5636	63.6%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at James R. Cowan Fundamental Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	54.21	1948^th	4830	59.7%
2022	42.39	2719^th	5084	46.5%
2023	71.90	1081^st	5098	78.8%
2024	72.09	1094^th	5102	78.6%

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

Rank History for White students at James R. Cowan Fundamental Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	57.84	1269^th	2737	53.6%
2019	61.79	1143^rd	2834	59.7%
2022	48.56	1505^th	2726	44.8%
2023	41.33	1683^rd	2662	36.8%
2024	47.79	1485^th	2647	43.9%

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

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 5)

100%

Reviews:
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Enrollment information for James R. Cowan Fundamental Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	341	5	8	18	3	n/a	n/a	0	375
1989	371	6	15	15	3	n/a	n/a	0	410
1990	353	10	18	27	4	n/a	n/a	0	412
1991	362	9	19	34	4	n/a	n/a	0	428
1992	372	5	27	34	3	n/a	n/a	0	441
1993	379	5	29	31	1	n/a	n/a	0	445
1994	346	6	33	37	4	n/a	n/a	0	426
1995	366	12	30	37	2	n/a	n/a	0	447
1996	366	12	30	37	2	n/a	n/a	0	447
1997	359	15	33	32	2	n/a	n/a	0	441
1998	354	13	36	35	3	n/a	n/a	0	441
1999	337	11	47	35	0	n/a	n/a	0	430
2000	331	11	46	33	2	n/a	n/a	0	423
2001	334	12	45	38	3	n/a	n/a	0	432
2002	330	17	41	34	19	n/a	n/a	0	441
2003	330	17	41	34	19	n/a	n/a	0	441
2004	338	15	34	34	18	n/a	n/a	0	439
2005	346	11	34	30	19	n/a	n/a	0	440
2006	333	11	30	34	18	n/a	n/a	0	426
2007	333	11	32	35	18	n/a	n/a	3	432
2008	341	14	33	33	16	n/a	n/a	0	437
2009	344	12	26	29	10	5	0	0	426
2010	387	12	31	34	2	6	0	0	472
2011	366	14	34	39	0	7	4	0	464
2012	386	29	31	49	0	9	5	0	509
2013	401	25	29	50	0	8	12	0	525
2014	409	20	31	56	0	4	14	0	534
2015	385	21	23	65	0	3	11	0	508
2016	373	26	26	71	1	2	6	0	505
2017	354	22	18	76	1	2	19	0	492
2018	349	22	23	75	3	1	15	0	488
2019	325	17	25	70	2	2	31	0	472
2020	298	19	23	72	2	1	30	0	445
2021	243	14	28	72	2	1	25	0	385
2022	226	23	33	66	4	1	25	0	378
2023	216	37	26	74	2	4	28	0	387
2024	213	30	32	82	3	5	41	0	406

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 James R. Cowan Fundamental Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	375	14.0	26.7	n/a
1989	410	15.5	26.4	n/a
1990	412	16.0	25.7	n/a
1991	428	17.0	25.1	n/a
1992	441	17.3	25.4	8.4
1993	445	15.0	29.7	8.5
1994	426	13.5	31.6	5.6
1995	447	14.0	31.9	10.3
1996	447	14.0	31.9	10.3
1997	441	16.5	26.7	10.4
1998	441	17.0	25.9	10
1999	430	18.5	23.2	11.9
2000	423	17.5	24.2	11.1
2001	432	19.0	22.7	9.3
2002	441	20.1	21.9	8.2
2003	441	20.1	21.9	8.2
2004	439	19.0	23.1	8.7
2005	440	20.0	22.0	8.6
2006	426	20.0	21.3	11.5
2007	432	20.8	20.8	13.8
2008	437	20.9	20.9	12.1
2009	426	19.9	20.4	10.3
2010	472	19.9	23.7	15.5
2011	464	n/a	n/a	19.2
2012	509	17.9	28.4	n/a
2013	525	17.5	29.9	28.6
2014	534	17.0	31.4	30.7
2015	508	16.0	31.7	32.1
2016	505	17.0	29.7	35
2017	492	16.5	29.8	34.6
2018	488	16.5	29.5	42
2019	472	17.0	27.7	41.1
2020	445	n/a	n/a	44.3
2021	385	17.0	22.6	41
2022	378	16.0	23.6	47.6
2023	387	15.0	25.8	43.2
2024	406	16.0	25.3	40.9

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 James R. Cowan Fundamental Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	375	14.0	26.7	n/a
1989	410	15.5	26.4	n/a
1990	412	16.0	25.7	n/a
1991	428	17.0	25.1	n/a
1992	441	17.3	25.4	8.4
1993	445	15.0	29.7	8.5
1994	426	13.5	31.6	5.6
1995	447	14.0	31.9	10.3
1996	447	14.0	31.9	10.3
1997	441	16.5	26.7	10.4
1998	441	17.0	25.9	10
1999	430	18.5	23.2	11.9
2000	423	17.5	24.2	11.1
2001	432	19.0	22.7	9.3
2002	441	20.1	21.9	8.2
2003	441	20.1	21.9	8.2
2004	439	19.0	23.1	8.7
2005	440	20.0	22.0	8.6
2006	426	20.0	21.3	11.5
2007	432	20.8	20.8	13.8
2008	437	20.9	20.9	12.1
2009	426	19.9	20.4	10.3
2010	472	19.9	23.7	15.5
2011	464	n/a	n/a	19.2
2012	509	17.9	28.4	n/a
2013	525	17.5	29.9	28.6
2014	534	17.0	31.4	30.7
2015	508	16.0	31.7	32.1
2016	505	17.0	29.7	35
2017	492	16.5	29.8	34.6
2018	488	16.5	29.5	42
2019	472	17.0	27.7	41.1
2020	445	n/a	n/a	44.3
2021	385	17.0	22.6	41
2022	378	16.0	23.6	47.6
2023	387	15.0	25.8	43.2
2024	406	16.0	25.3	40.9

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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