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Atwater Elementary

Coming soon: We're expecting this year's test scores from the California Department of Education any day now — new rankings will be posted the moment they're released!

Coming soon: This year's test scores are expected from the California Department of Education any day now — new rankings will follow the moment they're released!

At a glance

765^thof 1,543 California districts▼ 49

Better than 50% of California districts

Elementary 8 Middle 3Grades K-8

1401 Broadway Ave.
Atwater, CA 95301-3546·(209) 357-6100·All California district rankings →

Statewide performance 2016–2025

2025: better than 50.4% of districts

Schools

4,925

Students

Top rankedThomas Olaeta Elementary2051^st of 5,857 California elementary schools

▲

Biggest riser

Aileen Colburn Elementary up 361 spots statewide this year

◉

Smallest classes

Bellevue Senior Elementary 15.2 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

3★

2★

1 school without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)

Compare California districts →See the top-ranked California schools →

Summary:

The Atwater Elementary district consists of ten public schools, including eight elementary schools (some serving K-8) and two middle schools, educating around 5,500 students in a predominantly economically disadvantaged area.

When comparing schools, Thomas Olaeta Elementary stands out as a top performer with the highest English proficiency and lowest chronic absenteeism, followed closely by Juniper Elementary, which excels in science, and Mitchell Elementary for its strong math scores. In contrast, Bellevue Elementary and Shaffer Elementary have the lowest academic rankings in the district and require the most support for improvement.

Key district insights include a significant challenge in middle school math and science, with both Mitchell Intermediate and Bellevue Senior Elementary struggling in these subjects. However, the district is a notable success story in student attendance, maintaining a chronic absenteeism rate less than half the state average. Performance can be inconsistent year-to-year, as seen at Peggy Heller Elementary, and higher per-student spending does not always guarantee better academic results.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Immunizations Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				CAST Science (2025)			Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2025)							Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2025)							% Completely Immunized (2022)	% Polio (2022)	% Hepatitis B (2022)	% Varicella (2022)	% DTP (2022)	% MMR (2022)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients (2025)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	CAST Science 5th Grade	CAST Science 8th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 3rd Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 4th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 5th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	% Completely Immunized KG	% Polio KG	% Hepatitis B KG	% Varicella KG	% DTP KG	% MMR KG	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Aileen Colburn Elementary	Public	K-6	2201 Heller St.	Atwater	95301	Merced County	Atwater Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 357-6136	371	17	21.8	91.6%	33 (8.9%)	12 (3.2%)	322 (86.8%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	40.1	3216^th of 5857 public elementary schools	45.1%		34.3	3577^th of 5869 public elementary schools	39.1%	361	18.5		18.5	41.5	50.0	40.4	37.8			42.7	61.1	29.6	14.8	24.4			32.9	94.7	97.4		96.1	96.1	97.4	$24,989	$22,596	$2,393
Bellevue Elementary	Public	K-6	1020 East Bellevue Rd.	Atwater	95301	Merced County	Atwater Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 357-6140	599	25	23.9	91.8%	30 (5.0%)	9 (1.5%)	535 (89.3%)	10 (1.7%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	13 (2.2%)	33.1	3716^th of 5857 public elementary schools	36.6%		35	3514^th of 5869 public elementary schools	40.1%	202	16.3		16.3	33.8	33.3	32.2	47.7			36.8	39.0	30.0	29.4	24.4			30.5	95.3		98.1	97.2	96.3	97.2	$25,194	$22,748	$2,446
Elmer Wood Elementary	Public	K-6	1271 West Bellevue Rd.	Atwater	95301	Merced County	Atwater Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 357-6143	514	22	23.3	76.3%	95 (18.5%)	7 (1.4%)	387 (75.3%)	9 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (3.1%)	47.7	2725^th of 5857 public elementary schools	53.5%		57.9	2156^th of 5869 public elementary schools	63.3%	569	25.4		25.4	32.5	50.0	44.1	53.7			45.2	32.5	48.1	28.8	38.6			37.5	94.3			96.6	96.6	96.6	$21,732	$19,418	$2,314
Mitchell Elementary	Public	K-6	1761 Grove Ave.	Atwater	95301	Merced County	Atwater Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 357-6112	528	22	24.0	86.0%	40 (7.6%)	8 (1.5%)	444 (84.1%)	21 (4.0%)	6 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (1.7%)	54.7	2324^th of 5857 public elementary schools	60.3%		51.3	2491^st of 5869 public elementary schools	57.6%	167	28.6		28.6	46.0	24.4	47.4	56.1			45.4	63.5	30.4	40.8	44.8			46.0	96.9				96.9		$23,398	$21,320	$2,078
Mitchell Intermediate	Public	7-8	1753 Fifth St.	Atwater	95301	Merced County	Atwater Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 357-6124	744	31	23.8	75.9%	97 (13.0%)	15 (2.0%)	577 (77.6%)	37 (5.0%)	3 (0.4%)	3 (0.4%)	12 (1.6%)	38.9	1520^th of 2761 public middle schools	44.9%		43.6	1352^nd of 2783 public middle schools	51.4%	168		17.6	17.6					48.1	45.0	46.5					25.0	24.3	24.7							$19,052	$17,048	$2,004
Shaffer Elementary	Public	K-6	1434 California St.	Atwater	95301	Merced County	Atwater Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 357-6145	405	18	22.2	81.0%	48 (11.9%)	5 (1.2%)	324 (80.0%)	21 (5.2%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.5%)	4 (1.0%)	32.2	3784^th of 5857 public elementary schools	35.4%		35.2	3503^rd of 5869 public elementary schools	40.3%	281	24.6		24.6	35.6	36.8	41.1	31.2			36.1	42.4	26.3	16.1	26.2			27.9	94.4			97.2	97.2	97.2	$24,606	$22,466	$2,140
Thomas Olaeta Elementary	Public	K-6	2266 High St.	Atwater	95301	Merced County	Atwater Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 357-6148	374	17	22.0	73.8%	51 (13.6%)	6 (1.6%)	282 (75.4%)	17 (4.5%)	4 (1.1%)	1 (0.3%)	13 (3.5%)	60.3	2051^st of 5857 public elementary schools	65.0%		64.1	1870^th of 5869 public elementary schools	68.1%	181	33.3		33.3	54.4	64.0	43.8	46.3			52.0	55.3	50.0	35.4	38.9			44.7	92.2	95.3	96.9	93.8	93.8	93.8	$26,002	$23,884	$2,118
Peggy Heller Elementary	Public	K-8	201 Lake View Dr.	Atwater	95301	Merced County	Atwater Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 357-6517	712	30	23.7	63.8%	138 (19.4%)	12 (1.7%)	499 (70.1%)	35 (4.9%)	5 (0.7%)	2 (0.3%)	21 (2.9%)	36.6	3434^th of 5857 public elementary schools	41.4%		50.9	2513^th of 5869 public elementary schools	57.2%	921	21.7	24.1	22.9	30.8	45.2	37.0	41.4	62.8	58.6	46.6	35.4	38.7	24.1	32.2	38.3	46.0	35.8	96.6			96.6			$20,385	$18,046	$2,339
Atwater Senior Academy	Public	6-8	1800 Juniper Ave.	Atwater	95301	Merced County	Atwater Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 357-6515	5	1	4.9		0 (0.0%)	2 (40.0%)	3 (60.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)										6.3							0.0
Bellevue Senior Elementary	Public	7-8	1020 East Bellevue Rd.	Atwater	95301	Merced County	Atwater Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 357-6140	178	12	15.2	93.8%	8 (4.5%)	5 (2.8%)	161 (90.4%)	1 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.7%)	33.1	1712^th of 2761 public middle schools	38.0%		37.7	1538^th of 2783 public middle schools	44.7%	174		23.3	23.3					41.9	38.1	40.0					21.6	19.8	20.7							$14,567	$12,890	$1,677
Juniper Elementary	Public	K-6	661 East Juniper Ave.	Atwater	95301	Merced County	Atwater Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 357-9930	495	20	24.7	73.3%	61 (12.3%)	4 (0.8%)	381 (77.0%)	36 (7.3%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (2.4%)	54.4	2345^th of 5857 public elementary schools	60.0%		48.1	2657^th of 5869 public elementary schools	54.7%	312	45.3		45.3	29.1	53.3	57.8	42.1			46.2	37.5	41.7	42.2	36.8			39.7							$20,392	$18,244	$2,148

Districts nearby

District	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Merced Union High	0.83 mi	9	1134^th
Merced County Office of Education	0.93 mi	8	1475^th
Winton	1.84 mi	4	593^rd
McSwain Union Elementary	4.64 mi	1	509^th
Merced City Elementary	4.71 mi	19	1221^st

See the top CA California districts

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the California Department of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.