Is Bowers Elementary a good school?

Bowers Elementary ranks 1933 rd of 5862 California elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Bowers Elementary?

In the 2023-24 school year, 242 students attended Bowers Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Bowers Elementary?

Students at Bowers Elementary are 53% Hispanic, 26% Asian, 12% White, 7% Two or more races.

What schools do graduates of Bowers Elementary attend?

Students who attend Bowers Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Juan Cabrillo Middle High : Adrian Wilcox High

Bowers Elementary

Summary:

Bowers Elementary is a public elementary school in Santa Clara, California, serving 232 students in grades K-5. It is part of the Santa Clara Unified school district, which is ranked 406 out of 1,568 districts in the state and has a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger.

While Bowers Elementary has seen a significant increase in chronic absenteeism rates, rising from 6.6% in 2017-2018 to 28.5% in 2021-2022, its test scores are generally lower than the district and state averages across various subjects and grade levels. For example, in 2023-2024, only 46.43% of Bowers students were proficient or better in English Language Arts/Literacy, compared to 58.5% for the district and 47.04% for the state. Similarly, in Mathematics, Bowers' end-of-course proficiency rate was 46.49%, while the district and state rates were 47.83% and 35.54%, respectively. Additionally, Bowers Elementary has a significantly higher percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, at 64.66% in 2022-2023, compared to other nearby schools like Millikin Elementary (7.72%) and Laurelwood Elementary (12.48%).

Interestingly, Bowers Elementary's performance on test scores varies significantly among different student subgroups, with the school ranking in the top 314 out of 3,160 California elementary schools for English Language Learner students, but only in the top 2,167 out of 5,102 for Hispanic students. Additionally, Bowers Elementary is located in close proximity (within 2 miles) to several higher-performing elementary schools in the district, such as Millikin Elementary, Laurelwood Elementary, and Central Park Elementary, which consistently outperform Bowers on test scores and have lower chronic absenteeism rates.

Detail:

Public K-5

2755 Barkley Ave.
Santa Clara, CA 95051-2414

(408) 423-1100

District: Santa Clara Unified

SchoolDigger Rank:
1933^rd of 5,862 California Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $15,641

Students who attend Bowers Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Juan Cabrillo Middle
High:	Adrian Wilcox High

Student/teacher ratio: 20.1

Number of students: 242

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

53.3%

Asian:

26.0%

White:

12.0%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 58.7%

See top rated California elementary schools

Compare Bowers Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Bowers Elementary ranks better than 67% of elementary schools in California. It also ranks 12^th among 18 ranked elementary schools in the Santa Clara Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 62.81. (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 Bowers Elementary has the smallest elementary school student body size in the Santa Clara Unified School District. Student population at Bowers Elementary is diverse. Racial makeup is: Hispanic (53.3%), Asian (26%), White (12%). (See more...)

Compare Details 58.7% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. This is the highest percentage in the Santa Clara Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Details (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Bowers Elementary is 20.1, which is the 8^th best among 18 elementary schools in the Santa Clara Unified School District. (See more...)

Compare Bowers Elementary employs 12 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Bowers Elementary is $15,641, which is the 2^nd highest among 18 elementary schools in the Santa Clara Unified School District.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Bowers Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Bowers Elementary 1933^rd of 5862 California public elementary schools. (See Bowers 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:

Santa Clara Unified:

SchoolDigger ranks Santa Clara Unified 406^th of 1568 California school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Parent Rating:

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Rank History for Bowers Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Bowers Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2004	57.42	1819^th	4809	62.2%
2005	57.13	1873^rd	4822	61.2%
2006	52.56	2070^th	4818	57.0%
2007	26.82	3799^th	5113	25.7%
2008	43.23	2764^th	5113	45.9%
2009	53.20	2290^th	5193	55.9%
2010	55.41	2256^th	5314	57.5%
2011	49.69	2616^th	5377	51.3%
2012	39.59	3289^th	5390	39.0%
2013	35.64	3625^th	5530	34.4%
2015	46.71	2643^rd	5611	52.9%
2016	44.10	2827^th	5614	49.6%
2017	48.80	2614^th	5692	54.1%
2018	44.20	2887^th	5662	49.0%
2019	41.60	3090^th	5789	46.6%
2022	56.09	2237^th	5883	62.0%
2023	54.16	2327^th	5874	60.4%
2024	62.81	1933^rd	5862	67.0%

See the entire list of California Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Bowers Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	40.69	1729^th	3246	46.7%
2019	41.55	1693^rd	3275	48.3%
2022	41.57	1700^th	3311	48.7%
2023	49.52	1224^th	3250	62.3%
2024	75.02	314^th	3160	90.1%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Bowers Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	48.99	2435^th	5084	52.1%
2019	40.71	3056^th	5173	40.9%
2022	61.25	1617^th	5264	69.3%
2023	47.81	2513^th	5374	53.2%
2024	56.84	1975^th	5511	64.2%

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

Rank History for Female students at Bowers Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	42.75	2902^nd	5413	46.4%
2019	36.84	3291^st	5492	40.1%
2022	51.56	2342^nd	5635	58.4%
2023	42.89	2820^th	5617	49.8%
2024	62.15	1854^th	5605	66.9%

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

Rank History for Male students at Bowers Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	44.64	2740^th	5431	49.5%
2019	46.00	2675^th	5510	51.5%
2022	59.59	1975^th	5663	65.1%
2023	70.75	1475^th	5650	73.9%
2024	61.45	1907^th	5636	66.2%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Bowers Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	CA State Percentile
2018	37.66	3025^th	4830	37.4%
2019	30.27	3676^th	4963	25.9%
2022	52.77	2028^th	5084	60.1%
2023	35.74	3258^th	5098	36.1%
2024	51.58	2167^th	5102	57.5%

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

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 5)

100%

Reviews:

by a parent
Thursday, December 5, 2019

The principal is one of the best I have experienced. The PTA and parents of the school are highly involved. There are tons of activities and the kids are well behaved. We transferred from another school in the district and couldn't be happier. Close Quote

Enrollment information for Bowers Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	265	10	145	90	2	n/a	n/a	0	512
1989	219	20	112	95	3	n/a	n/a	0	449
1990	238	13	104	99	8	n/a	n/a	0	462
1991	237	9	112	117	4	n/a	n/a	0	479
1992	199	11	123	116	1	n/a	n/a	0	450
1993	208	7	128	141	1	n/a	n/a	0	485
1994	208	5	145	138	0	n/a	n/a	0	496
1995	189	6	175	128	1	n/a	n/a	0	499
1996	189	6	175	128	1	n/a	n/a	0	499
1997	185	12	160	135	4	n/a	n/a	0	496
1998	190	9	172	126	3	n/a	n/a	0	500
1999	189	9	162	133	2	n/a	n/a	0	495
2000	178	19	162	124	4	n/a	n/a	0	487
2001	155	17	152	131	4	n/a	n/a	0	459
2002	120	10	151	118	0	n/a	n/a	4	403
2003	120	10	151	118	0	n/a	n/a	4	403
2004	98	6	157	114	0	n/a	n/a	7	382
2005	105	11	150	101	2	n/a	n/a	10	379
2006	95	14	152	99	2	n/a	n/a	14	376
2007	89	15	144	128	4	n/a	n/a	22	402
2008	74	21	154	132	2	n/a	n/a	0	383
2009	67	17	145	121	2	6	29	0	387
2010	74	12	142	140	3	5	12	0	388
2011	65	9	139	156	3	1	13	0	386
2012	61	8	111	152	1	2	12	0	347
2013	58	11	114	157	1	1	16	0	358
2014	50	7	107	176	3	1	15	0	359
2015	47	7	90	163	1	2	17	0	327
2016	41	7	80	169	1	1	22	0	321
2017	39	10	68	174	0	1	22	0	314
2018	40	9	51	149	0	1	24	0	274
2019	45	6	53	156	2	1	19	0	282
2020	47	6	58	137	2	0	21	0	271
2021	42	3	60	131	2	0	19	0	257
2022	33	3	54	121	0	0	19	0	230
2023	22	2	51	135	0	1	21	0	232
2024	29	1	63	129	1	2	17	0	242

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 Bowers Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	512	21.0	24.3	n/a
1989	449	20.0	22.4	n/a
1990	462	20.8	22.2	n/a
1991	479	19.0	25.2	n/a
1992	450	19.3	23.3	46.9
1993	485	18.0	26.9	48
1994	496	21.0	23.6	45.4
1995	499	20.6	24.2	55.7
1996	499	20.6	24.2	55.7
1997	496	21.6	23.0	61.3
1998	500	24.0	20.8	63
1999	495	23.0	21.5	49.5
2000	487	24.0	20.3	46
2001	459	22.8	20.1	53.6
2002	403	21.0	19.2	57.9
2003	403	21.0	19.2	57.9
2004	382	18.0	21.2	65.6
2005	379	18.0	21.1	66.1
2006	376	16.5	22.8	65.2
2007	402	19.0	21.2	60
2008	383	25.8	14.8	65
2009	387	19.5	16.5	57.6
2010	388	21.5	18.0	57
2011	386	n/a	n/a	54.7
2012	347	14.2	24.3	n/a
2013	358	13.0	27.5	58.9
2014	359	13.5	26.5	63.8
2015	327	12.0	27.2	62.1
2016	321	14.0	22.9	64.5
2017	314	13.0	24.1	60.8
2018	274	10.0	27.4	71.5
2019	282	10.0	28.2	64.5
2020	271	n/a	n/a	63.1
2021	257	13.0	19.7	60.3
2022	230	13.0	17.6	45.2
2023	232	13.0	17.8	64.7
2024	242	12.0	20.1	58.7

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 Bowers Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	512	21.0	24.3	n/a
1989	449	20.0	22.4	n/a
1990	462	20.8	22.2	n/a
1991	479	19.0	25.2	n/a
1992	450	19.3	23.3	46.9
1993	485	18.0	26.9	48
1994	496	21.0	23.6	45.4
1995	499	20.6	24.2	55.7
1996	499	20.6	24.2	55.7
1997	496	21.6	23.0	61.3
1998	500	24.0	20.8	63
1999	495	23.0	21.5	49.5
2000	487	24.0	20.3	46
2001	459	22.8	20.1	53.6
2002	403	21.0	19.2	57.9
2003	403	21.0	19.2	57.9
2004	382	18.0	21.2	65.6
2005	379	18.0	21.1	66.1
2006	376	16.5	22.8	65.2
2007	402	19.0	21.2	60
2008	383	25.8	14.8	65
2009	387	19.5	16.5	57.6
2010	388	21.5	18.0	57
2011	386	n/a	n/a	54.7
2012	347	14.2	24.3	n/a
2013	358	13.0	27.5	58.9
2014	359	13.5	26.5	63.8
2015	327	12.0	27.2	62.1
2016	321	14.0	22.9	64.5
2017	314	13.0	24.1	60.8
2018	274	10.0	27.4	71.5
2019	282	10.0	28.2	64.5
2020	271	n/a	n/a	63.1
2021	257	13.0	19.7	60.3
2022	230	13.0	17.6	45.2
2023	232	13.0	17.8	64.7
2024	242	12.0	20.1	58.7

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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