Summary:
Williams Ranch Elementary is the only elementary school in Penn Valley Union Elementary, serving kindergarten through grade 3 and enrolling 247 students. Its latest grade 3 results are near the state average in English language arts (ELA) and below it in math: 45% versus 44% in ELA, and 41% versus 47% in math. Chronic absenteeism is also higher than the state rate, at 25% compared with 18%. The most important recent concern is that the school’s reported scores fell sharply from the prior year: ELA proficiency decreased by 11 percentage points and math by 13 points.
Williams Ranch is both the area’s highest- and lowest-performing school by default; with no other local elementary schools, families cannot use these results to compare schools within the area. In the latest grade-matched comparison, grade 3 ELA was 1 percentage point above the state and 2 points above the district, while grade 3 math was 6 points below the state and about level with the district. The school’s 25% chronic absenteeism rate was 1 point below the district’s 26%, but 7 points above the state’s 18%. These differences make ELA a relative bright spot and math the clearer state-level gap.
The prior year’s all-grades results were stronger: ELA proficiency went from 56% in 2024–2025 to 45% in 2025–2026, and math went from 54% to 41%. The state’s all-grades results changed little over the same period, so the school’s earlier advantage over the state narrowed substantially; grade-specific results for the earlier year are not provided. SchoolDigger’s statewide ranking improved from 1,538 of 5,883 schools (74th percentile, 4 stars) in 2021–2022 to 706 of 5,869 (88th percentile, 4 stars) in 2023–2024, positive context that predates the latest scores. In 2024–2025, the school had a 22.4:1 student–teacher ratio and 57% free/reduced lunch eligible; the state provides free meals to all students. With only one school, these figures provide context, not a basis for local comparisons.
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