San Miguel Joint Union

San Miguel Joint Union has two schools in this data set, both K–8 elementary schools: Lillian Larsen Elementary and Cappy Culver Elementary. Their shared grade span makes their all-grade results easier to compare. In 2025–2026, both schools were below the state in ELA, math, and science, and their most important shared concern is that proficiency fell in all three subjects at both schools while state results rose in all three.

Cappy Culver stands out as the stronger school overall: it led Lillian Larsen by 8 percentage points in ELA, 9 in math, and 3 in science. Cappy’s results were 42% in ELA, 37% in math, and 23% in science; Lillian’s were 35%, 28%, and 20%. Still, Cappy remained below the state in each subject, while Lillian was further behind. Grade-level results reveal exceptions to the overall pattern: Cappy’s fourth-grade math was 63%, 21 points above the state and 30 above Lillian; Lillian’s eighth-grade math was 40%, 4 points above the state and 16 above Cappy.

The declines were especially notable in math and science: Lillian fell 5 points in math and 12 in science, while Cappy fell 10 points in math and 6 in science. SchoolDigger rankings also dropped from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026: Cappy went from the 69th to the 46th percentile, and Lillian from the 38th to the 27th. Other differences may help families compare school contexts, but do not explain the score results: in 2024–2025, Lillian had a student-teacher ratio of 18.1 and 80% free/reduced lunch eligible, compared with 22.1 and 48% at Cappy. In 2025–2026, chronic absenteeism was 14% at Lillian and 17% at Cappy, both below the statewide 18%.